Lara Suddards
Your family-friendly guide to the northern Gold Coast
While many Gold Coasters head to the southern suburbs on the weekend, the northern suburbs should not be overlooked for family-friendly weekend adventures! Starting in Stapylton and reaching to Pimpama, the most northerly suburbs of the Gold Coast also include Yatala, Alberton, Steiglitz, Gilberton, Norwell, Ormeau and Jacobs Well. Here you will find unique family activities, a range of family-friendly dining options, and some of the Gold Coast’s most unique play spaces. Here is your guide to getting the most out of a day in the Northern most parts of the Gold Coast.
South-east Queensland’s last original open-air Drive-In Cinema is located in Yatala, and boasts three massive screens accommodating up to 700 cars each night. Bring your camp chairs and sit out the back of your car to watch a movie, or bundle up the blankets, pillows and sleeping bags to make yourself comfortable in the back of your van, ute or car. Perfect for wriggly children, the privacy of sitting in your own vehicle means there is no need to worry if their bouncing around is bothering other cinema patrons. Movies screen every night of the week and they often host special event screenings too.
If your family is feeling creative, or looking to get messy, a workshop at DIY Invasion is sure to tick the box. Located at Staplyton, DIY Invasion run craft workshops ranging from resin art to painting, macrame and slime making – with their School Holiday Workshops always extremely popular for children. Another unique feature is their Splatter and Splash Room, which families can book for a private experience! Choose your own dance music, while letting your creativity run wild as you fling, flick, and splash paint around the room and over your fellow participants! This is a great space to unwind and tap into creativity.
The only library located in the far northern suburbs, the Ormeau Community Lounge & Library is a hidden gem. Here you can visit the Gold Coast’s only Book Box corner, an early year’s library and play-based learning space delivered in partnership with Queensland State Library’s First 5 Forever program. Here children do not have to worry about being quiet, and they are actively encouraged to play with the many games and play resources available. Open six days a week, families can join in Story Time on Friday and Saturday mornings, or participate in Baby Rhyme Time and Toddler Time sessions during the week.
Dining for the whole family
Distillery Road Market is a fresh and exciting new venue located in Eagleby, home to The F.E.D, a 2000-person food and entertainment space. Here you’ll find an expansive indoor/outdoor dining area, with a range of on-site eateries to choose from. Open Thursday – Sunday, the venue is family friendly with live music each evening and long beerhall-style tables to choose from. The best part is that diners can choose meals from six different food outlets, meaning that all tastes and dietary requirements can be catered for! The casual vibe of this venue is perfect for an early dinner with the family, where children and parents can relax, move around, dance and enjoy a great meal together.
Yatala Pies has been a landmark in the Yatala area for more than 130 years, these days selling around 3,500 pies daily! Well known as a halfway stop on the journey between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, northern Gold Coast locals are lucky to have this icon right here in their backyard. Selling some of the best pies on the Gold Coast, the quality is exceptional and the range delicious. Choose from dine in or takeaway, you can grab a hot, ready-to-eat snack pie, or take-home, oven-ready family pies and snack pie packs. With something for everyone, the family will love a stop in at Yatala Pies any time of the day.
The Norfolk Tavern has got to be the most family-friendly dining option in the northern Gold Coast. Indoors you will find a bright and spacious dining room, while outside there is a wraparound veranda with ample space for dining, opening on to a huge children’s playground. The award-winning Bistro has menu options to suit every taste, from fresh seafood to steaks, pastas, salads and all the traditional pub fare. Extremely popular on weekends, be sure to book a spot on the deck if you are dining with children for easy line of sight from your table to the playground.
Places to play
A nautical themed playground appropriate for its position by the water and close by the Calypso Bay Marina, here you’ll find a pirate ship brimming with bridges, wheels, slides and nets – be careful, you might even be asked to walk the plank! Underneath the pirate ship the imaginative play space is further extended, with a small shop counter set up, tunnel frames and other interactive game panels. The swing set with all abilities swing is always popular, as is the spinners and hammock swing. There’s also a little boat for children to pretend to fish or start the engine!
While many think the most northern beach area for children to swim is at Paradise Point, there is a lesser-known spot at the very northern edge of the Gold Coast – Lions Park at Jacobs Well. With easy access from the carpark, you are at a small, shaded beach in just a few steps. The swimming enclosure here has a small sandy beach, a large shade sail over the sand, and few waves, making it ideal for toddlers and younger children gaining confidence in the ocean. Parents will love the ability to sit on a blanket under the shade and still be close enough to their children in the water.
While the playground at Outlook Park, Ormeau may be tiny, pack the bicycles and prepare yourselves for the surprise bike tracks that make this a fabulous spot to visit! Set on a steep slope, Outlook Park is laid out over three levels. At the top you’ll find a small playground best suited for toddlers, and then on the middle and lower level there are two bike tracks, perfect for racing on. While the playground is very small, the bike tracks are great for bicycles, skateboards or scooters, and children will love lining up at the start line and racing the loops to the finish. Celebrate with some pretend play medal ceremonies on the dais at the track!
Hilltop Park in Ormeau is an older park, but still delivers a great time. Split into two sections, toddlers will love the smaller, shady play area with a car, climbing frame and mini playground with slide and swing. The main playground space is better suited for children over five, with a larger playground and slide, large climbing net, balance beams, spinners and swings. Children can also climb the ramp up to the old water tower, which has been converted into a play structure.
Find Lara’s recommendations at her website Mrs. Lardeedah.com, and follow her socials Facebook and Instagram
