Lagoon

Escape the summer heat at one of Cairns’ best known landmarks, the Esplanade Lagoon. Set on the Cairns foreshore overlooking the Barrier Reef and Trinity Inlet, the 4800 sq metre saltwater swimming lagoon offers locals and tourists a year round safe swimming location. Saltwater is pumped from the inlet and filtered through a state of the art filtration system, to meet Australian Standards. The kids can enjoy the sandy edges, build sand castles and play in shallow water. On the other side of the Lagoon, visitors can lounge on the timber decks in moderate shade. Shady trees, landscaped gardens and open spaces all contribute to the leisurely atmosphere on the Esplanade

Lifeguards

Surf Life Saving Queensland lifeguards patrol the Esplanade Lagoon during all operational hours to ensure public safety. Council has adopted an initiative called "Partnership Cairns" whereby businesses are encouraged to sponsor community services that are carried out on land owned or controlled by Council. Council is proud to recognise the ongoing partnership with The Pier for their assistance with the supply of professional lifeguarding services at the Esplanade Lagoon. The Esplanade and Foreshore area is monitored by closed circuit television surveillance around the clock. Please phone Esplanade Management on 07 4044 3715 for more details.

Muddy's

A popular meeting spot for young families, "Muddy's" is a modern, fun, safe playground and parkland. It incorporates active, passive, interactive and educational facilities with a combination of  play equipment and custom designed equipment. Designed and situated such that various age groups have a separate and unique play area with the level of challenge in each area relating to the age group.

Themed "Life in Trinity Bay" the playground includes water play areas with:

• Water channels and hand pumps
• Water gates, rain shelters and jumping water jets
• "Muddy" the mud skipper sculpture

Other play areas include:

• Flying fox, sound chimes, track ride, rope bridge, slides, play houses, story telling areas, see- saw, trick track and puzzle games

Additionally, "Muddy's" provides BBQ & Picnic facilities (Curlew BBQ is available for private hire), an events lawn to accommodate visiting attractions as well as tired children and an on-site cafe, "Skippers" that provides delicious light meals and refreshments. Muddy's is somewhere locals and visitors can take their children to play and enjoy the benefits of the waterfront.

In the interests of public safety, Security Officers and CCTV cameras are monitoring the area at all times.

Fun Ship

Endeavour Fun Ship was opened to the public in December 2006. The current structure replaced an iconic timber funship that had brought hours of pleasure to many local and visiting families. The original old timber funship had unfortunately reached a stage where ongoing maintenance issues required the playground to be completely upgraded. The new Fun Ship is a unique playground that fits well with the marine theme of the Esplanade, and has many links to the original funship.

Skate Plaza

A popular venue for locals and visitors of all ages.  Whether you are a boarder, a rider, a spiker or spectator, the Skate Plaza is one of the Cairns Regional Council’s finest recreational facilities. Officially opened on 9 December 2006, the Cairns Esplanade Skate Plaza sits within an action-packed Youth Activity Precinct which also features international-standard beach volleyball courts. At 2,315m2, the skate plaza is Australia’s largest and most innovative to date. Providing new and exciting recreational opportunities for teenagers, the facility has been called ‘one of the seven wonders of the skate park world’ due to its innovative design and contextual aesthetics.

The inverted cradle is a dominating feature and the highlight of the plaza as it is the first for Australasia. The skate plaza is not only Australia’s largest, all ages, public sporting facility of its type, but an important national and international community resource challenging the perception of what skate parks are and how they can integrate into the public domain. It is not the traditional mass of grey concrete but has impressive landscaping incorporated to provide aesthetic appeal, natural shade and amenity.

Since opening, the plaza has appeared in numerous skateboarding and BMX magazines and websites, being seen as a benchmark project for active, non-structured recreational facilities and their integration into the wider public landscape. Facilities within the precinct are available for hire with a range of activities, feature events, free coaching and competitions/tournaments offered on a regular basis. Council has formed a users group which has a guiding role in the youth activity precinct, conducting ‘learn to skate’ lessons during school holidays.

Please phone Esplanade Management on 07 4044 3715 for more details.