6 Fantastic Things to do in Nambour and Nearby With Kids

Nambour is an excellent central point for your adventures around the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. We spent a few nights there with our kids and are excited to share some of the best attractions in the area for families. Read on to discover our top picks for things to do in Nambour with kids!

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Play and Skate at Quota Memorial Park

Quota Memorial Park in Nambour has a nice playground and skate park the kids will love. There’s some decent equipment and an enclosed play area for little ones. Check it out if you’re looking for things to do in Nambour with kids.

Stroll along the Gary Evans Walkway

The Gary Evans Walkway is a 2km return pathway alongside the Petrie Creek in Nambour. It’s just a little west of the main street, so it’s a nice leafy green alternative to walking through town.

It’s a paved pathway, so the kids took their wheels, but I wouldn’t really recommend it! The path can be damp and slippery, plus it’s a bit undulating and winding, so we had a few spills!

The path takes you through the Model Railway Park (which only runs on Sundays) and past an old sugar mill wheel to Petrie Park.

We used the pathway to reach the Nambour Aquatic Centre, which is near the end of the trail.

Cool off at the Nambour Aquatic Centre

For fun things to do in Nambour with kids, take them to the local public pool to cool off! The Nambour Aquatic Centre features 50m and 25m pools, a splash park, and two tube waterslides.

If you want to ride the waterslides, make sure you visit on the weekends, as they’re closed during the week. Kids need to be 120cm for the slides. If they’re a bit small, they can have fun on the two small ones in the splash park, which are still pretty fast!

Check out the Dulong Lookout

If you’re looking for things to do around Nambour, take a short drive to the Dulong Lookout, about 6km west of the town.

The drive is beautiful and if you feel inclined, you can continue onwards to gorgeous towns like Montville and Maleny (with more spectacular viewpoints along the way)

The Dulong Lookout has a picnic bench and offers fantastic views across the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

Visit the Big Pineapple

Australia sure loves its ‘big’ icons! This is the second one we’ve visited, the first of which was The Big Merino in Goulburn, NSW.

The Big Pineapple is in Woombye, a small town in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. It’s also only a short drive from Nambour.

The site was originally a pineapple farm, which evolved into an agri-tourism destination. Today it has several attractions, so you can either take a short photo stop or stay a lot longer, depending on your budget and desire.

The Pineapple Train ride, Pine Mobile ride, and Climb the Pine experience are all $12 per person, or a little cheaper for the bundle of three. We decided to only do the train ride, which takes you on a nice journey around the attraction, complete with live commentary.

The Big Pineapple is also home to the Wildlife HQ Zoo and the Tree Top Challenge high ropes and zipline course. The latter also has a course especially for younger adventurers.

Finally, check out the on-site gin distillery to complete your day!

Discover the Sunshine Castle

The Sunshine Castle is in Bli Bli, about 11km east of Nambour. It’s Australia’s biggest castle and has been open since the early 70’s when the original owners needed somewhere to house their dioramas! After changing ownership it also became home to an extensive doll collection.

The majority of the castle is closed to the public (due to extensive weather damage), but there’s plenty here for the family to enjoy. For $10 per person, you can take a self-guided tour. The kids can try on armour and learn about other medieval artifacts before checking out the doll museum and model train display.

Along the way, the kids can solve picture or word puzzles. It kept mine engaged, and they were excited to get a prize at the end!

Although this isn’t the place for an extensive castle exploration, it still has plenty to offer for families. The Sunshine Castle also has a toy shop and a small cafe. We recommend it as a budget-friendly, educational, and fun family activity.

Other things to do in Nambour and nearby

We only stayed in Nambour for a short while, so we didn’t get to see everything on offer. A few of the attractions on our list for next time include:

• The Model Railway Park (only open on Sundays)
• Hologram Zoo Sunshine Coast (only open Friday-Sunday)
• Nambour & District Historical Museum Association (open Wednesday to Saturday)
• Thrill Hill Waterslides in Woombye (very close to Nambour!) looks like a lot of fun. However, we thought the price was a bit steep ($26.50 per person for a 50-minute session), so we went to the Nambour Aquatic Centre instead. Thrill Hill Waterslides has a single, long waterslide down a hill. It does look fun, so maybe next time!

Aussie World theme park is a favorite attraction in the hinterland for families, and it’s just 18km from Nambour. Read our full review here.

Keen to visit the coast? Check out our top picks for Sunshine Coast attractions and these family-friendly walks in Noosa.

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