Colleges Crossing Recreation Reserve: Swimming, Playground and Parking

Colleges Crossing Recreation Reserve is a riverside park on the Brisbane River at Chuwar, in Ipswich, with a nature-style playground, picnic shelters, flat paths and spots to fish. It reopened on 13 December 2024 after a rebuild that cost almost $10 million, with more grass and fewer permanent structures so it copes better with floods.

It is a good place for a picnic, a playground stop and a walk by the water. It is not a place to swim: see the swimming section below before you plan your day around the river.

Can you swim at Colleges Crossing?

No. Swimming in the river here is not recommended. Bull sharks live in this stretch of the Brisbane River, and a Queensland Museum scientist told the ABC they are often seen at Colleges Crossing. Warning signs about bull sharks are posted by the river, and council’s fishing guide flags the area as home to bull sharks.

Council’s park page does not list swimming as an activity and does not mark a swimming area. The river water is murky, so keep children and dogs out of it too. The river here is for fishing and canoes and kayaks, not swimming.

The playground and picnic areas

The new playground sits on the highest point of the reserve. It is nature-based and unfenced, with a large netted climbing structure, swings including toddler seats and a birds nest swing, spinning and bouncing equipment, stepping stones and a dinosaur sandpit. Shade sails cover most of it, though the sandpit is in the sun.

There are covered picnic shelters near the playground, picnic tables and benches, a covered lookout with river views, and a large open grassed area for kick-about games. There is very little shade down near the river, and not every bench is covered, so bring a hat.

Fishing and kayaking

You can fish from the bank. Species include yellowfin bream, Australian bass and garfish. Canoes and kayaks can launch from a natural water entry point where the old concrete boat-launch area was. Check Queensland’s fishing rules and licence requirements before you go.

The reserve is also good for birdwatching along the river.

History of Colleges Crossing

The low-level bridge over the Brisbane River opened in 1894 and is named after George College, an early settler who bought land on the north side of the river in 1854. In major floods or Wivenhoe Dam releases the road over the bridge goes under water and cannot be used. The 2010 to 2011 floods destroyed the reserve, and flooding in 2022 damaged it again, which is why the rebuild keeps things simple.

The reserve is also culturally significant to Traditional Owners and is used for continuing cultural practices. Totem features, interpretive signs and sandblasted artwork on the paths tell part of that story.

Is Colleges Crossing dog friendly?

Dogs are allowed in most Ipswich parks as long as they are on a leash, and you need to pick up after your dog. Dog waste bags are provided and the concrete paths suit walking a dog. Keep your dog out of the river because of the sharks: both Ipswich and Brisbane councils advise keeping pets out of the water in this part of the river.

Planning your visit

• Hours: 6 am to 6 pm daily. Hours can change with natural seasonal light until lighting is installed.
• Cost: free. Food trucks park here but there is no permanent cafe, so bring food and water.
• Toilets and water: toilets (including accessible toilets), drinking fountains and hand-washing stations.
• Barbecues: none. The old barbecues were not replaced.
• What to bring: hat, sunscreen, water, picnic food, and fishing or kayak gear if you want the river.
• Accessibility: flat concrete paths run from the car park to most areas, so the reserve works for prams and wheelchairs.
• Floods: after heavy rain or Wivenhoe releases the crossing and parts of the reserve can be underwater, so check Ipswich City Council’s website before you drive out.

Getting there and parking

The reserve is at 408-492 Mt Crosby Road, Chuwar, on the Brisbane River. It is about 31 km by road from the Brisbane CBD, about 40 minutes by car without traffic, and about 8 km from the Ipswich CBD. There is off-street parking, including accessible spaces, and a separate area for food trucks.

No public transport is listed for the reserve. Plan a trip with the Translink Journey Planner or call 13 12 30. Details are on Ipswich City Council’s park page, or call council on 07 3810 6666. Details can change, so check before you go.

Nearby

• Queens Park Ipswich – a big playground, shady lawns and a cafe in Ipswich.
• Robelle Domain – a zero-depth water play area and playground at Springfield Central.
• Orion Lagoon – a free public swimming lagoon if you came for a swim.
• Lake Wivenhoe – buoyed swimming areas, BBQs and kayaking.
• Ipswich Nature Centre – free animal viewing at Queens Park.

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