Every family loves a good park, but it's not always easy to find the best ones.
A good park can keep the kids happy all day providing it's got enough facilities and most people don't mind travelling to one that ticks all the boxes.
So whether it's a sand play area, a decent cafe, or crazy golf that you're looking for we've been asking parents to recommend their favourite parks in Greater Manchester. And it makes for an impressive list.
Here are some of the best, recommended by mums and dads.
And if you know of a park that should be on the list then don't forget to let us know in the comments, on our Manchester Family Facebook page, or email the details to emma.gill@reachplc.com.
Read more: 50 things to do with the kids in and around Manchester this school holidays
Heaton Park
We wouldn't have a complete list of parks without mentioning Manchester's beloved Heaton Park.
There are so many things to do inside the park, which hosts its own beach and funfair during the school holidays.
The lake has always been a popular spot for visitors and if you fancy taking to the water there are more options than ever, with swan shaped pedalos, rowing boats and - if you're wanting minimal effort - a motorboat.
The Lakeside Adventure Play Area, which opened in 2019, is a popular spot and features swings, slides, treehouses and more. And there's a further playground towards the north of the park with a 10-metre high tower slide among the attractions.
Set inside the old stables is the Animal Centre, which is home to common farmyard animals, such as chickens, goats, geese, pigs, turkeys, ducks and rabbits, as well as more exotic species such as alpacas.
Further round from the Animal Centre, something that will grab the attention of kids of all ages - and grown ups too - is Zip World Manchester, offering treetop treks and nets, which feature ball parks, super fast slides and aerial walkways for children from the age of three.
There are lots of places to grab a drink and a bite to eat including The Stables Cafe and the Lakeside Cafe, serving up coffee, cakes and food.
Stamford Park, Stalybridge
The play equipment is suitable for children of a wide variety of ages from toddler swings and a small slide to much more adventurous equipment for older children such as the large tower slide, climbing frame and basket swings. There is also a multi use games area which can be used for football, basketball, netball and cricket.
As well as the usual attraction of a playground, it's got water fountains for children to play in, a boating lake to hire rowing boats and pedalos and even has its own little train.
There's also a woodland area, The Dingle, for youngsters to explore - and there's an aviary too.
There is a café in the park, open 10am to 4pm daily, as well as an ice cream van.
The park is managed by Tameside Council, but the boating lake is operated separately by Ridgehill Enterprises. Boats and pedalos can be hired at weekends between 1.15pm and 5pm. You can also do zorbing and paddle sports. Find out more on the website here.
Haigh Woodland Park, Wigan
Visited by families from across the north west, Haigh Woodland Park's play area includes adventure climbing, a treehouse and an interactive play feature.
The park provides a range of activities for children from babies to teenagers and their families to enjoy, including high ropes, an adventure golf course, as well as a £1 a go crazy golf course.
Often referred to as 'the jewel in Wigan's crown', it encompasses 250 acres of park and woodland surrounding the historic Haigh Hall.
Inside the woodland areas you'll often find families making dens and there are plenty of events on throughout the year, like singalong cinema events and outdoor theatre.
The park is also home to footgolf, a trim trail and has two railways for families to enjoy a train ride.
The Kitchen Courtyard offers a range of places to eat and drink, or you can save money by taking your own picnic along.
Moss Bank Park, Bolton
There are two play areas providing a wide range of equipment for toddlers to teenagers.
The more traditional play area for toddlers and juniors includes two large sand play areas and many accessible items of equipment including springy toys, swings, slides and climbing units.
The nearby area for older children includes a range of adventurous timber and metal equipment and there's a cafe that's open daily.
Throughout Bolton's school holidays and at weekends there is a fair running with rides including a runaway train, a funhouse, carousels and an inflatable slide. There's also a miniature railway to enjoy.
Behind the cafe is The Hive area - a sensory garden section which is run by Lancashire Wildlife Trust. It is home to a food growing project and aimed at helping little ones understand more about plants and wildlife.
Alexandra Park, Whalley Range
The children's play area is located between the lake and the cafe. It has cradle swings for younger children and a larger basket swing along with a small toddler slide, a tea cup twister, a hedgehog springy and small see-saw.
There's also plenty of room to run around and a place for parents to sit. The cafe is operated by the Tea Hive and is open daily during the summer months, with toilets and baby change facilities available when the cafe is open.
There is a small, free car park at the end of Russell Street. Other park facilities include tennis courts, a cricket pitch, a multi use games area, an older children's play area, a football pitch and a lake.
Clifton Country Park, Salford
The play area at Clifton Country Park features a giant swing, a climbing frame with monkey bars, ropes and slide, swings and animal themed ‘springies’, which children can sit on and rock back and forward.
Picnic benches and existing swings were also refurbished during the park's makeover a couple of years back to include special disabled friendly boat seats. And surfaces were replaced to make it easier to use pushchairs and wheelchairs on the playground.
As well as the children's play area, there's a large climbing boulder for kids to tackle.
You can then enjoy a lakeside walk - venturing round the entire lake if those little legs can make it round - and you can cross a green bridge to reach a stream lined with pebbles for that all-important stone skimming.
There are some real animals to spot - horses usually greet you near the fences at the car park - and you can head to the lake to see ducks, geese and other wildlife.
Many of the paths are level making it accessible for prams.
The visitor centre houses a toilet and there's a café there too. There's usually an ice cream van there as well, even in the chillier weather.
Wythenshawe Park
The park’s popular playground is open every day and has equipment for children aged five to 14. It is a minute’s walk from the main car park and has picnic tables for eating out in the open air.
A new cycle hub opened at Wythenshawe Park in the summer of 2022 and features a pump track alongside a learn to ride area.
It's suitable for all wheels, including roller skates, scooters and bikes, and features a number of skills trails to help riders master some mountain biking twists and turns, as well as a family trail that follows the perimeter of the park in a 2.1km circuit.
The park has loads more facilities for families including a community farm, children's play area, multi-use games area, riding stables and athletics track, which hosts Simply Cycling sessions, with bikes and trikes for all abilities. Find out more on the website here.
Walton Park, Sale
The park has two playgrounds, one for small children and toddlers, and a more modern one for older kids from seven up.
There are a range of wooden climbing frames, swings and slides.
The park adjoins the Bridgewater Canal, and during summer months a floating coffee shop serving hot drinks and cakes moors there.
The play areas are divided by a multi-use games area, which features two hard tennis courts and a five-a-side football/basketball court and is free to use. There are also two bowling greens, a full size grass football pitch, various new picnic benches and family areas.
Walton Park is also home to a miniature steam railway, which is about a quarter-of-a-mile long and accommodates small locomotives.
Longford Park, Stretford
There are junior and senior play areas, one for children up to the age of eight and one for older ones.
The younger one has toddler swings and junior swings, a roundabout, a big timber framed climbing unit with a slide and a wooden sculpture of a caterpillar made from a series of logs for little ones to step across or sit on top of.
The play area for older kids is to the north of the park near Great Stone Road. It has slides, roundabouts, climbing frames and a climbing boulder.
There's a cafe at the park serving a range of drinks and snacks, with toilets available during cafe opening times.
The park is home to a pets corner which is free to access and has animals including goats, rabbits, ducks and chickens.
On certain days the park hosts Simply Cycling sessions where cyclists of all ages and abilities can try out a wide range of bikes.
The park also has disc golf, tennis courts, basketball courts, a wildlife garden, a football pitch and bowling greens.
Manor Park, Glossop
There is a wide range of play equipment including climbing frames, monkey bars and slides, as well as a toddler area sectioned off within the main play area.
There's a cafe open during weekends, school holidays and on bank holidays and the park is home to a miniature railway which operates during cafe opening hours and later on busier days.
There is also crazy golf, a skate park, a duck pond and tennis courts and a shop which sells toys, sweets, ice creams, hot dogs and hot drinks. Parking is free at the car park in Cornmill Street.
On warm days lots of children paddle in the brook that runs through the park.
Queen's Park, Heywood
There are two play areas in the park, a small one aimed at ages two to four and a larger one for ages five to 11.
As well as slides, swings, roundabouts there is also a sandpit, spiderweb, see-saw and more.
The park is home to cafe selling a range of food and drinks.
Other features include a large lake, tennis courts, a wildlife walk, cycle racks, wetland and wildlife areas.
Car parking is free – you can park on the side of the road next to the park or there’s a free car park slightly further down the road.
Mayfield Park, Manchester
Manchester's newest park, Mayfield, opened in 2022 and is tucked behind Piccadilly Station and Trinity Way.
Families love the park’s state-of-the-art play area which has huge metal spaceship-looking structures with slides descending from them - there’s even one slide which will take people over the river.
As well as the slides, there are tunnels, swings, sunken trampolines, a climbing wall and even a roundabout and at busier times there's an ice cream van and other vendors to grab a drink or a snack.
Alexandra Park, Oldham
The play area has a wide choice of equipment for children of different ages and a separate sandpit area.
There's also plenty of play equipment for disabled children including a hammock swing, a wobbly bridge with wheelchair access, an orbit roundabout and a boardwalk to sand play.
The Boathouse Cafe is open daily, with baby change facilities inside the cafe toilets.
The park has an outdoor paddling pool which is hugely popular in summer, a boating lake and free tennis courts.
Small areas of clough woodland can be found at the south eastern end of the park and there is a woodland walk adjacent to Queen’s Road.
From the park there are also marked paths leading into Snipe Clough, Brushes Clough and to Park Bridge Heritage centre and beyond.
Bruntwood Park, Cheadle
Close to Manchester Airport, Bruntwood Park is particularly popular with families and plane spotters who can see the planes flying over it as they take off and land.
But it's not the only reason families love it at the park. There's a wide range of play equipment including a rope pyramid, a pirate ship situated in a ‘sea’ of sand, a play frame with scramble nets, wheelchair accessible roundabout and an interactive pillar game.
All the swings have been fitted with accessible mirage seats too, to make the place more accessible for those with disabilities.
There's also a free BMX track at the site and it has its own Pitch and Putt, managed and provided by Cheadle Golf Club.
If you fancy a bite to eat, The Vinery Cafe is inside the park's original Victorian conservatory. Run by the Granelli family, who also have an ice cream kiosk there, it's open 9am to 4pm, selling a range of drinks and snacks.
There are baby change facilities inside both the male and female toilets of the cafe.
Parking is via pay and display, or if you're on public transport, bus routes 309 and 310 from Stockport run close by and Cheadle Hulme train station is 2.5km away.
Mesnes Park, Wigan
Another popular Wigan park is Mesnes near the town centre.
There are two playgrounds for kids to enjoy as well as two outdoor gyms if you're feeling energetic.
On one side of the park is a large duck pond which has a rockery and waterfall feature at the northern end. But one of the most popular aspects for families is the Frederick’s Ice Cream Parlour, found inside the magnificent Pavilion.
As well as an incredible selection of ice cream flavours, it sells a range of home-cooked fresh food including hot meals, sandwiches, salads and toasties.
Dating back to 1879, Mesnes one of the oldest parks in Greater Manchester and is full of Victorian charm.
Chorlton Water Park
The park is a popular one with families and features lots of equipment to keep the kids busy.
As well as a tube slide, donut ring swings and a propeller swing, there are mini trampolines, a zip wire and a skate park.
It's a gorgeous spot to visit when the sun is shining, with several picnic benches dotted around the lake.
It’s a great place to take little ones who are keen on nature too as the area is home to a wide variety of wildlife, especially water birds. The walk around the lake isn’t too long, either, so it’s ideal for those little legs.
