Top 30 Best Recreational parks in Manchester

“Truly one of the most stunning city parks I’ve seen. Love the mixture of industrial features interlinked with nature. A delight to behold and a park to treasure. With its fantastic play park, the river meandering its way throughout and it’s fantastic facilities (2x incredible disabled loos,) it will be a much loved open space for the people of Manchester and the surrounding area. Well done to all involved in its creation and preservation.”

“We loved this place... Definitely going back again to explore the trails on mtb. Millennium walk way was really good and a lovely little cafe and shop too.”

“Love the place, can't wait to go back in Summer. Nice place to go with kids and walk your dog”

“I haven't been to the park for a while, I really enjoyed it. Lots of areas have been deliberately left to go wild. There is also a lovely new playground. Lots of work going on to improve it.”

“Went on a windy cold January day and the park was magnificent!!! It’s only 4 miles from Manchester and on a clear day you can see the Mancunian towers and buildings from the hilltops. There’s a tram stop just beside it so very easy to go to. Wasn’t too crowded at all probably because of the wind. The animals were out and about enjoying the little sun they could find. The gardens are well kept. Some of the food stalls were closed but the cafe and pub were both open for food and drinks”

“Nice easy walk around the lake (takes about 20mins) which can be made longer by by going off around the forest and following the river. Went in March so was all a bit brown but can imagine it’s lovely in Summer.”

“This is a lovely park I highly recommend coming here for an afternoon out. The play area is small but perfect for small children. The park its self is beautiful, well kept and no litter. We met quit a few dog walkers who were all lovely. This park is definitely worth a visit we will certainly be coming back.”

“Really nice park with playgrounds, free car park, dry walk paths, as well as trails. We enjoyed walking our dog here.”

“Lovely country park, nice walk around the duck ponds and up to the waterfall, the forest is lovely to explore too. Parking ok, it gets busy at weekends and school holidays but we usually always manage to park up, there are toilets on both ends of the park which is handy with small kids, the cafe is nice too, reasonably priced and good selection. We usually buy duck food from the cafe to feed the ducks with.”

“Oldham Summer Beach 2022 Kids loved it! Recommend the wrist band so they can go on all the bounce stations without paying extra. No queues today even though weather really good. The fairground rides were cash prices additional as you would expect but the bouncy castles and slides were enough for my lot”

“I take my 2 young grandchildren regularly to this lovely park. My only issue is the number of dog walkers, often with several dogs each. As it is a park that is well used by families I feel that dogs should be kept on a lead. Otherwise it's a beautiful local asset.”

“Really great place to walk or jog. Also beside the river, so it's good to bring some seeds for the birds.”

“Absolutely love Strinesdale foot paths and 2 large Reservoir's that allow fishing. It also has free parking and is that vast of a space you can walk round it and not bump in to anyone. Strinesdale also has a few picnic areas and amazing views out to the Pennines. There are 3 different routes you can take for that casual stroll or if you are looking to explore of the beat and track you can end up right in the hills and come out at a little farm house. All in all this is one of my favourite places to walk my dog and would recommend it to anyone.”

“Great house to visit. Fascinating history and great interior and good walks. Odd cafe system forced us to eat a meal outside but could have eaten inside if we had only had cake. So Odd!!!”

“A great place to walk a dog. I've been going to john Leigh park since for ever. The path all round is a great little walk. It has two park areas for the kids. One for bigger kids then further round one for the younger kids which has a fence all around it. It has a small aviary. There are always loads of people there when it's a sunny day and the ice cream man parks up in it on warm days too. It has tennis courts/ football/ and basketball courts. It is a very popular place with dog walkers so not a place to go if petrified of dogs.”

“Came to this park for the Dino kingdom experience. Such a nice big park. And was so clean and tidy. We noticed a lovely play ground but didn't have chance to go on it as we were leaving. Will more than likely come back here again to walk around and explore more.”

“A wonderful park...BMX track which we enjoyed watching people use, different areas of the park including an area with sandpit, swings, slides, climbing apparatus, a zip line that was unfortunately broken, a small pond with ducks and a fantastic interactive game with silver poles that had built in touch screen games such as 2 people one is red one is blue and when your colour lights up on pole you hit it to turn it off - never seen before and it was a huge hit!!”

“Excellent for dogs & if you love scenic woods an water. Paths too & off track. Lots of routes. Love it.”

“It's a beautiful place to visit with a boating lake, aviaries, play areas for big kids and little kids and some lovely short walks. Not to mention bowling tennis football and a cafe. It's also got a train and ice-cream in summer. It's just unfortunate that the botanical house has died a death ( shame on you shameside!)”

“Great Park, lovely nature trail, my dog loves it here”

“Very pleasant riverside walk,overlooking the river and weare, spot the resident Herons waiting for fishy meal. Compact children's playground and picnic site.”

“This park has a great bakery called pollen, worth a visit for fresh pastries, bread and good coffee. There's also a brewery next door called cask now the weather's better, for a drink in the sun. Great spot for a run or just sitting outside and watching the world go by.”

“Beautiful park nice location lovely park one of the best in manchester”

“Visited with relatives from Bolton on New Year’s Eve, good to see so many people out on a mild dry day. Got some coffees an Ice Cream from the Ice cream van. Nice coffee at the van. Great treat for the family. Good walk around the pond kids loved feeding the ducks.”

“This is a beautiful park which has kids play area and walking path for dog owners. Follow me on FB and YouTube '2 Muslim night riders' for more bike adventures”

“This is the best park in Bolton because there is some cleaning contrary to the small parks. Huge space which is family friendly during day (I would not advise to be there after sunset - like in every park unfortunately)when there is no animals off leash and young thugs.”

“Great place to park up and start your hike up to Darwen tower.”

“Nice park with kids play area, cricket pitch, football ground, basketball court and skating area. Good for taking your dogs for a long walk.”