Roundhay Park, Leeds, with children
Leeds’ massive Roundhay Park offers playgrounds, adventure trails and gardens inspired by famous counterparts around the world.
Why visit Roundhay Park in Leeds?
Roundhay Park is the biggest park in Leeds. Indeed, at around 700 acres, it is one of the biggest city parks in Europe.
This size makes it multi-faceted, with sports pitches, woodland, playgrounds and gardens. It’s not a destination in its own right, but makes for excellent padding on a day out in Leeds with children. It’s somewhere to let off steam after a day in markets and museums.
Roundhay Park is also home to Tropical World – a slightly odd combination of zoo, aquarium and giant tropical greenhouse.
Visiting Roundhay Park with children
The eastern section of Roundhay Park, where you’ll find Tropical World, has the most appeal for families. Try to park in the car park next to the Mansion or the larger one on Prince’s Avenue next to the skate park.
If wanting to do more than just let the kids run around in the playgrounds and between the trees, there are a couple of Roundhay Park adventure trails. The Magical Fountains of Roundhay Trail is aimed at two to five year olds, while the Secrets of Roundhay Castle trail is more for six to eleven year olds. The ‘castle’ in question is a 19th century folly made to look like a castle gate.
There’s also a sculpture trail through the park, made using trees that were felled due to disease.
Roundhay Park review: The best bit
The garden sections of Roundhay Park are pretty cool. Canal Gardens goes for grandeur, with its fountains and statue. But the Specialist Gardens to the north of the Mansion House are lovely. The area contains gardens themed on the Alhambra in Spain and Monet’s garden in Giverny, France, plus entries to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Infants, juniors or secondary?
Primary school age children will tend to get more out of Roundhay Park – older children will probably prefer hanging out around the shops in the city centre.
Roundhay Park entry prices
There’s no charge to enter Roundhay Park.
Prices were last checked and updated on 11 October 2024.
Full day, half day or a couple of hours?
Roundhay Park is best used for an hour or two’s runaround, but if the children get absorbed in the playgrounds or adventure trails you can perhaps stretch it to half a day. Throwing Tropical World into the mix is the best way to get half a day out of the visit.
Attractions near Roundhay Park
You can combine Roundhay Park with a visit to other nearby attractions, such as…
- The Royal Armouries in Leeds.
- Harewood House in Leeds.
- Leeds City Museum in the city centre.
Nearby cities
Roundhay Park is roughly four miles north-east of Leeds City Centre.
Other cities within a 90 minute drive of Roundhay Park include Manchester, Doncaster, Sheffield, York, Bradford, Wakefield, Hull and Preston.
Is it open on Mondays?
Roundhay Park is open daily – you’ll be able to visit if your kids are off school on a teacher training day. The playgrounds won’t be as busy as they are at weekends.
More information
For more information, visit the Roundhay Park page on the Leeds City Council website.
