Denmark Hill Conservation Park

Denmark Hill Conservation Park is a gem close to the city centre. You can climb the Ipswich water tower for a fantastic view over the city and surrounding area.

Wow! It is so big!

The views are as far as to Brisbane and to the surrounding mountains.

What an awesome view!

You can rest at the top after your short climb with seating provided.

The park is 11.2 hectares of regenerated bush land with picnic tables, barbeque areas and amenities available. The information board details the hiking tracks that can be taken and the location of all facilities. Prior to embarking on your mini expedition you could request an information brochure from the Ipswich City Council to take with you.

The information board located near the Quarry Street car park provides an excellent overview of the history of the park, native plants, weeds, fire management, plants and animals, pest management, and city emblems. There is a touch display and encased samples of calling cards of the wild.

This was a great dource of information on the area and other parks and reserves around Ipswich.

We had already visited Denmark Hill and explored the water tower but the next time we visited we discovered dinosaur tracks! On our walk through the Triassic Circuit, one of the six walking tracks within the Denmark Hill Conservation Park, we learnt about dinosaurs and fossils and most interestingly dinosaurs from Ipswich all those years ago.

Discovery and research into the past, including the age of the dinosaurs did not begin until the 19th Century. The Ipswich area was first excavated in the 1920’s with several thousand Triassic bugs and insects found fossilised. In 1964 large three-toed footprints were discovered at Rhondda Colliery, Dinmore. For Australia, these footprints represent the first evidence of Triassic dinosaurs in the country. The footprints found were made by a Carnosaur – a flesh eating dinosaur. Georgina and I were both fascinated by the huge footprints that have been left behind in pieces of rock. These were an exciting discovery!

Look out! There are dinosaurs about!

This conservation park has compiled information on the history of dinosaurs in the Ipswich area in a most interesting way. With many signs, information boards and displays the track is educational and fun. Triassic Park as this particular area is called has heaps of fun activities for the kids, including a fossil hunt! Can you find the 15 fossils in the floor and rock features of the park?

The information boards were very helpful!

Triassic Park was fun to explore, but it was also educational. The way the park was shaped even provided an archaeology lesson. The whole of Triassic park was designed using an overlay of two prehistoric life forms. Using a dinosaur fossil and an ammonite fossil the garden is a spiral broken into eight spaces.

These eight spaces reflect the eight geological periods Cambrian, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.

Along our journey we stumbled upon an odd hut. In the centre of the garden is a big educational hub shaped like a Steogosaur. It was a dinosaur hut! Filled with information and space for exploring this was just one of the many fascinating discoveries we made at Denmark Hill.

This was an awesome hut!

Then it was time to take a break and have some lunch. With shaded areas and picnic tables, the park was an ideal place. A picnic with the dinosaurs is always an exciting thing! We really enjoyed our day here and hope to come back to see the other tracks soon!

Yum...picnic with the dinosaurs!

The Triassic Circuit is one of many tracks available at the Denmark Hill Conservation Park. The gardens are maintained by the Staff and Students of Ipswich West Special School in partnership with the Ipswich City Council Bushland Care Program. For bushwalking maps and tips, take a look at the Ipswich City Council’s Parks and Reserves Website .

The Deebing Street Entry is open from 6 am to 9 pm while the Quarry Street entry is open from 6 am to 6 pm. The park is a short uphill stroll from the Ipswich Hospital.

Denmark Hill Conservation Park can be found at 20 Chelmsford Avenue, Ipswich. Click here for a Denmark Hill Conservation Park Map from GoogleMaps.

Click the links below to access the other parks.
Ipswich Nature Centre Limestone Park Lobley Park Nerima Gardens Pan Pacific Peace Gardens Queens Park River Heart Parklands Sutton Park Woodend Nature Centre

Suggestions, comments or queries about Denmark Hill? Click here to forward these onto the Discover Our Ipswich Girls.

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