The humble weekend drive is often overlooked by families when there are so many action packed activities to take on, but Hinze Dam really stands on its own and is definitely worth a visit!
While Hinze Dam is best known as the Gold Coast’s water supply, many are surprised when they visit and take in its stunning hinterland setting, with onsite View Café taking prime position to capture the breathtaking vistas. Add to this the state of the art information centre, dam wall walk, picnic grounds, pathways, fishing coves and mountain bike trails, and you’ve got yourself a great spot for locals and tourists.
On arrival at Hinze Dam, follow the sign posts to the top of the dam wall, where you’ll find the information centre and café. The architecturally designed building fits perfectly with its surroundings and as soon as you walk through the doors you’ll be blown away at the view, enticing you to take a seat and stop for a while. Take your pick of airconditioned comfort or deck dining, with a small astro-turfed area perfect for families with kids who can have a go at an interactive display that takes you through the dam processes. The food from View Café is delicious, or if you’re not hungry make sure to try one of their smoothies!
After taking in the views, head to the information centre and learn a bit more about Advancetown’s history, the creation of Hinze Dam, and the Gold Coast water supply. The information centre is a great stop for school aged children to understand what happens at the dam before going for a walk to look at the dam in person.
From here you can explore the day-use areas of Hinze Dam. If you bring your bikes, there are bike trails everywhere, with plenty of shade and beautiful scenery everyway you turn. If you’re not as active, a walk over the dam wall is the perfect compromise! It doesn’t take long to walk to the end of the spillway, where if you’re feeling brave you can look down and try to comprehend just how high the dam wall is! The dam wall is a perfectly safe walk for children as it is fully fenced and protected from climbing. Of course, supervision is a must for any escape artists who might want to push the dam security systems!!
A visit to Hinze Dam with kids wouldn’t be complete without stopping by the picnic area and playground! Set at the bottom of the dam wall, you’re best off jumping back in the car for the drive down the hill to the playground. I was really impressed by the playground – a clean and reasonably new looking toilet block, shade cloth over the play equipment, water fountains and a number of picnic tables and a BBQ. We visited on a Sunday morning and it was so quiet! I think this would make a good birthday party spot if it’s always quiet on weekends!
We spent about 2 hours at Hinze Dam, which was perfect to break up our weekend drive. Heading home we made sure to drive The Panorama which I would highly recommend – the views out to the coast and the dam are mind blowing, as well as the extremely large and fancy homes that are built along there.
