Underwood Park

Overview

Underwood Park is a Logan City Council multi-sport reserve in the suburb of Priestdale, ~20 minutes south of central Brisbane and ~35 minutes from the Gold Coast. Its Mountain Bike Hub sits in the bushland portion of the park and offers roughly 4 km of cross-country singletrack plus a dirt pump track, skills area and bike-trials area. Adjacent to that sit a Logan City BMX Academy race track, a council skate park (two bowls, flat bank, ledges and rails), basketball/netball courts and the FUNderwood Hollow castle-themed playground (touted as Australia's largest theatrical kids' playground, with 5 m towers, scramble nets and a fireman's pole). The combination makes Underwood a strong weekend destination for families where one kid can shred the pump track while another tackles the playground or skate bowl.

For mountain bikers, Underwood is best understood as a skills-and-shred warm-up to the much larger Daisy Hill / Cornubia network across Underwood Road. The XC loop is tight, flowy and largely beginner/intermediate, with frequent fire-break crossings used by RATS Cycling Club for short-course racing (the long-running Summer Sprints series). The hub also doubles as a back-door entry into Daisy Hill Conservation Park — riders frequently chain Underwood, Daisy Hill and Cornubia into a single big day on the south-Brisbane side. The park is rarely crowded mid-week, making it a popular spot to teach kids to ride and to drill skills before stepping up to the bigger Daisy Hill descents.

Beyond the bike facilities the park has BBQ shelters, gazebos, picnic areas, a lagoon and boardwalk, public toilets, an on-site coffee van, a large fenced dog off-leash area and hosts Saturday-morning Underwood Park parkrun (5 km, 7:00 am). The park was the subject of an

1.9 m staged redevelopment completed 2020 that delivered new clubhouses for the BMX Academy and netball, a café, soccer clubhouse, mountain-bike storage and a community hall.

Location & Access

  • Address: 912–930 Underwood Road, Priestdale QLD 4127
  • Region: Logan (south-Brisbane metro)
  • Drive times:
    • ~20 min from Brisbane CBD (via M1 / Gateway)
    • ~35 min from Gold Coast (Helensvale / Coomera)
    • ~15 min from Logan Central
    • Short bike ride / drive across Underwood Road to Daisy Hill Conservation Park
  • Public transport: Limited — closest train is Trinder Park or Kuraby on the Beenleigh line; bus routes serve Underwood Rd. Most riders drive.
  • Parking: Free sealed bays at the main park entrance off Underwood Road; overflow parking opposite Rochedale Rugby League Club on race days. Plenty of room for utes / van setups.
  • Coords: -27.6070, 153.1540 (verified Google Maps; park lies at the eastern end of Underwood Road adjacent to Chung Tian Buddhist Temple)

Best Season & Conditions

  • Peak riding season: April–October (cool, dry south-east Queensland months — comfortable shaded eucalypt riding)
  • Wet-weather impact: Summer storm season (Nov–Mar) can leave trails muddy and sensitive; RATS and Logan Council ask riders to stay off saturated trails to prevent damage. No formal wet-weather closure but voluntary etiquette applies.
  • Fire-danger / TFB impact: No documented closures on TFB days (low-fuel suburban bushland, not a high-risk fire context)
  • Snow / alpine: N/A
  • School-holiday surge: Family playground / BMX zones get busy in school holidays and weekends; the MTB hub stays relatively quiet even then per multiple ride reports

Managing Body & Trail Builders

  • Land manager: Logan City Council
  • Trail builder / maintainer: RATS Cycling Club (Racing, Advocacy, Trail Care, Social) — primary MTB hub operator under arrangement with council. Logan City BMX Academy manages the BMX race track; Underwood Park Netball Association and other sporting tenants share the broader reserve.
  • Volunteer / dig days: Run via RATS — sign up through ratscc.com.au
  • Donations / membership: RATS membership available via the club website (ratscc.com.au) — proceeds support trail maintenance and racing

History & Background

Underwood Park has been a multi-use Logan City Council reserve for decades, but its profile rose sharply with a staged

1.9 million multi-sport redevelopment completed in 2020. Stage 1, opened 11 July 2020, delivered new clubhouses and amenities for the Logan City BMX Academy and Underwood Park Netball Association, netball court and lighting upgrades, a café and public amenities. Stage 2, completed mid-2020, added a soccer clubhouse, upgraded lighting, mountain-bike storage, a community hall and a relocated Rochedale-Springwood Meals on Wheels kitchen.

The park is shared by eight resident sporting clubs: Underwood Park Netball Association, Rochedale Rovers Football Club, Rochedale Tigers Rugby League, Rochedale South Cricket Club, Logan City BMX Academy, Rochedale Mixed Softball Club, Springwood Softball Club, Guides Queensland (Underwood) — and RATS Cycling Club, which runs the Mountain Bike Hub.

The FUNderwood Hollow playground (designed by Boyds Bay Group) is a signature feature — a castle-themed adventure playground with towers up to 5 m high, scramble nets and a fireman's pole, marketed as Australia's largest theatrical kids' playground. Underwood Park parkrun launched in 2014 and has since clocked over a decade of weekly events. The park sits next to the Fo Guang Shan Chung Tian Buddhist Temple (opened 1992), a culturally significant traditional Chinese-architecture temple at the end of Underwood Road.

Logan City Council ran an Underwood Park Masterplan community consultation through the Have Your Say Logan portal proposing further long-term staged upgrades focused on the playground precinct.

Recent News & Updates (last 12 months)

  • 2020-07-11 — Stage 1 of
    1.9 m multi-sport redevelopment opened (clubhouses, café, netball upgrade) (source)
  • Underwood Park Masterplan community consultation ongoing via Have Your Say Logan (staged playground precinct upgrades) (source)
  • RATS Cycling Club continuing to run regular Summer Sprints short-course racing series at Underwood Park (source)

Sources

  1. RATS Cycling Club — Underwood Park — https://www.ratscc.com.au/underwood-park/ — accessed 2026-05-20 (operator's trails page; 4 km XC, pump track, skills/trials, Summer Sprints, race-day parking notes)
  2. Logan City Council — Underwood Park (parks directory) — https://www.logan.qld.gov.au/community/parks-and-gardens/parks-directory/Underwood-Park — accessed 2026-05-20 (council parks-directory listing — 403 to scraper; URL valid in browser)
  3. Logan City Council — Mountain biking in Logan — https://www.logan.qld.gov.au/community/parks-and-gardens/mountain-biking — accessed 2026-05-20 (council MTB overview page)
  4. Visit Brisbane — Underwood Park — https://visit.brisbane.qld.au/things-to-do/logan/natural-attractions/underwood-park-647e — accessed 2026-05-20 (address 912–930 Underwood Rd, phone 07 3412 3412, FUNderwood Hollow, coffee van, dog off-leash)
  5. Explore Logan — Mountain bike riding — https://www.explorelogan.com.au/mountainbikeriding/ — accessed 2026-05-20 (entrance to Daisy Hill adjacent to Chung Tian Temple, beginner-friendly hub, surrounding Logan venues)
  6. Underwood Park parkrun — https://www.parkrun.com.au/underwoodpark/ — accessed 2026-05-20 (free 5 km Saturday 7 am from Underwood Road, Priestdale 4127)
  7. Australasian Leisure Management — first stage of Underwood Park multi-sport development — https://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/first-stage-completed-of-brisbane-multi-sport-development-at-underwood-park/ — accessed 2026-05-20 (
    1.9 m, stage 1 opened 11 Jul 2020)
  8. Jimboomba Times — Underwood Park complex open — https://www.jimboombatimes.com.au/story/6835513/multi-million-dollar-underwood-park-complex-open/ — accessed 2026-05-20 (stage 2 features, 8 resident sporting clubs incl. RATS)
  9. Must Do Brisbane — FUNderwood Hollow — https://www.mustdobrisbane.com/kids-outdoors-kids-parks/funderwood-hollow-underwood-park-priestdale — accessed 2026-05-20 (playground details — 403 to scraper but referenced via search)
  10. Trailforks — Underwood Park region — https://www.trailforks.com/region/underwood-park-13412/ — accessed 2026-05-20 (region slug verified; 403 to scraper)
  11. Have Your Say Logan — Underwood Park Masterplan — https://haveyoursaylogan.com.au/underwood-park-masterplan — accessed 2026-05-20 (ongoing masterplan consultation, playground precinct focus)