Canberra has plenty of shared paths for cycling, running and walking.
12 December 2024
Want to move more without spending more?
Here are 10 ideas for increasing your activity levels while spending little to no extra money.
Running
You'd be hard-pressed to find a better city for running. Canberra boasts beautiful scenery and plenty of footpaths weaving through the city.
No matter which side of the lake you live on, there's a beautiful route near you.
The bridge-to-bridge run around Lake Burley Griffin is a popular choice. Lake Ginninderra and Lake Tuggeranong are also great options.
Read the Canberran's guide to running.
Hiking/bushwalking
All the above routes are excellent for walking, as are mountains including Mount Ainslie, Mount Taylor and Mount Majura.
To really make the most of the outdoors, why not visit one of the ACT’s 90 parks? They range from urban parks to the great Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.
Visit the Parks ACT website to find places to explore on foot, as well as tips on preparing and staying safe.
Outdoor fitness stations
There is free fitness equipment available across Canberra.
You'll find most of them in public parks. Locations include:
- John Knight Memorial Park
- Theodore Neighbourhood Oval
- Eddison District Park
- Lake Ginninderra District Park
- Haig Park
- Lennox Gardens
- Crace Community Recreation Park
- Franklin Community Recreation Park
- Moncrieff Community Recreation Park.
Visit the City Services website to find more locations as well as sample workouts.
Cycling
Our bike-friendly city offers an excellent network of shared paths and on-road bike lanes.
Incorporating bike riding into your daily commute is an environmentally friendly, affordable and easy way to increase your fitness.
Over 90 per cent of Transport Canberra buses have bike racks. There are also four bike racks in each light rail vehicle, so you can easily combine cycling with other transport methods.
Don’t have a bike? Visit the Pedal Power ACT website to read about The Bike Library, a service providing free long-term access to second-hand bikes.
Read more about cycling in Canberra on the Transport ACT website.
Disc golf
You may have spotted the elevated metal baskets in parks across Canberra. These are part of a disc golf course and are available for public use.
Disc golf is like a cross between frisbee and golf using a flying discs.
There are courses in Belconnen's John Knight Memorial Park, Eddison Park in Woden and Weston Park in Yarralumla.
Skateboarding
Whether you're skating through the streets or doing tricks at a skatepark, skateboarding is a fun hobby that will keep you active.
There are seven major skate parks across Canberra suitable for all levels:
- Belconnen – with a new half-pipe recently built
- Canberra City
- Eddison Park
- Weston
- Tuggeranong
- Erindale
- Yerrabi District Park.
There are an additional 12 parks that offer skate features, so you'll never be short of locations to practice.
If you like the idea of skating but aren't quite ready to invest in a skateboard, you can drop into a free Learn to Skateboard session.
These are hosted by the Canberra Skateboarding Association with the help of local volunteer skateboarders.
Helmets and boards are provided, and all ages and experience levels are welcome.
Find out more about the Learn to Skateboard sessions, and visit the City Services website to locate a skatepark near you.
Yoga
Your local library might not be the first place you consider for trying out yoga, but perhaps it should be.
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of yoga books available to borrow from Libraries ACT.
With this large collection, you can find a type of yoga to meet your needs, including:
- Yoga for arthritis
- Yoga for people over 40
- Yoga for pregnancy
- Yoga for beginners
- Yoga for children
- Yoga for the inflexible male.
There are also e-books, audio books and DVDs available to borrow.
Visit the Libraries ACT website or pop into your local library to search for a free yoga resource.
Northside Community Service also run free community yoga classes at the Salthouse Community Centre in Braddon.
The classes run for five weeks at a time.
Registrations have closed, but you can express your interest for the 2025 program.
Find out more and register your interest.
Tennis
Many of Canberra's tennis clubs are private and require a fee. However, some of Canberra's parks do have tennis courts and tennis practice walls.
You can find tennis facilities at:
- Crace Community Recreation Park
- Franklin Community Recreation Park
- Kambah District Park
- Moncrieff Community Recreation Park.
Visit the Parks ACT website to find more information.
Game On
Game On is a program run by the Physical Activity Foundation and supported by the ACT Government.
The initiative is run in suburbs across the ACT to get as many Canberrans participating as possible.
It is free and family-friendly, and includes activities like walking, ball skills, bike skills, navigation and athletics.
The 2024 program is yet to be released, but keep an eye on the Physical Activity Foundation website.
Dog walking
If you're someone who needs a friend to keep you accountable to your exercise goals, there is no one better for the job than a dog.
Your furry friend needs to stay as active just as much as you do, and upping your walks together is sure to get their tail wagging.
Find ideas for where to take your dog for exercise and socialisation.
If you don't have your own dog, and aren't ready to commit to adopting one, you could volunteer at Domestic Animal Services.
You need to have previous experience with dogs, and you'll need to undertake some training.
It's a great way to help some hounds and increase your activity levels.
Bonus entry: find a sport
Archery, pickleball, boxing, jujitsu… there are so many sporting groups in the ACT.
Canberra’s sporting community is large, inclusive and always looking for new members.
Many sporting organisations host 'come and try' days or similar programs where you can get a taste of the sport before committing to a season.
Visit the Sport and Recreation website to search for a sport and find the relevant organisation.
It also includes a list of specific sports/organisations for people with a disability.
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