Things to do with kids in Alice Springs

The Desert Park is 7km from the centre of town, with easy trails through desert river, woodland and sand country habitats. Kids can watch free-flying birds of prey in the Nature Theatre and spot rare animals in the Nocturnal House. Allow three to four hours; it opens 7.30am to 6pm daily, and under-5s enter free.

Keepers bring out lizards and snakes at 11am, 1pm and 3.30pm daily, and visitors may get to handle selected reptiles. The centre is on Stuart Terrace, about a 10-minute walk from Todd Mall, with free parking outside. A family pass for two adults and two kids was $66 in October 2026, and children under four are free.

The Flying Doctor's Alice Springs base has a museum about how the service grew. Kids can sit inside a replica PC-12 plane, fly as a patient in virtual reality and meet founder John Flynn in a life-size hologram show. The old radio rooms and the communications centre, kept as it was in 1939, show how the outback stayed in touch.

This is the best preserved station on the Overland Telegraph Line, 4km north of town off the Stuart Highway. The historic buildings open 8am to 4pm daily, and the grounds have picnic tables under gum trees, a cafe and bike hire. Short walks start here, and so does the first section of the Larapinta Trail.

Anzac Hill sits in the middle of town, and you can drive or walk to the top. The lookout takes in all of Alice Springs and the MacDonnell Ranges, with memorials and signs about the wars Australia has fought. From 1939, the hill held an army camp for troops carrying supplies north to Darwin.

The visit starts in the Old Ghan Museum, with a steam engine and the old Ghan train parked out the front. Sheds of classic cars and trucks follow, ending with Bertha, Australia's first road train. Allow an hour and a half and bring lunch, as there is no cafe; the museum closes from 13 December 2026 to 11 January 2027.

EJ Connellan built the town's first aerodrome here in 1939, and his airline's old hangar now holds this museum. Inside are two early Flying Doctor planes and other historic aircraft. Volunteers open it from 11am to 3pm, Wednesday to Sunday, and donations are welcome.

The Alice Springs Aquatic & Leisure Centre has an outdoor 50m pool and an indoor pool with a beach entry and a lazy river. Its two water slides run on weekends and public holidays. From September to April it opens 6am to 7pm on weekdays, 8am to 7pm on Saturdays and 9am to 7pm on Sundays.