Gran Parque Mijas

Gran Parque Mijas is an enormous new public park in Las Lagunas de Mijas, free to enter, and already one of the most ambitious green spaces on the Costa del Sol. A large lake with the colourful 'Mijas' letters, wide boulevards, plazas and a genuinely huge spread of children's play areas give it real standout potential — this could realistically become the jewel in the crown of parks across the wider Málaga area.

The scale and the range of things to do are the headline. Children can scoot, skate and cycle across wide, smooth paving, work their way through multiple large playgrounds, and there is plenty of open space for the whole family to spread out. It is the kind of place you could return to often and use differently each time.

The catch, and it is a significant one right now, is shade — or the lack of it. The park is still young, and the trees that have been planted have not yet grown enough to shelter the space. On a hot day the grounds feel large, open and very exposed, and finding anywhere cool to regroup is difficult. We visited on a hot July afternoon and it was hard going in the heat.

That exposure affects the play areas too. As good as the range is, none of the installations are shaded, so through the afternoon the equipment gets hot and is not really fully usable until the sun drops. For summer visits especially, timing matters: go early in the morning or in the evening. Helpfully, the park stays open until midnight in summer, so an evening visit once it cools is by far the best experience.

One facility still to come is the cafeteria. It is already signposted but not yet open, so for now you are limited to whatever snacks and drinks you bring with you. Once it opens it should make a real difference to how long families can comfortably stay, and how much the park gets used day to day.

Getting there and parking is worth planning, as there are two access points. The first is from the Camino Viejo de Coín, where you cross a dry river bed — it is concreted, but in the winter months it can have water running across it. The second is via the back road behind the Miramar shopping centre, heading out towards the Hipódromo (the old horse-racing course), with the entrance to the car park down a dirt road on your right. Both accesses still have improvements to make on accessibility, but the car park itself is large and has plenty of reserved spaces for disabled parking.

Overall, Gran Parque Mijas is an exciting, high-potential park that already offers exceptional value for free. As the trees mature and the café opens, it should become a genuine destination in its own right — for now, plan around the heat, bring your own supplies, and aim for the cooler hours.