The lake was a gravel pit. It was dug out to build the M60 embankment, and it now holds 52 acres of water inside 152 acres of parkland. The path round the water is flat and well surfaced, which makes it one of the easier proper walks in south Manchester with small children, and there is woodland, meadow and river frontage beyond it if you want to keep going.
Trafford Water Sports Centre runs instructed taster sessions in paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing and sailing for ages seven and up, and hires out equipment. All of it is booked and paid for through the centre, not the council. Toilets are in the visitor centre and the watersports buildings, and the council lists a cafe and a restaurant on site.
It is open dawn until dusk with two free car parks, and that is exactly the problem. In June 2026 Trafford Council publicly asked visitors to stop driving there at peak times on warm days, citing traffic jams, inconsiderate parking and routes blocked for emergency vehicles.
Come by tram, come early, or come in October when nobody else does.
What it costs: Free to enter and free to park. Watersports at Trafford Water Sports Centre are booked and paid for separately and the centre's prices are not published on Trafford Council's own pages.
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