People are drawn to aquatic ecosystems. In many protected areas, visitor numbers are highest in and around aquatic sites and in many of these sites, visitor activities can have negative impacts on aquatic ecosystem integrity and functioning. Drawing on studies in lake and stream environments in southeast Queensland, Australia, and exploring a range of visitor activity types (including swimming, horse riding and 4WD crossings) I analysed the spatial and temporal dimensions of the impacts of visitor activities. The analyses revealed a range of impacts across spatial and temporal scales. While many are short-term and spatially restricted, like increases in turbidity linked to specific activities which re-suspend sediment, others manifest over longer temporal scales, like when nutrient inputs can stimulate algal production in peak seasons at high use sites. Over even longer time frames, there is evidence that visitor activities can modify ecologies and interact with climate drivers to the point that human-mediated inputs permanently alter the structure and functioning of aquatic food webs. Taken together, these diverse studies of recreation impacts in wild places highlight the importance of understanding the ecosystem in question as well as the spatial and temporal dimensions of visitor activities in order to predict and measure impacts. This study brings together biophysical and ecological datasets with spatial and temporal understanding of visitor seasonality to create a framework to inform the creation and implementation of management and monitoring strategies that safeguard and protect aquatic species and habitats when they are most vulnerable, while also ensuring that wild aquatic places can be enjoyed for generations to come.