Summary

The Sunshine State

Queensland has a wealth of bushwalking opportunities including multiple World Heritage Listed rainforests such as the Daintree and Lamington National Park, great coastal and island parks like Fraser Island and Hinchinbrook Island.

Other Information

World Heritage Areas

• Fraser Island
• Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (Lamington NP, Springbrook NP, Mount Chinghee NP, Mount Barney NP, Main Range NP)
• Great Barrier Reef
• Riversleigh
• Wet Tropics (Daintree NP, Barron Gorge NP, Cedar Bay NP, Girringun NP, Wooroonooran NP)

Contact details

Queensland Parks and Forest:
https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/

Regions

The link below provides a region map of QLD as a reference to what council zones are included in the 7 geographic regions of QLD.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_Queensland#/media/File:Qld-regions-map.gif

1. Far North Queensland
2. North Queesnland
3. Central Queensland
4. Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday
5. Wide Bay Burnett
6. Darling Downs South West
7. South East Queensland

Walks in Idalia National Park

(Central Queensland)

Easy

2.7 km return

90 mins

Bullock Gorge

Bullock Gorge walk—2.7km return (Allow 1–2hrs)
Grade 3
The start of Bullock Gorge walk is 14.7km north of the Monks Tank camping area. Rock markers define the walk along the Gowan Range’s ridge top through bendee shrubland. Take care here, as there are steep gorges on either side.
Look for small diggings of echidnas on the track. Watch the sun rise or set over spectacular gorges and look for yellow-footed rock-wallabies. While sitting, you have a wallaby’s eye view of the herbs they seek among the forest of trunks. Remember, bring a torch for sunset walks.

Hard

4.4 km

3 hrs

Emmet Pocket

Emmet Pock is in Idalia National park whick is 113kms south west of Blackall. This is a difficult walk with steep grades up and down the gorge walls but is well worth the effort. I found walking poles were worth there weight in gold. There are four walks to do while in this park all easier than this one.

Emmet Pocket walk—4.4km return (Allow 2–3hrs)
Grade 5
Beginning at Emmet Pocket lookout this steep meandering track leads into a gorge where the plains of the outback spread out before you—laid out like a map. Trees mark the waterways that stretch from rocks to river channels.

Easy

200 m return

30 mins

Rainbow Gorge

Rainbow Gorge walk—200m return (Allow 30–45mins to explore)
Grade 3
The entrance to Rainbow Gorge is about 4km north of Monks Tank camping area. Walk 100m downstream to see a mass of white, red and yellow-stained sandstone. The creek drains into the Barcoo River via Thornleigh Creek.

Easy

1.2 km

1 hr

Wave Rock

This is an easy walk and one of three easy walks that make up this parks attractions. The tracks can be hard to find at times but the grading is easy although very stony, the wave rock feature is the highlight of this walk and provided great views of the surrounding park.

Wave rock walk—1.2km return (Allow 1–2hrs)
Grade 4
From Old Idalia, walk past the old ship’s tank to reach the cliff overhang shaped like a wave. Wind, sun and time are nature’s carving tool here; sunset is the paintbrush. Panoramic views from the top of the cliff give an idea of the size of the park and its diverse vegetation.

Walks in Kroombit Tops National Park

(Central Queensland)

Very Easy

700 m

30 mins

Beautiful Betsy Bomber Crash Site

700m return trip which leads to a crashed 1945 bomber that was not discovered for 49 years after crashing, killing all occupants. Interpretive signage has been erected by Qld NP. Please respect the site, it is the last resting place of many Australian and American Airmen.

Medium

13 km return

4 hrs

Escarpment Track

A quite easy track as it is a fire track so wide open and not really at that rough terrain. It is however a 13km one-way , so either have someone dropping you off at one location and collecting at the other. This Starts at " The Barracks" and ends at the Lookout or visa versa. Nice and quite away from all the 4WD action.

Easy

300 m return

10 mins

Rainforest Walk

Tropical rainforest spot in what other is a Blackbutt forest . Has a small creek that runs through it and is a change compare to rest of this park.
An easy 300m circuit

Very Easy

100 m return

10 mins

The Lookout Walk

Suitable for wheelchairs—this track has a natural hard dirt surface, a gentle incline, and single roadway width. Spectacular views from the eastern escarpment looking over the Boyne Valley—look for ribbons of dark green rainforest among the paler eucalyptus woodlands in the valley below.

Walks in Minerva Hills National Park

(Central Queensland)

Easy

1.6 km return

45 mins

Skyline Lookout

From the car park a fairly level track leads to two viewing platforms that look south to Virgin Rock on Mount Zamia and the Springsure township, and north to the rich farming country beyond Eclipse Gap.

Easy

2 km return

45 mins

Springsure Lookout

Fairly easy hike to the lookout when leaving the car at the scenic drive and walk further up. Has some nice views of the town of Springsure