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 North Queensland

Easy

800 m return

20 mins

JCU Walking Track

The JCU Walking Track is a joint project of TropEco and JCU Discovery Rise. 493 well-maintained steps through beautiful bushland up to a gorgeous view of Townsville out to the ocean and James Cook University. Kangaroos, crickets and other critters are common along this enjoyable walk.

Easy

3 km return

1 hr

Julia Creek Nature Trail

Located behind the caravan park, the nature trail offers a chance to see some of the local birds and wildlife, especially if you do the walk either in the early morning or late afternoon.

Easy

5 km return

1 hr

Lake Ross Walk

There is a Gravel track directly next to Lake Ross where you can walk along as far as you like.
Good view over Lake Ross and the Mountains in the Background.

Medium

3.5 km return

1 hr

Mount Louisa Bush Walking Track

Popular walking track for fitness enthusiasts, 3.5km circuit track contains many stair climbs along the way to reach the summit and enjoy sweeping views to the north-east across Townsville and Cleveland Bay out to Magnetic Island, as well as views from the ridgeline and summit extending south-west from Mount Stuart to Kirwan.

Very Hard

5.2 km return

6 hrs

Mount Robert

Standing about 1000m high, Mt Robert, in the Boyne Valley is the highest mountain between the Gold Coast and Townsville. The Boyne Valley is a rural locality in Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. Mt Robert is situated on private property therefore can only be climbed when the family allows access usually once a year around July.

Hard

15 km

3 hrs

Mount Stuart

15km return walk from the steep roads ahead sign. 7.5km of continual uphill then 7.5 back down. There are no tracks available to the public so you need to walk up the narrow road.

Hard

600 m return

1 hr

Pompeii Cave

Pompeii Cave can be accessed from the Donna Cave car park, 1.8km south of Chillagoe. From the car park, a well-formed track with many steps leads through deciduous vine forest to Pompeii Cave—a cleft in the rock filled with large boulders, the remnants of a previous collapse.

Inside this small cave, look for bats sleeping high in dark crevices and rock-wallabies hopping from boulder to boulder. A short but steep climb to the bottom reveals a dark passage and some attractive formations. Be careful not to walk on or touch cave decorations such as flowstone or cave coral. Torches are required.

Easy

500 m return

45 mins

The Archways

The archways walk is spectacular, with narrow passage connecting larger caverns. You'll want to take the most photos at the Art Site and the end of the Archways walk.
NOTE: There are bats in the archways. There is one small hole you are required to crawl through however there is daylight on both sides.

Hard

13.4 km return

4 hrs

The Bump Track

A steep but relatively straightforward walk that takes you from the Mowbray River Valley near Port Douglas to the Black Mountain Road.

Walks in Magnetic Island National Park

(North Queensland)

Medium

1.2 km return

30 mins

Hawkings Point Lookout

Short walk up to a lookout with lovely views of the island.