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 Mt Barney National Park

(South East Queensland)

Very Hard

9.6 km return

3 hrs

Logan's Gorge

A cool offtrack walk. This is an offtrack walk and good navigational skills are mandatory

Hard

7.4 km return

3 hrs

Lower Portals

This was my first overnight hike. It was challenging, but not ridiculous. A good beginners walk.
I highly recommend going for a dip in the creek even in Winter. It was like an ice bath for my tired muscles :)

Hard

10.5 km return

5 hrs

Montserrat Lookout and Upper Portals Circuit

An awesome day out taking in these two spectacular locations, enjoying the amazing views of Mt Barney from Montserrat Lookout, and exploring the Portals. There are a couple of leg-burning climbs involved, but the rewards are worth it.

Very Hard

15 km return

11 hrs

Mount Barney South East Ridge

Big day on the mountain. Up and back down the SE Ridge.
Well worth all the aches and pains.

Very Hard

11 km return

9 hrs

Mount Ernest

IMPORTANT: The route to Mount Ernest from Yellow Pinch via the northeast ridge involve traversing private property. You should contact NPRSR to obtain contact details for the landowner in order to obtain permission to enter private property.

Mount Ernest lies on the opposite (northern) side of Mount Lindesay Highway from its namesake, and provides spectacular views of Mount Barney to the north. While much lower than the main peaks of Mount Barney, routes to the summit of Mount Ernest are less trodden take just as long.

Hard

5 km return

4 hrs

Mount Maroon Caves

A walk up from Cotswold trailhead to a cave on the northern side of the mountain.

Off track bush-bashing and some climbing.

Hard

12.9 km return

6 hrs

Mount Maroon Southern Route

This alternate route up Mount Maroon begins from the end of Dynans Hut Road following the fire trail until Paddy Plain Remote Bush Camp after which the small creek named Paddys Gully is followed upstream for a short way before turning right at the fork in the creek and following this mostly dry tributary up the Southern flanks of Mount Maroon. The exposed creek bed is followed up hill for a while until you exit it on the righthand side to join the forested gully you follow for the majority of the way up until the plateau. Once the plateau has been gained its not long until you run into the main tourist path and follow it up to the summit. Trail up the Southern flanks of Mount Maroon is off trail / overgrown and navigation skills will be needed.

Hard

9 km return

5.5 hrs

Mount May

A challenging half day circuit walk of Mount May with great views of the surrounding mountains.

Hard

12 km return

8 hrs

Mowburra Peak

A slightly less travelled walk up a steep grassy ridge and then disappear into rain forest to get to a small cleared rocky slab with wonderful views out to Mt Barney.

Very Hard

17 km return

10 hrs

Mt Barney - East Peak - South Ridge

South Ridge is the easiest track up Mt Barney (but it's NOT easy!). Sometimes referred to as Peasants' Ridge (a dig that only Peasants would take such a boring route up the mountain), South Ridge is an excellent choice for a first ascent of Barney. The track has triangular trail markers but there are still opportunities for navigational difficulties if you're inexperienced.

You MUST start early in the day. Expected time is 8-10 hours with almost 1200m of climbing from the carpark. Make sure to leave early to allow time for any mishaps and be prepared to turn back if necessary.