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 Central Queensland

Easy

800 m

18 mins

Isla Gorge

An easy walk from the camping ground along a rocky ridge to the end of a spur where you can view the spectacular gorge below. This is a landmark for those more intrepid walkers who venture down into the gorge where there are no set tracks. This is scrambling at its best - quite difficult and, in late September, very hot. We trekked down into the gorge and made our way through thick scrub to the other side to camp overnight. Heavy going with backpacks laden with water bottles. The return hike back up the spur to the camp grounds was quite arduous, but all in all, well worth the effort.

Medium

3.5 km return

90 mins

Lark Quarry Conservation Park

Most people come here for the Dinosaur Stampede exhibit, a unique preservation of footprints and multimedia presentation of how they may have come to be. Around the site are a couple of walks - the Spinifex circuit (500m, 30mins) and Jump-Up Loop (90mins, 3.5km) - that showcase the arid landscape around this area and are well-signposted with information cards to entertain the young and old and worthwhile either before or after viewing the Stampede. Do take a hat and water. The sun is cruel even in winter.

Hard

1.8 km return

90 mins

Mount Baga

Mt Baga (formerly Mt Jim Crow) is a volcanic plug of trachyte, sitting alone on a flat plain at over 200m high. There are a few different tracks up which include steep walks. One section is a loose rock scramble for about 60m. Beautiful views. Easy bushwalk to the base of the mountain. A quick but hard climb up to the top.

Hard

7 km return

4 hrs

Mount Larcom Walk

A steep climb up to the Mount Larcom TV relay station. Follow the blue dots and yellow markers and you can't go wrong. The beginning of the track is approximately 2kms and winds towards the base of the climb, lots of loose dirt and grass surrounding the trail. Cross the wooden bridge and the trail is straight up from there. Most of the trail is covered in very loose rock and dirt, lots of tree roots sticking up out of the ground - they make excellent footholds but watch your footing as it can be slippery on the way down. The last section involves some rock scrambling and whilst it is almost vertical towards the peak, three points of contact at all times is easily achieved. Bring plenty of water, at least 2ltrs per person, even in the Winter as this is a fairly strenuous hike. Beware if you have knee issues and the decent is punishing. Your quads will burn with that awesome workout feeling. Anyone can do this climb however some just need to take the full 4hrs turnaround.

Easy

500 m return

15 mins

Mt Archer Skywalk

A circuit track on Mt Archer with lookouts over the surrounds of Rockhampton

Very Hard

14 km return

6 hrs

Mt Hutton

Mt Hutton provides sensational 360-degree views out towards Injune and the surrounding Maranoa region.

Medium

1 km

30 mins

Mt Scoria

Mt Scoria, the 'musical mountain', near Thangool, close to Biloela.

Easy

600 m return

30 mins

Paperbark Forest Boardwalk

*** The Paperbark Forest Walk is closed. Reedy Creek Reserve is a small conservation area which unfortunately become overwhelmed by visitors, to the point where the walk, the forest and wetlands were being damaged. Literally thousands of people were visiting the site, ignoring the signage and causing the walk, the road and car park to become a foot and vehicle traffic jam. Please do no attempt to access the boardwalk or enter the reserve. ***

This short trail is an exciting walk for all the family, with stepping stones, boardwalks and water crossings as you meander through a magnificent and picturesque Paperbark Forest.

Medium

5.6 km return

2 hrs

Red Rock Walking Trail

This picturesque walk crosses three beaches and corresponding headlands to Red Rock Headland, providing beautiful coastal scenery along the way. It is not uncommon to see a family of wallabies in the shade of one of the headlands, as well as White Bellied Sea Eagles cruising over the water.

Easy

3.3 km return

90 mins

Round Hill Creek & Headland Track

This walk combines both the Creek and Headland Tracks and provides a great little stroll from Captain Cook's Landing Memorial, along the foreshore via the 1770 Butterfly Walk to Round Hill's Bustard Bay and Wave Lookout's with splendid views in all directions.
It's worth planning for a swim along the calm shoreline of Round Hill Creek. Look out for the Blue Tiger Butterflies especially in autumn.