The Northbrook River Trail (Northbrook Gorges)

Getting there

Drive past Maiala Park at Mt Glorious. Follow the road down past Wivenhoe lookout and drive steeply down the road and at the first bridge crossing at the bottom, park near the bridge.

Maps

Brisbane Forest Park map.

Route/Trail notes

From the carpark area, which is small 2 cars only, follow a rough track down into the creek and start walking upstream. Depending on the season and rainfall this will vary but usually it is usually a pleasant 30 min walk to the first gorge. You will usually need to swim through this gorge or follow a steep path on the left up and over. I found swimming easier, so take a surfmat. After swimming through the gorge continue to pick a way up towards the second gorge. When you reach this gorge after about 30 more minutes either swim through or look again for a faint track on the left hand side, which will join up high with a faint steep track that will lead to Wivenhoe lookout.

once you have enjoyed and explored this area, simply retrace your steps and swims. great in summer. there seems to be some unofficial campsiteson this walk.

Permits/Costs

Nil unless camping then $5.

Other References

Nil.

Comments

Fantastic walk! Swimming and some light scrambling will be required.

Recommended skipping the first little part of the walk and parking at https://maps.app.goo.gl/5S4FyNRHg68Dyntv7 (Google maps link, Street view clearly shows the car park). From the car park, walk across the street and follow the path along behind the guard rail down to the start of the trail, a steep downhill path. Can't miss it! At the bottom, follow the creek to the left.

There's no choice but to wade and swim through a lot of this trail, so make sure to bring some waterproof bagging if you have anything you don't want to get wet.

Leeches are present, but between two of us I only got one bite...
James on 17 May, 2020

Fantastic walk, was a little busier than expected but enjoyable none the less.
BearVSL on 21 Mar, 2020

Amazing.
Juiced Pixels on 16 Feb, 2020

FAILURE!

We followed google maps to get started. This showed us to park at Lawton Rd (WAY before WIvenhoe lookout - d'oh!!)
Had only two car parks - so matches description.
Was a fire trail all the way down, so we know something didn't match below.

It COULD get you to the Gorges from the southside, so we thought we were on track.

Better luck next time.
Stephen Kress on 26 May, 2019

👍🏼 Great first walk down stream in fresh cool
Water . Teens had a blast too . Definitely expect to get wet but it’s very refreshing. Well worth it !
Frantek on 9 Apr, 2019

The walk was a little harder than anticipated. We decided to wear Aqua shoes to walk through the creek/rough path, these were great for the most part but would definitely recommend studier shoes or cheap sneakers you don't mind getting completely soaked. The 'carpark area' wasn't hard to find nor was the rough path down to the creek (as mentioned above). When you get to the creek from the car park, someone has made a marker with a large stick and a rock spray painted pink.

Parts of the walk were pretty slippery from the moss on the rocks. Would recommend taking a small waterproofed bag if you're bringing a bag at all as some parts require a little swim and rock scrambling to get to the next part. Be careful in some of the swim/scramble parts as there a few hidden rocks that are really slippery. For the most part, the water is really clear but If someone has gone through just before you (this happened to us) then the water gets a little murky from it being stirred and this makes it a little hard to find your footing to climb out of the gorges.

Overall it's a fun hike and the gorges are absolutely fun to swim in (the water was pretty cold though).
wilde.tash on 9 Mar, 2019

Great walk! Made it to the end:) it can be done from the car park after the bridge going upstream or from the larger top car park going downstream
Ella on 9 Mar, 2019

Beautiful little walk! Did it on a Tuesday morning and we had it all to ourselves.

We walked through the water a lot of the time, but there are actually little tracks that people have made up the sides for most of the way.
emma on 5 Mar, 2019

I went here today, was such a delight! A beautiful scenic drive through Mt Glorious to the hike start bend. Definitely take a waterproof bag if you want to climb up the rocks and keep going at the last big swimming part. It's very deep and a little tricky to get up but I had to leave my bag and went a little further without it. If I went again i'd be taking reef shoes for the rock hopping and goggles. Very very slippery rocks submerged under water be careful. This place is amazing, definitely on par with Mt Barney Lower Portals just a smaller hike and smaller pools.
Rhino351 on 26 Feb, 2019

A great walk along the creek, some swimming and scrambling but nothing too hard. will take a water proof bag next time maybe.. we parked at the top carpark and about 200m down the road is a shortcut to the creek if there's no parks at the bottom.
Dean on 16 Feb, 2019

Great walk! Not too strenuous but would recommend sturdy shoes that can get wet. The gorges are great little swimming spots! It was lovely and cool with heaps of wildlife sightings.
Christina M Forrest on 20 Jan, 2019

Great walk. Water crysal clear and lovely to swim in.
Mackamcb on 11 Jan, 2019

We did this track today with our two daughters age 4 and 6. Awesome walk a little slow going with the girls well wort the time though.
Andrew on 6 Jan, 2019

A great one to do in summer... the water is lovely and cool. Done with 2 kids - 4 & almost 6 and they managed it fine.... and it was lots of fun splashing about cooling off.
The path in and out is steep when parked at the U bend.
Jo on 6 Jan, 2019

It was so refreshing walking up the creek and taking in the surroundings. Great swimming spots! We were lucky with parking, gets busier later in the day. Still quite a secret spot though.
Nickii & Nouri on 5 Jan, 2019

Amazing and incredibly fun. Perfect summer day walk. Don’t be afraid to get wet at the start, you will be soaked before the gorges. 😂
Natalie on 2 Jan, 2019

Don't try and exit at the lookout from the gorge. You'll get lost and spend hours fighting your way through thick lantana. Not fun at the time. Good story afterwards at least
Shmick on 28 Dec, 2018

From the Maiala park to the bridge was around 12k, so further than expected. The walk was amazing and easy enough for kids, providing they can swim a few metres or else be carried through the deeper sections. A great walk for the hot months, short and crystal clear cool water, one to take the grandkids.
jgmansell on 4 Dec, 2018

Some of the best fun you can have with your clothes on. Being so close to Brisbane (about 30 mins north past Samford) absolutely worth checking out. The start is a little tricky to find as you follow Mt Glorious Road for quite a ways, approximately 500 metres past Wivenhoe Outlook.

The car park is not obvious and is on the right hand side (heading away from Mt Glorious), take care when turning into it! There is a lot more space than 2 cars though from my experience.

The trail is as described by others, down the hill from the car park and over the guard rail, be careful of traffic.

A short stint down the hill brings you to the waterway and you head left up the creek where you start to get wet. The scenery is beautiful through the entire creek and the gorges are both brilliant. Swimming in the clear water is a real treat though investing in a $10 pair of aqua duck shoes from Target or Big W is a good idea. However, even with these shoes, some of the rocks can be very slippery so be sure to take care when walking through water shallower than your knees.

The route is fairly easy to navigate with a little patience and there is nothing better on a hot day than swalking (swim walking) up the creek. Once you pass the second gorge the trail levels out. My party followed this for about 1.5km but it continues on for some time and eventually joins up with a track from a lookout back up the hill (I think).

Returning is back the same way so no real issue with getting lost. There is a cairn to mark the path back up to the road which is helpful in this regard though.

In summary: Well worth doing in summer, the water is extremely refreshing, not grueling but care is required on the slippery rocks where shallow, very picturesque and not much like it so close to Brisbane.
Matty Vee on Dec, 2018

This hike should be done a little later in the morning around 10am as the water shouldn’t be too freezing. Great hike though just be sure to keep all your belongings in a ziplock dry bay as you will be in water up to and over your waistline.
HR on 25 Nov, 2018