Somerset Trail

GPS Tracks

SomersetTrail - Mt mee (GPX)

A pleasant circular walk through open and pine forest as well as pockets of rainforest. At around the halfway point, there are a series of lookouts over Somerset Dam to the north and Lake Wivenhoe to the south, with a backdrop of the far mountain ranges.

This area was heavily logged, hence the saw mill at The Gantry and evident by the 'plank' groves on some of the old tree stumps.

Lookouts

Bird Watching

Picnic Facilities

BBQ

Toilets

No Dogs Permitted

No Horses Permitted

No Cycling Permitted

No Trail Bikes Permitted

Rainforest

Eucalypt Forest

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Getting there:

From the south, travel through Samford Village and Dayboro onto Mt. Mee Road (Tourist Route 29), before turning left onto Sellin Road and into the park (signposted). Park at The Gantry day use area.

From the north, turn off the D'Aguilar Highway at D'Aguilar just north of Woodford onto Neurum Road, turning left onto Stanton Road and right into Rasmussen Road, which leads to the northern entrance of the park. From here, you follow the long twisting 4WD Lovedays Road to The Gantry day use area. Not recommended.

Alternatively, turn off the D'Aguilar Highway at D'aguilar onto Mt. Mee Road, before turning right onto Sellin Road and into the park.

Maps:

None found.

Route/Trail notes:

Walk back across the road from the Gantry and you will see the start of the trail clearly marked.

After 900m, you have the option to take the left fork and travel the trail clockwise out to the lookouts, which is 6km.

Or, take the right fork and the anti-clockwise trail for 7km to the lookouts.

The lookouts are a great place for a breather and lunch. Be careful about the drop offs as there is little fencing.

Permits/Costs:

None.

Other References/Comments:

The trail criss-crosses 4WD, bike and horse riding tracks, so be careful. Although illegal, bikes have been known to come along the walking track!

The day use area at The Gantry has toilets, picnic and BBQ facilities as well as a resident number of large guannas. You can also camp at Neurum Creek Camp and have a cooling swim at Rocky Hole.

Although an easy walk, it is a long one for the little ones and would take about 3-4 hours (up to 5 for those of lesser fitness), so take plenty of water and treats.

GPS Tracks

SomersetTrail - Mt mee (GPX)

Comments

This doesn't have any very steep sections. The forests and views are lovely. The drive is amazing. Would be great for guests to Queensland. The trail is well marked.
Sally on 24 Apr, 2021

Great views and a nice easy walk. We had no trouble following the signs. Well worth it, we will be back.
Debbie on 10 Apr, 2021

14.8km in total. Took 3 hours in total. Very poor signage which hasn't changed from last time we walked it.
KLEEWDO on 14 Feb, 2021

Lovely walk through varied landscapes from rain forest to pine forest & scrub, pretty easy most of the way but its 13kms so pretty glad to get back to the car. Big views from the lookouts.
Bribie 61 on 7 Feb, 2021

Great view, good walk too 😎 my 55 year old mother done it and she hadn't done a walk like that for almost 40 years.. so it's definitely do able, just take plenty of water.
Lotus on 23 Jan, 2021

Nice walk through some pretty bush; rainforest, alpine and open eucalypt. Once we found the right trail it was easy to follow, but finding it was difficult. At the head of the trails is a notice board with a map and information. The Somerset Trail (that leads to the lookout) is the little path to the right of the notice board. The trail is packed earth with leaves and sticks over it; so it can be a little slippery if wet. There are a few uphill walks but anyone of reasonable fitness should manage it. My husband and I, in our 50’s, did the circuit in 3 hours.
Olwyn on 17 Jan, 2021

Pretty easy walk. The views from the lookout are beautiful. Parts of the walk weren't that exciting. We ended up driving down to Rocky Hole after for a lovely dip after our walk.
JFoss on 15 Jan, 2021

I’ve done this one a few times now and still love it. Yesterday we walked the entire loop in light showers which was beautiful! It was really interesting watching the rain and fog lift from up at the lookouts. We only had 1 leech - on my boot and was about an inch in size. Saw some wallabies and heaps of the usual birdlife - yellow robins, whip birds, log runners etc. we saw no one else on the entire track! So tranquil and refreshing.
S K on 8 Jan, 2021

Finally got back to this walk after trying late 2019 and finding it closed due to fire risk. Glad I went back, thoroughly enjoyed the walk.
Other comments cover it pretty well. My additional thoughts;
The main reason I can see for this to be graded medium is it's more than 10km. Otherwise it's nothing out of the ordinary. Probably a bit too rough to be graded easy (the usual tree roots, stones etc) and a few uphill sections (you can't go on a bush walk and not expect a few hills) but nothing I would call difficult. For perspective I'm 64 and moderate/average fitness.
A few comments that the trail is not as well marked as it could be. The walking tail crosses the 4WD road and fire management tracks several times and there are numerous side trails. The walking trail is clearly marked with arrows. I'm no expert navigator but unless you go off track to explore side trails I don't see you could feel lost.
Jim Craigen on 24 Sep, 2020

This walk was interesting to say the least. I read both comments from Aussie Bushwalk and Google and thought i was prepared, but i find the signage was very poor compare to other walks we did. The walk itself was very good but there were times we were not sure if we walk on the right track ... gives us anxiety.
Ro on 15 Sep, 2020

Lovely bush walk through many different types of forests. My friend and I are moderately fit - the terrain was simple, but the length was tiring. A fair few hilly sections, but nothing tough. Would probably label this as a moderate walk.
MandaPanda on 23 Aug, 2020

What was supposed to be a rainy day hike ended up being pretty clear. Track is well defined and easy to follow, good for those hikes when you don't want to think too much about where you are going. Definitely keep an ear out for kids on dirt bikes though as they do not believe in reading signage.
jeabou on 24 Jul, 2020

Very poor signage, pretty much none at all. Very easy to get lost at 1 crossing over the road. Although most of the track is easily defined, proper signage and more of it would be preferable.
KLEEWDO on 21 Jul, 2020

Did this walk after nearly 4 months of very little exercise & it definitely tested me. The terrain is not terribly difficult but the inclines and the distance make it more of a moderate walk in my opinion. The environment is beautiful, it's amazing to walk through about 3 distinct types of environment - first rainforest, then pine plantation forest, then open bush (eucalypts & grass trees). Then some more rainforest as you get to the lookout. The views are incredible & absolutely worth the workout.
Mary-Anne on 11 Jul, 2020

After doing very little hiking for months, this one tested me! Mostly the length (about 4 hours including lunch break over the beautiful lookout) and small inclines... But a lovely walk. From pine forests to bush land and wild flowers. Significant burning recently taken place in parts but even that was pretty.
Cassablanca on 11 Jul, 2020

This is a really nice walk through the bush, with great views as a reward. However, I would not class this as an easy walk at all, more a medium walk. The distance, combined with the decent number of climbs and descents and the fact that some of the paths are loose rocks, washed out or rocky, means that a reasonable level of fitness & experience is required. It definitely gets the heart pumping in places & we are both relatively fit people!

We completed this walk on a Sunday, during school holidays and although The Gantry day use area was packed, we hardly saw anyone on the walk itself, even at the lookout, which is accessible by 4WD & motor bike too.

It is worth pointing out that currently, about 25% of the track takes you through an area that has been burnt out by bush fires & is still pretty barren, although the bush is slowly regenerating now.
The Nutters on 5 Jul, 2020

Today I hiked for my first time on the Somerset Trail 👟

You will find this hike up at Mt Mee.

The parking/picnic area is called The Gantry.
I could imagine this getting quite busy as there are different hikes as well as 4wd and motorbike tracks everywhere up here 🏍

The Somerset Trail is around 13km round trip.
It is one of those hikes where you can take it nice and easy or really push yourself.

I really pushed myself on this one today and there are enough inclines to sure get the heart racing 🥴

You will pass through gorgeous rainforest 🌿 onto some gigantic pines 🌲 followed by our typical Aussie Bush that is full of glorious fresh green rejuvination after being hit by the bush fires 🔥🌱

I didn't get to see the scenery from the lookout today as I was up in the clouds 🌧 Which really was quite majestic 💙

On my way back I did manage to get myself lost 🥺 for the very first time and the mountain mist had turned to mountain rain 🌧
I think it was number 3 crossing where you should turn right, I went straight ahead.
I ended up in a gigantic pine forest and then onto a very slippery, muddy motorbike track.
By the time I found my way back after slipping over not once but twice on some steep bike tracks 🤨 I did manage to freak myself out a bit!
I was talking to 4 other hikers who said they had done the same thing and they didn't think the signage was very good on the way back.

By the time I got back to the truck I was one cold, muddy, exhausted drowned rat!!!

Safe hiking and have fun!
🙏💕

Instagram :- misslissy79
Mel on 28 Jun, 2020

Watch out for idiot 4WD'ers who obviously think it's funny to purposely drive through a deep puddle while I'm standing next to it at the bottom of the first lookout. He purposely detoured into the water when there was clear road without any water on it, completely covering me in dirty muddy water from the knees down. Thanks mate!

Besides the unfortunate event above, this is a fabulous walk. 7km to the lookout, then 6km back. I preferred the 7km section so next time i will go back the way I came. Also do the 1km Piccabeen Walk first then carry on to Somerset Circuit (I did it after but was kind of over it by then). It was busier than I thought it was going to be, and there were a few large loud groups that i couldn't get away from so that sort of ruined the serenity at times, but when I couldn't hear them carrying on it was wonderfully peaceful (until you hear a motorbike!). I will definitely do this walk again but will aim for mid week next time. Also the drive up there is great too.
I did this walk in walking sandals as my walking shoes broke yesterday, the sandals were fine even with the rain we'd had lately.
ChasingWaterfalls on 21 Jun, 2020

Hey
The trail is completely open, there's like one small tree on the entire circuit.
The burnt out section has been cleared.
it's a great easy to follow trail with some amazing views!
BLAIR on 1 Jun, 2020