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

Nice walk. Recent burning of through the northern part of the loop had a number of small and large trees down over the trail.
Quentin Andrews on 9 May, 2020

Good walk, but there was a section of the trail closed on the mount mee section of the walk so can’t get to the lookout from that side. Go left at the fork in the road as if you would do the circuit clockwise (even though the sign points right) and then the next fork in the road a sign points right and follow that, you’ll be going the right way if you encounter a lot of arrows pointing the opposite way to you walking.
Matthew Simmons on 7 May, 2020

A great walk with plenty of variety in the landscape and beautiful lookout views. Highly recommend. The extra 1km walk is an easy add on.
Nadine on 26 Apr, 2020

I really love this walk! Such a wonderful mix of flora and fauna. I always see a lot of birdlife as well as lace monitors. It’s a fairly easy going track with brilliant views over the valleys into Somerset and Wivenhoe Dams. Make sure you add on the 1km Piccabeen walk at the Carpark when you’ve finished the Somerset Trail. Can’t wait to get back out to do it again.
S K on 20 Apr, 2020

Such a beautiful walk. Peaceful, lots of wildlife & terrific views. A well defined track with great signage. 13km in total but make sure you add on the Piccabeen Circuit (1km) which is also wonderful.
S K on 20 Mar, 2020

easy stroll but got a bit of distance there is a nice lookout at the end to overlook the dams :) ok to do but if you have a 4x4 or a bit of a bush basher car ya can drive to the lookout and get the view with out the effort LoL nice place to picnic at the gantry :)
vlad on 8 Mar, 2020

What a wonderful array of vegetation! Lots of wildlife, saw a couple of snakes, goannas, pademelons and plenty of birds. Truly so many things to see.

The walk itself wasn't particularly challenging in terrain, but the distance can be difficult for those that don't walk very often.

Despite the rain this past week, it wasn't as wet as I thought it'd be. Went with regular running shoes and was not muddy, slippery or messy at all. Also got drizzled on a little at the end and was worried about leeches but there were none :)

:) on 15 Feb, 2020

*** UPDATE *** Thanks to another amazing walker, my daughter’s camera has been found 🥰

Hi. My daughter did the Somerset trail on Sunday morning 19/01/2020 (walking back from post 7 to post 1) and she lost her blue Panasonic lumix camera. It is named with a blur label Gabrielle (or gabby) Trafford. If someone hands it in or is found please contact me on 0408280180. Thanks for your help. -nicole- (It is a waterproof camera)
Traff-family on 20 Jan, 2020

Love the rain forest portion, and the lookout towards Lake Wivenhoe is spectacular. Was great walking in light rain which made it a cool walk in mid October. Want to do this one early in the day as it gets pretty warm in the afternoon.
Monte Hague on 19 Oct, 2019

Brilliant walk albeit a bit sloshy and slippery in parts...just wear proper hiking shoes/boots. The path is well signed the entire way, Is clear and has a good mix of inclines and descents but nothing too strenuous. We loved the variety of the landscapes - at times, it’s all rainforest then pines then all eucalyptus then grass trees and then banksias. The view from the lookout is brilliant. We also added on the 1km Piccabeen circuit which is lovely & accessible to those who need mobility aids &/or wheelchairs.
S K on 7 Jul, 2019

I really enjoyed this walk due to native bushland, rainforest and pine forests as your scenery. I am glad I wore my trail boots as the track was damp and muddy in areas which made it feel more like a trail! Came across Yellow-throated Scrubwrens, Eastern-yellow Robins, Little Shrikethrush, Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Australian-king Parrotts, Red-browed Finch, Pale-yellow Robin, Brown Thornbills and Grey Fantails to name those that I identified. The view at the lookout, and when you continue on the track, of the dam and surrounding mountains was fantastic. We also did the extra 1km ring trail through a rainforest area which was lovely. Highly rate this track and would do it again.
Anoogle on 7 Jul, 2019

Lovely easy walk with lovely views. A few leeches but it was quite wet. Go right so you leave the view for towards the end of the walk.
Newbie on 9 Jun, 2019

Great walk with a few transitions into different types of Forrest / bush. The look out at the halfway mark is a great place for a breather, and the Gantry at the end is a nice peaceful place to have some lunch / snack after.
Bearski79 on 25 Apr, 2019

Easy but pleasant walk
Swainey on 21 Apr, 2019

Beautiful walk with an amazing view around the half way point (6-7km). It started to rain towards the end of our loop and I ended up with a couple of leeches 😬
Tubsie on 19 Apr, 2019

Really enjoyed this one! Loved how you walk through rainforest then a pine forest, into the bush and back out through the rainforest. It was all very green and lush with beautiful views at the half way mark!
Lots of wildlife to see including black cockatoos and a very large goanna!
Nads on 14 Apr, 2019

Fun walk with a sensational view as your reward , saw pademelons , goannas, crossed paths with a baby brown snake and a half chewed up pademelon. Very hot to walk in March but loved it.
rebecca on 10 Mar, 2019

Fabulous bush walk took about 3.5 hours with a couple of stops at the lookout and creek ... spectacular views! Great first walk in prep for 100km Oxfam trek in June!
Jenny on 27 Jan, 2019

A nice walk that took us 3hrs with a 10min rest stop at the lookouts. The forest there and back are varied and seem to have a lot of wildlife. The track is good, although it crosses a lot of dirt roads and is well signed.
noniej on 6 Jan, 2019

Really enjoyed the changing scenery on this walk plus the views from the lookout are rewarding when you make it to the halfway point. There were some fallen trees that we had to climb over and some sections of the trail had some loose soil and gravel and we had to watch our footing. This is where someone on a trail bike had gone through and churned up the normally well compacted solid path.
Nikkinoo on 23 Dec, 2018