Mt Greville: Waterfall Gorge/Palm Gorge circuit

GPS Tracks

Mt Greville (GPX)

A rewarding walk up to the summit of Mt Greville via two beautiful gorges. There are also some great Scenic Rim views. This track uses Waterfall Gorge in ascent, and Palm Gorge in descent.

Lookouts

Scrambling or Climbing

Rainforest

Eucalypt Forest

770m

Maximum Elevation

570m

Total Climb

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Getting there

Take the Cunningham Highway to Aratula, then 4km past the Aratula Hotel, turn left into Lake Moogerah Road (signed Spicers Gap). Drive about 11km (some gravel) then turn right into Mt Greville Road. The carpark is about a kilometre up on the right. Lake Moogerah Road also, connects to the Kalbar-Boonah road if coming from that direction.

Maps

QTopo: Mt Greville

Route/Trail notes

From the carpark walk up a service road to a sign pointing to Waterfall Gorge to the right. After a couple of hundred metres up a ridge the trail drops steeply down into the gorge. Follow the creek going upstream. There is no navigational difficulty walking/climbing up the gorge. The small "waterfall" towards the top of the gorge is easy to get around going left. At the head of the gorge (about an hour from the carpark) follow the track to the right for a short time before you come to an informal campsite near a rocky slab with great views towards the east. Go back to the the campsite then the track leads uphill towards the summit. After a brief time you reach the summit cliffs. Follow these for several hundred metres keeping the cliffs to your right, generally gaining, but sometimes losing elevation. Eventually you will come to an obvious T-junction, where you turn right, and after a few minutes you will reach the summit, with a large cairn and views towards Main Range.

Backtrack to the T-junction then go straight ahead (turning left taking you back to Waterfall Gorge). After a few hundred metres a short track to the right leads you to the top of another small gorge where there are views to the southwest. Not long after the sidetrack there is a Y-junction, with the Palm Gorge track going down to the right (turning left will lead you down to Southeast Ridge). It's easy to find your way down the gorge, with no chance of getting lost (though a moderate chance of slipping).

Permits/Costs

N/A

Other References

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GPS Tracks

Mt Greville (GPX)

Comments

Spectacular hike with interesting and scenic gorges keeping the climb and descent interesting and fun for our group which included kids from age 12 up (that have done a lot of hiking). The view from the Rock Platform is spectacular - one of the best in the region in our opinion. The view from the top is significantly obstructed by trees but still well worth the effort and satisfaction of hiking to the summit. It took us 4.5 hours to complete the circuit which included opportunity for a relaxed lunch break enjoying the view at the Rock Platform and another break at the summit. We found navigating the route quite straightforward particularly after reading the the route summary guide provided on this site. Certainly a good level of physical fitness is required as the route is quite steep often with no formed trail in the gorges. This circuit made for a great day trip from Brisbane.
dwade on 16 Aug, 2023

Done this walk, uploaded GPX. i returned the same way because it was getting dark and I didn't want to explore Palm Gorge in the night :) Overall, be fit, a lot of scrambling, not dangerous but just different levels will require you climb a little bit. Gorge is awesome, you can shout and hear echo :). The huge cairn is still on the top (see the pic). so don't know why someone said here there is no cairn. There is a sign "on the left" uploaded. go on the left despite that for some time the path will go downhill. Enjoy and relax on this short downhill stretch, because after you will need to use your muscles :)
ovel on 9 Jul, 2023

Love this walk, do need navigation skills in parts! I say that because I’ve done it twice and got a bit lost both times in different places!! Third time lucky!! 😂Keep left up waterfall gorge!!
Sonja Wentzel on 3 Jun, 2023

Early start 5.45 am at the car park. Good to go early as car park was full when we returned at 10.30 am. Hard slog from start to finish but worth doing with some lovely views along the way. 4.5 hours which was a good time with a few stops along the way. The beers chips and gravy at the Dundugan pub at Boonah went down well on the way home.
ian parker on 22 Apr, 2023

As described by other walkers, when you come to the (usually dry) waterfall about two thirds of the way up Waterfall Gorge, keep left. We went right (it seemed like a track to me!) and after about 15 steeper and steeper minutes we came to a point where there were cliffs each side, so had to backtrack. I wish I'd read these comments before the walk, not afterwards!
Michael D on 16 Apr, 2023

Took the dead-end path to the right in Waterfall Gorge as others have. Ends at a drop off for climbers/abseilers (with a steel ring in the rock) high above the gorge floor. See photo - keep left again after this point which comes just after the "waterfall" section. It is a magical spot here.
David on 3 Oct, 2022

This walk was great! Lots to see. We started by going up Palm Gorge which was easy to follow despite no clear track; we just had to follow the palm trees in the direction of the summit. You will also find some very interesting dates carved into some of the palm trees dating back to the 1930’s and up to the 1970’s. I assume they were real because they had been well worn into the tree.
Once out of the gorge you will find a plateau and a small track that goes further up. Don’t be discouraged by how far away the summit looks at this point, it really is only a half hour hike to the top. Try not to lose the path, veer right if uncertain on the dirt track to the top. I love a mountain with no false peaks, Mt Greville is one of these rare mountains in the region. You’ll know you’ve reached the summit when you see a giant cairn. Excellent photo stop to the west of it. Wonderful fauna everywhere, don’t forget to check out the waterfall it’s stunning. The path down via the waterfall summit track is well marked by arrows and markers. Keep your eyes peeled for them as at time they may be difficult to spot.
Warlock Bride on 25 May, 2022

So many wrong turns, no marked tracks but a stunning hike full of adventure. Loved it!! With Singrid and Anthony!
Donna Hooper on 24 Jul, 2021

Great walk with some lovely views along the way. Hardest part was descending Palm Gorge due to the many fallen palm fronds which are slippery. We downloaded a map which is essential as the trail is not signposted after the first 400 metres. Took 5 hours including two snack breaks. The advice to keep left at the ‘waterfall’ rock blocking Waterfall Gorge is correct. We ended up following the more obvious trail to the right and had to backtrack.
Olwyn on 26 Apr, 2021

Great walk, relatively easy to follow the instructions and get by without a map. Followed suggested direction waterfall gorge up and palm gorge down. Palm gorge was most scenic of the two I reckon. Small grey brown snake a metre in front of me on the trail on the way down palm gorge. Slithered peacefully into the bushes, looked like a tree snake.

4 hrs 20 mins with a short stop at the lake lookout and a decent break on the top.
Owie on 11 Apr, 2021

It is hard but rewarding track. Certainly requires offline map. There were many places that I had issue finding the right track. However, with a map and a bit of attention, it is easy to get back to the right track.
Mohsen on 11 Apr, 2021

So far, this is my favourite circuit on Mt Greville. Water was running in Waterfall Gorge after rain the day before, but it wasn't too slippery. Next time, I plan to try this circuit going clockwise, ascending via Palm Gorge and descending via Waterfall Gorge.
Michael D on 16 Aug, 2020

I love this Mountain, short enough to do in a day and with such a variety of terrain and trails up you can mix it up each time you visit!

Full Mt Greville review up on www.livingahimsa.com.au

Lia Skye
Lia Skye on 5 Apr, 2020