Ewen Maddock Dam - Trail 1

Sunshine Coast

This is a great family walk. The first part follows the edge of the lake, while the remainder moves out into the surrounding woodland, where you will see a mixture of Rough, Scribbly and Paperbark trees. There is plenty of bird life both on the dam and in the woodland. The path is generally shady and can be muddy after rain, with parts of it shared with bikes and horse riders.

Swimming
Picnic Facilities
Toilets
Dogs Permitted
Horses Permitted
Cycling Permitted
No Camping Permitted
Rainforest
Swamp or Wetland
56m
Maximum Elevation
20m
Total Climb

Getting there:

From the Bruce Highway, turn onto Steve Irwin Way and turn onto the Mooloolah Valley Connection Road. Turn left into the Maddock Park's car park (approx 1.5km).

Maps:

Ewen Maddock Dam

Route/Trail notes:

The clear, well trodden No. 1 Trail, at 9.3km one way, starts at Maddock Park and finishes at Gympie Street North. Each kilometre is marked up to the 5km point, so you can turn around at anytime to make this walk as long as you wish. You also have the chance to come back via one of the smaller tracks on your return leg. Just keep an eye out for horses and bike riders, as it is a shared track.

Permits/Costs:

None.

Other Comments:

Bring your swimmers, as there is the opportunity to cool off in the dam after your walk at the 'beach' area in Maddock Park.

Comments

Even muddier than usual with all this rain we've had but an enjoyable walk with plenty of shade.

Brent on 11 Feb, 2024

This was a very nice hike overall. My friend and I walked the entire track with a medium size dog. We did 4 hours and 30 minutes. Very well signaled. I loved the greenery. However, for a track where dogs are allowed there are not many bins available. So be prepared to walk with your dog poo all the way. When hiking be aware of joggers and cyclists riding like they are being followed by a monster.

We would definitely do it again. Next time on a less busy day.

Gi on 25 Jun, 2023

Quite varied with lots of bracken ferns under gums for the most part, with occasional views of the reed-fringed lake & inundated Melaleuca forest. Some sections had deafening cicadas, and lots of forest birds in places.

Making use of the walking loops takes you off the main trail that's also shared with mountain bikes and hose riders.

stryker on 13 Feb, 2022

Beautiful hike, tad bit muddy. Saw a coastal carpet python, so wonderful

Kdubs on 27 Mar, 2021

A very nice walk, easy going. The black loop was quite a climb 😁
Definitely do this one again

Richard Williams on 26 Jul, 2020

What's with the "Private Property" sign beside the trail that passes between the water and the house's backyard about 2km into the walk where it branches off when coming from the main parking area. One track leads to the footpath by the road, the other by the water seems to be through private property. Is that a driveway or part of the track?

just wondering if the homeowners are just being assholes trying to stop people using the track or if that is actually private property.

LJ on 25 Jan, 2020

One of my favourite walks to do with my dog. We usually go to the end of the first loop and return - about 5-5.5km in 1. 5hrs (including stops for photos and H20). Beautiful views.

Leese85 on 19 Jan, 2020

This was a great walk. We completed all loops and walked to gate one and back. 16km in total on a largely flat walk. Lovely views of the lake and even picked up a couple of geocaches along the way.

Bobbe on 14 Jul, 2019

Peaceful easy walk. Good bird life.

Linda on 18 May, 2019

A very pleasant walk with side loops. Some steep inclines but there’s potential to avoid them with the side tracks. Track a little muddy but not enough to slow the pace.

Shaja on 11 May, 2019

It was a very good hike, great when it was right up against the dam.

Caleb J. Stanton on 27 May, 2018

Loved this walk! We didn't make it all the way to the end, after walking for 2.5hrs one way we turned back. We did a lot of the tracks off the main walking track which added kilometers/time onto our hike. We walked just under 20km in 5hrs.

Marisa on 8 Jun, 2017

We have driven past the Dam numerous occasions and yesterday being such a beautiful Easter Sunday we made the decision to walk some of the trail. There is ample bitumen parking and the toilets were clean. We could only see 1 bbq but there may have been more and there is a few picnic tables. The roped off swimming area looked very inviting. We walked 45 mins one way (and returned) on Trail 1 which was for the first part around the dam, then over a causeway and then through some open bush. The track is wide enough in some parts to walk side by side. We heard and saw birds flitting around and saw a small goanna scurry up a tree as we walked close by. We entered the Dam area from Mooloolah Connection Road (Maddock Park) and there is another entrance off Steve Irwin Way. This is a lovely walk and we enjoyed it.

Bogeys on 16 Apr, 2017

Great walk :)

Jin Kim on 20 Aug, 2016

Beautiful walk along this track this morning. Picturesque, and easy to manage. We'll drag Nana along next time!

Leonie11 on 13 Mar, 2016

Good walk even if it did rain and the track became wet and a little muddy. Fortunately I went prepared with plastic bags to keep my bag dry, a poncho to (sort of) keep me dry and a full change of clothes back at the car. When I got back I also went for a swim in the designated swimming area to wash off the mud.

There are many tracks that branch/loop off the "T1" track - some have been closed, others could do with slightly better signage - if it wasn't for my GPS and good memory I could have gone in circles.

Anonymous on 24 Oct, 2015

Lovely walk with the kids, easy to follow paths around the dam that are well marked and warn. However, once you have walked the side, across the top and over the tip of the dam the walk is very unrewarding, spending the rest of the walk in bush and very few clearings to see the dam. Lots of wild life, moorhens, ducks, herons, coloured dragon flies, and lots of monitors in the trees.

Highlight for the kids was finding a snake (Freshwater Keelback) eating a toad!

F.A.B. on 23 Sep, 2015

Lots of water on the path in some places but it's walkable if you don't mind a bit of mud. Everything is really green at the moment.

Ian and Sue on 5 Apr, 2015

Very easy pleasant walk

J on 20 Dec, 2013

Nice long peaceful walk, plenty of basic lovely nature to explore and enjoy.

J on 18 Dec, 2013

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