Scenic Rim Regional – Nature, Walking Trails and Food

In the Scenic Rim, expansive natural areas meet walking trails of widely varying difficulty and a distinctive regional food culture. The area includes six national parks and parts of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, including Lamington National Park. When planning your trip, you can first consider whether longer hikes, shorter walks, experiences by the water or regional produce should be the focus.

Walks ranging from short trails to multi-day hikes

The walking trails in Tamborine National Park are spread across six sections; most can be walked within a few hours. One specific example is the 1 km Curtis Falls Track, a Grade 3 trail through moist eucalypt forest and rainforest to a waterfall. If you have several individual trails in mind, you can treat the park’s different sections as separate destinations, rather than assuming that every walk will be the same length or take the same amount of time.

The Scenic Rim Trail offers a different kind of hike: this 47 km, four-day walk is intended for experienced bushwalkers. It runs from the starting point at Thornton View to its endpoint at Cunninghams Gap. At the foot of Mount Barney, Mount Barney National Park has four maintained Grade 4 walking trails. The Lower Portals Track ends at a deep pool in a rocky gorge. These details can help you plan a walking trip around your preferred distance and level of challenge, without treating the trails as interchangeable.

The Mount Cordeaux Track also has a clearly defined route: this 6.8 km loop in Main Range National Park leads to a lookout below the 1,135 m summit of Mount Cordeaux. Main Range National Park is one of the Scenic Rim’s six national parks. In the same park, the 3.2 km Heritage Trail is a loop leading to a site associated with Queensland’s best-known example of challenging 19th-century civil engineering. The Witches Falls section of Tamborine National Park is home to Queensland’s oldest national park, declared in 1908.

Lakes, nature and regional discoveries

If you would rather spend time by the water than go for a hike, Lake Moogerah is a destination for water sports and fishing. Lake Wyaralong offers a quieter lake experience, while The Gorge is a swimming hole in the Scenic Rim. These different water destinations can shape the character of your trip, without promising the same kind of experience. Another active destination is Frog Buttress in Moogerah Peaks National Park, a climbing spot in the Scenic Rim. There are walking trails here for all difficulty levels; individual trail details such as distance and grade can provide additional guidance when choosing a route.

Local food and produce also shape a visit. The Scenic Rim Eat Local Month takes place every June and brings together paddock-to-plate experiences, farm-gate events, workshops, long lunches and festivals. At the quarterly Farm Gate Trails, you can buy jams, relishes, flowers and produce, as well as meet Scenic Rim producers. Visitors can book tours of farms that produce food, beverages and agricultural goods. Wineries and breweries offer information about regional grape varieties at their cellar doors, as well as tasting tours.

Roadside stalls and farm shops are also part of the picture for those exploring the country roads: they offer fresh produce, coffee, jams, relishes, plants and flowers. The Scenic Rim’s Indigenous heritage is connected with the Mununjali, Ugarapul and Wangerriburra communities, as well as the Yugambeh language group. The region’s experiences range from nature and active days out to regional cuisine and cultural heritage.

Which holiday rental suits your trip?

The Scenic Rim is about 80 km, or an hour’s drive, from Brisbane and the Gold Coast. When choosing a holiday apartment or house, you can use your preferred experiences as a guide: a trip focused on multi-day hiking will involve different routes from a stay that combines lakes, short walks or regional produce. So, consider which of these activities matter to your travel group before choosing accommodation in Scenic Rim Regional.

More destinations: Southern Downs Regional, Tablelands Regional, Logan City, Longreach Regional, Townsville City, Livingstone Shire, Western Downs Regional, Toowoomba Regional.

For the main travel overview: Queensland.