After months of only doing light exercise, carrying a backpack up to the top of Mount Halifax killed me. This hike is extreme. And not just because I carried a camping sized pack up. It was harder than Queensland’s tallest mountain, Bartle Frere.
Mount Halifax is just north of Townsville, it’s located in Paluma Range National Park. However it’s a new part of the park, so most of the signs in the area are still from the previously private owners. It’s the tallest peak in the area, often covered by clouds.
This post is all about hiking the Mount Halifax summit. It includes how to get there, what to know about the hike and what to expect on the trail. This information is accumulated from my experience hiking and camping on the trail, along with information from Queensland Parks.
Click here for a map of Mount Halifax Summit walking track, in Paluma Range National Park
Table of Contents
How to Get There
Mount Halifax is 60 km north from Townsville’s city centre. It’s about a 50 minute drive, which goes along the A1, Bruce Highway before a quick turn off, next to pineapple fields. If you go on a Sunday, there may be a produce market just at the eastern side of Pace Road with local offerings.
The turn off to the Mount Halifax summit is at Pace Road, stick to the road until it ends. There’s clear signs and a gate—which may be open—which is where the parking lot for the hike is.
Make sure to park parallel if necessary, as the gate must have clearance for large vehicle to enter and exit. There’s a sign near the gate warning of this as well.
The entrance to the hike is clearly marked, and there’s a logbook to sign in and out, to record your personal information. This is supposed to help identify who—if anyone—may be missing on the trail. But, it only works if people actually fill out their information.
Attempting an overnight hike? Check out my overnight hike packing list to stock up on everything you may need.
About Mount Halifax Summit Hike
I did this hike over two months ago and haven’t been motivated to write anything about it. It was a gruelling hike, I felt broken on and off the trail. I had a few moments where I sat down and didn’t want to continue. Thankfully I (finally) finished the hike and decided to share the experience for others.
If I haven’t scared you off yet, keep on reading. This was the first serious hike I had done in months, with a full backpack for camping, which is likely why the hike was so tough for me. Not everyone will have this same experience! It is important to remember this hike is hard and long, but it feels rewarding to finish.
Length and Times
This is an 11 km hike return, with an elevation gain of over 1,000 metres. With heavy backpacks and breaks, my partner and I took six hours for the ascent and five hours to descend.
I would recommend starting the hike as early in the morning as possible. And no later than 10 am for those who are fit and not camping on the mountain. If you’re camping, don’t start later than noon, to arrive at the summit around six, and still have day light (depending on this time of year).
However, when we arrived to the hike’s parking lot, we met the two people which said they had just finished the fastest ascent in one hour and 17 minutes. This may have added to why I thought I was so slow. Thinking it was normal to get to the top that quickly. I still have a hard time believing they did it that fast.
What to Pack
To survive and enjoy this hike, remember to pack loads of snacks and water. Think about exercising to prepare your body! My 3L CamelBak is a life saver, I never hike without it.
For snacks, I usually go for a trail mix, protein bars and fruit in addition to meals. In terms of meals I choose something fast, filling and nutritious to keep my body going. Such as a sandwich with baguette other fluffy bread—always whole grain.
Other important things to bring are snack bandages, electrolytes, a fully charged cellphone and a first aid kit. Make sure to have reliable and sturdy footwear to deal with the rocky paths and climbing along the trail. In the winter it would be a good idea to bring a jumper for breaks.
Wear what’s comfortable for the hike, if it’s going to be a hot day, it will be cooler along the trail as it’s covered by trees. It’s in somewhat wet areas which cools hikers along the trail as well. There may be leeches near the top, however I didn’t come across any.
Camping
Camping on Mount Halifax can help with breaking up the journey, but it also means going slower with a heavy pack. When I say heavy, I only carry light-weight items, but the pack is still heavier than a day pack.
Another advantage of camping on the mountain is waking up to serenity while preparing for another day of hiking. I prefer it over dealing with the stress of rushing through a hike to finish. But it does require a certain amount of preparation and equipment, it’s not for everyone.
For those planning on camping, book a campsite and pay for a permit online first. This can be done on the Queensland Government’s page.
Marked along the trail is several ‘camps’ one through four, keep in mind these only have a tiny spot to put a small tent. Only camp four, which is just after the Mount Halifax summit had enough space for my tent, along with more space to cook.
If you’re planning to camp on the hike, check out my overnight hike packing list!
Cellphone Reception
At the beginning of the trail there is cellphone service/reception, in the parking lot. As the trail snakes through the bush, the reception drops out. However it picks up again at about half way into the trail.
I can only attest to Telstra reception as that’s who I’m with. This can help with potential emergencies but, it’s important not to rely on this service. There isn’t an area for a helicopter to land such as on Bartle Frere, anyways.
Why is it so Difficult?
What makes this hike so difficult isn’t just the elevation gain. It’s a difficult hike due to large rocks hikers must climb around, and the amount of elevation gain in short distances.
Others that do this hike doubt that it’s only 11 km, and they’re not wrong to feel that way. Due to the large rocks on the trail, spots without proper markers and steep elevation, it feels longer than it is. I didn’t actually measure the path so I can’t comment on its true length, but yes it feels longer than 11 km.
I did this hike a week before Bartle Frere and found the latter easy compared with Mount Halifax.
Many areas have ropes to help climb up the steep sections. These spots make it nearly impossible to run up. This next section is a play by play for the entire hike, in what to expect.
Entering names in the log book. 
The trail starts off easy and flat. 
Red and orange markers are along the trail, but often hard to find.
What to Expect on the Hike
Grueling, exhausting, and rewarding, Mount Halifax is tough. My biggest piece of advice for this trail is take your time and do your best. This is the best mantra for a hike as long and exhausting as Mount Halifax’s summit.
The entire hike follows a steep, rocky and not well-marked trail. There’s bright orange and red markers.
Starting off at the logbook, make sure to enter your details before taking off for the hike. The logbook also has mud maps you can use for the duration of the hike—or take a photo if you don’t want to bring it with. These are more accurate for the camps one through four, and other markers, than the Paluma Range National Park map.
Pink bottlebrushes are native to the region. 
The morning on top of the summit is wet and foggy. 
Our tent fit best at Camp 4, just after the summit.
The trail starts off easy for the first kilometre or so, it’s a flat trail towards the mountain, then it bounces around rocks and lines the creek. Slowly the trail get becomes more strenuous, but mainly after The Gorge and Rope Falls.
Rope Falls from above, one slip and you could end up in the pool. 
Rope Falls alone can be dangerous for crossing while balancing a heavy backpack. The falls crossing literally uses ropes to crawl up a rock wall. Going down is just as challenging as going up, and if you fall, you could drop into the pool below.
After these falls, the trail follows a rocky gully up to the mountain. Eventually it goes into the bush onto a ridge, in between another gully. There’s an optional turn off for Loop Falls, but I didn’t go.
In this next gully section, the trail passes by Flat Rock before going into the bush trail again. This is when the steepest section of the trail is, up until the peak. There’s rarely a flat section to stop and relax, so get ready for a tough climb.
Attempting an overnight hike? Check out my overnight hike packing list to stock up on everything you may need.
At Bridal Falls, there’s a water collection point, this is a small walk off of the usual trail. The Paluma National Park maps recommends to treat the water before drinking, however I drank it without treating and didn’t get sick.
Finally, closer to the peak of Mount Halifax the ridge opens up a bit, allowing some visibility to the area. This means the steepest section of the trail is ending and the peak is close. If you grabbed a mud map or took photo of it from the logbook, this point is called Echo Hill.
The last few sections of the trail still follow the now circular ridge, to the peak. The ground differs from rock and dirt sections, then later to moist and almost foamy sections. This soft foamy section is really just wet soil and decomposing wood.
There’s still a climb to the peak, but not nearly as serious as the other parts of the trail.
Depending on the humidity and temperature, there may be little to no visibility from the peak. I never had a view from the peak, but it didn’t matter because I could see it from other points.
There’s another water collection point 800 metres after the summit point, otherwise wait until you get back to Bridal Falls.
For more hikes in Queensland, check out Conway Circuit, Mount Walsh and Mount Bartle Frere!
