Hiking Mount Walsh summit in regional Queensland is a tough hike followed by incredible views. This part of Queensland is relatively flat so the view a top Mount Walsh National Park seems to go on forever.
This adventurous and challenging hike is a good opportunity to get away from a day of driving. However it’s well-worth a day trip to the area for this hike alone.
The drive out to Mount Walsh National Park is a beautiful drive that swerves through untamed eucalypt forest and around wavy hills.
The summit hike itself is for beginners and requires some rock climbing and scrambling skills. It’s about a four hour hike return and ascents 462 metres.
Attempting an overnight hike? Check out my overnight hike packing list to stock up on everything you may need.
Getting There
The easiest way to get to Mount Walsh National Park—where the summit hike is located—is by vehicle. It’s just an hour and a half drive from Hervey Bay, QLD. This is a popular spot to take off for tours to Fraser Island, QLD. Or, it’s about a one hour drive from Maryborough, QLD.
Both of these starting points make it an easy day trip from the coastal road trip from Brisbane to Cairns, QLD. Other people may be heading inland for regional work job opportunities, such as to Gayndah, QLD. This summit hike is a good in-between stop on the way.
Mount Walsh National Park is just outside of Biggenden, QLD. Driving west, the turn off towards this hike is before the town, off of the State Route 86.
The turn off towards the national park has clear signs and it’s easy to see the mountain coming up, as the surrounding area is relatively flat. It’s about five kilometres from the highway to the parking lot. The route to the hike goes through private property. Be sure to follow navigation and respect the private property in the area.
The road to the hike is accessible by a conventional vehicle (non-four-wheel-drive). The parking lot is large and has toilet facilities.
About Mount Walsh Summit Hike
This hike is not a walk in the park, it’s 462 meters to the summit. Queensland Parks and Forest doesn’t recommend this hike for young children or those that cannot hike unassisted. There’s spots for rock climbing and scrambling is required, however you don’t need any special equipment.
It’s recommended to leave four hours for the hike. Take lots of water on a warm and hot day, however I wouldn’t recommend attempting this hike during while the temperature is above 30 degrees.
It’s also not a good idea to attempt this hike on a wet or rainy day as those rocks your scrambling up can get wet and slippery.
This hike is not well marked, there’s areas that you have to follow tags on trees. Other areas you may have to guess the trail and walk a bit before seeing another tag.
That being said, I didn’t get lost and some people were doing this trail alone so if you have good navigation skills you shouldn’t get lost. Be safe and tell someone where you’re going before heading out though.
What’s special about this hike is that the views of the surrounding area really change as your hike up. This includes seeing different rock faces while ascending and heading through different types of flora. As seen on the ascent and descent, the trees are relatively thin, adding more ways to see the views.
What to Expect on the Hike
Starting from the parking lot, there’s an information board at the foot of the trail along with toilet facilities. The first few hundred meters of the trail snakes across a creek and through a dense dry rainforest.
The entire trail is a mix of switchbacks and upwards routes towards the summit. As the trail leaves the dense rainforest, lookouts are visible heading up the trail. The trail is more dry and rocky the further it gets to the ascent. At this point the trail changes from windy forest trails to a steeper incline.
Once again the trail goes through a deeper forest before spilling out to the point of rock scrambling. This area is where the trail can get a bit confusing. Because the trail is now rocks, it’s harder to depict where the trail is heading. The rock scrambling points up towards two boulders where the trail continues to.
It’s a bit of a thin spot, so you have to have enough stamina and energy to scramble up the rocks while following the path. Then hold onto the energy until you reach the boulders, there’s also some trees to hold onto.
From here the trail continues ascent steep, but the rock scrambling is over with. On top of the giant cliff boulders, the trail continues right around and ascending further. Finally it ends up near the summit and there’s multiple trails to walk around. It’s hard to follow the actual trail as there aren’t any markers and it’s now just giant boulders instead of a path.
At the summit it’s possible to see out to the ocean and the entire area. Mount Walsh itself is a paradise to natural beauty, which is even more visible on top. Sadly there’s no camping on the summit. Stay, enjoy the view, and don’t leave anything behind.
Attempting an overnight hike? Check out my overnight hike packing list to stock up on everything you may need.
Heading back down can get a bit intense as well. I felt more lost going down because the trail looks completely different backwards at times. It’s only the part between the rock scrambling until below the dense forest that gets confusing. Be careful around the rock scrambling, it feels a lot more steep going down.
The views are so phenomenal heading down it’s hard to imagine it was the same trail both ways.
This hikes is the perfect detour off of the Brisbane to Cairns road trip, for more guides check out the road trip category!