Visit 10 Of The Best National Parks in QLD
Queensland boasts over 1000 National Parks and protected areas, featuring a diversity of sceneries, habitats, flora and fauna. With so many options, choosing where to go for your nature fix can be a difficult decision. To assist travellers with this dilemma, we have assembled a list featuring 10 best National Parks in QLD.
Distances have been calculated for those starting their road trip from Brisbane or Cairns, to aid in the vacation planning.
Daintree National Park
Distance from Brisbane: 1773 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 21 hours
Distance from Cairns: 79 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 1 hours 15 minutes
This World Heritage Listed National Park epitomises Tropical North Queensland. The unique rainforest of the Daintree is one of the most ancient on Earth, and shelters a diversity of plant species and wildlife. In fact, thousands of creatures call this ecosystem home, many of which are not found anywhere else.
Don’t miss a visit to Myall beach, where the tropics meet the sand… which meet the Great Barrier Reef!
Deepwater National Park
Distance from Brisbane: 469 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 5 hours 45 minutes
Distance from Cairns: 1309 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 15 hours 10 minutes
This coastal park contains white sand beaches, rock pools, grassy hills and sand dunes. For an almost isolated adventure into pristine, seaside wilderness, Deepwater National Park is perfection.
For a calm swim, Flat Rock and Wreck Rock beaches will provide the ultimate protected water for a relaxing dip in the ocean.
Don’t miss the chance to spot some wildlife, from sea turtles, to kangaroos and a variety of reptiles, you are sure to come across many native species in the park.
Girraween National Park
Distance from Brisbane: 254 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 3 hours 09 minutes
Distance from Cairns: 1837 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 20 hours 43 minutes
This lesser-known gem is a hiker’s dream. The trails will take you via phenomenal rock formations, huge granite boulders and arches, rock pools and wild flowers.
There are walking tracks to suit all fitness levels, and lots of native wildlife about, including cheeky kookaburras and friendly kangaroos.
Don’t miss the walk to “The Pyramid”, this famous boulder that looks as if it might roll down the ravine at any moment, but wondrously does not.
Great Sandy National Park
Distance from Brisbane: 162 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Distance from Cairns: 1519 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 17 hours 30 minutes
This huge national park includes a section of coastline on the mainland, as well as World Heritage Listed Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island.
Be dwarfed by the massive sand dunes on the Sunshine Coast, and enjoy the surreal beaches, mangrove forests and whale watching opportunities. If you venture over to Fraser Island, be sure to explore the shipwrecks and walking trails.
Don’t miss the dingoes on Fraser Island, but be sure not to feed them, let the wildlife stay wild.
Lamington National Park
Distance from Brisbane: 106 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 1 hours 35 minutes
Distance from Cairns: 1803 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 21 hours 05 minutes
Celebrated for its Gondwanan legacy, this ancient, lush rainforest, is filled with raging waterfalls, ages old trees and over 320 kilometres of walking trails to choose from!
Lamington National Park holds a menagerie of bird life, and if you aren’t able to spot some of the more elusive species, you will surely hear them.
Don’t miss the Tree Tops walk, through the rainforest canopy, or the chance to feed wild birds outside O’Reilly’s gift shop.
Noosa National Park
Distance from Brisbane: 140 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 2 hours
Distance from Cairns: 1597 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 18 hours 40 minutes
For beaches that scream “Paradise”, you must visit Noosa National Park. If pristine sand and crystal-clear water isn’t enough to entice you, then the rock pools, abundant wildlife, and picture-perfect views might get you over the line.
Animals that you are likely to stumble upon include flying foxes, monitor lizards and a variety of parrots… plus, marine wildlife such as turtles and dolphins frequent the area too.
Don’t miss the Noosa Coastal Walk, a 10-kilometre track that takes you along the gorgeous seaside scenery of the Sunshine Coast.
Porcupine Gorge National Park
Distance from Brisbane: 1494 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 16 hours 40 minutes
Distance from Cairns: 527 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 6 hours 18 minutes
The unique landscape of Porcupine Gorge National Park, leaves its visitors mesmerised. Showcasing sheer rugged cliffs and spoilt with waterholes at the base of the gorge, the park is as impressive as it is ancient.
The sediment in the rocks here, dates back millennia, and provides the gorge with its dramatic shapes and colours.
Don’t miss a walk to the parks Pyramid, a huge sandstone monolith, which elevates from the base of the gorge and towers above.
Springbrook National Park
Distance from Brisbane: 107 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 1 hours 32 minutes
Distance from Cairns: 1805 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 21 hours
Massive ancient trees, swimming holes beneath tumbling waterfalls, hiking trails and wildlife. There is a lot to love about Springbrook National Park.
The drive in, is a highlight itself, with winding roads through magnificent rainforest scenery. The many lookout points are a photographer’s delight, and the picnic spots dotted throughout the park offer a respite from your walk.
Don’t miss the natural Bridge, by day you can delight is the waterfall and rock pools, by night enjoy the resident glow worms light display and colony of little bent-wing bats.
Blackdown Tableland National Park
Distance from Brisbane: 812 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 9 hours 30 minutes
Distance from Cairns: 1107 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 12 hours 45 minutes
Situated in the central highlands, this beautiful National Park is renowned for its falls, walks and ancient Indigenous rock art, by the Ghungalu people.
Available hiking trails cater to all levels of fitness, and the pristine rock pools provide a welcome place to cool down.
Don’t miss the phenomenal Gudda Gamoo (Rainbow Falls) Waterfall, and the delightful swimming hole below.
Cape Hillsborough National Park
Distance from Brisbane: 1014 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 11 hours 38 minutes
Distance from Cairns: 711 Kilometres / Est. Driving Time: 8 hours 28 minutes
Cape Hillsborough National Park boasts stunning beaches, which are surrounded by volcanic rock formations, eucalypt forest and native hoop pine trees.
Ocean wildlife flourishes here, due to the Great Barrier Reef that sits off the coastline. Explore the fairy rock pools, for a look at some of the sea creatures, such as sand crabs and star fish.
Don’t miss the wallabies on the beach at sunrise and sunset, and remember to bring the camera.
