Snapshot
| Where | Conondale National Park, Conondale Range, Queensland — About 130km north-west of Brisbane, roughly 2 hours' drive via Kenilworth · About 45 to 60 minutes from the Sunshine Coast · 28km from the Bruce Highway exit along the Eumundi–Kenilworth Road to Kenilworth · About 7km past Kenilworth to the Booloumba Creek turn-off · 13km past Conondale township on the Maleny route |
|---|---|
| Getting there | A high-clearance 4WD is required — every road inside the park is gravel and Booloumba Creek Road has several creek crossings, usually with water over them · The turn-off is reached either through Kenilworth off the Eumundi–Kenilworth Road or through Maleny and Conondale township · Roads close for deep water at the crossings and for wet, slippery conditions, and if it's flooded, forget it · Charlie Moreland camping area in adjoining Imbil State Forest is the conventional 2WD alternative |
| Best time | May to September — the drier, cooler months when the humidity drops, the crossings settle and the forest floor firms up; September is the driest month at about 43mm of rain and the creek is still swimmable |
| Worst time | December to March — the wettest stretch, peaking in March at about 379mm of rain on 18 rain days, when the crossings flood, access roads close and summer temperatures exceed 30°C in the forest with no cooling in the shade |
| Time needed | One day covers Booloumba Falls and the Gold Mine walk; two days adds Artists Cascades, the Strangler Cairn and a night at Booloumba Creek; three days adds Mount Allan; the Conondale Range Great Walk is four days on its own |
| Cost | No dollar figure for entry or camping is published on the QPWS Conondale pages — they state only that camping permits are required and fees apply · Registered high-clearance 4WDs need no special permit to drive park roads unless the trip is commercial, competitive or an organised event · Book permits through the Queensland National Parks Booking Service or phone 13 QGOV (13 74 68) and check the booking service for current fees |
| Facilities | The Booloumba Creek day-use area has barbeques, picnic tables and toilets; the three camping areas have toilets but no showers, barbecues or picnic tables · Water pumped from the creek at Booloumba Creek 1 is unsuitable for drinking without treatment, and visitors are asked to bring their own drinking water · There are no bins anywhere in the park, so all rubbish comes out with you · Fuel and supplies at Kenilworth, Conondale, Maleny and Kilcoy, none in the park · Mobile coverage is poor; pay phones sit at Booloumba Creek camping area 1 and outside the QPWS Kenilworth office on Sunday Creek Road |
| Best for | 4WD campers after creek-side swimming, multi-day walkers on the Conondale Range Great Walk, and Sunshine Coast visitors wanting rainforest gorges within a couple of hours of the coast |
| Difficulty |
3 of 5 — Challenging
Day walks are Grade 3 and 4 on generally firm tracks with steep sections, and the Great Walk is a 56km Grade 4 circuit with very steep grades and creek crossings; the access itself is the real filter, needing a high-clearance 4WD over several crossings that rise after rain. |
Driving there? Car hire and what to check →
Conondale National Park covers 35,700 hectares of rainforest, open forest, gorge and creek country in the Conondale Range, about 130km north-west of Brisbane behind the Sunshine Coast. Booloumba Creek runs through its heart, falling over rock ledges into pools and cascades below the day-use area, with The Breadknife rock formation standing where Peters Creek meets Booloumba Creek. This is Country of the Jinibara people and the Kabi Kabi people — areas of traditional and contemporary significance to both — and Kabi Kabi families journeyed through seasonally, camping near reliable water. The rocks underfoot were laid down as muds and dirty sands in an ocean trench between 370 and 320 million years ago, later stood on end, and the gorges were cut across that grain.
For a visitor it comes down to water and walking: swim and camp beside Booloumba Creek, walk to falls, sculpture and an old gold mine, or commit four days to the Great Walk from the same trailhead.
Go if…
- You want cold, clear creek swimming in rainforest gorge country reached at the end of a gravel road
- You have a high-clearance 4WD and are comfortable driving through creeks with water over the road
- You want a 56km four-day Grade 4 circuit — the Conondale Range Great Walk — with three remote walkers' camps on route
- You like your art in the bush: Andy Goldsworthy's 3.7m Strangler Cairn sculpture sits at the end of a 6.5km return walk
Skip it if…
- You drive a 2WD, a caravan or a low-clearance vehicle — every park road is gravel and the Booloumba Creek crossings rule all of them out
- You want a serviced base — there are no showers, no shops, no bins and no reliable phone coverage anywhere in the park
- You are heading in after heavy rain: the crossings flood, the roads close, and wet-weather access restrictions are a recurring fact of this park
- You are set on climbing the Mount Allan fire tower — Queensland Parks has closed the tower to climbing under a standing alert
What to expect
Reviewed
You come in from the north or the south and the last half hour is the same kind of country either way. From Brisbane it is about 130km and roughly two hours: north on the Bruce Highway, off at the Kenilworth exit and 28km along the Eumundi–Kenilworth Road into Kenilworth, then about 7km to the Booloumba Creek turn-off just past the Sunday Creek Road turn-off. The alternative runs through Maleny and Conondale township, with the turn-off 13km past the township. From the turn-off it is gravel, and every road inside the park is gravel and suited only to high-clearance four-wheel drives. Booloumba Creek Road crosses the creek several times and the crossings usually have water over them; they flood quickly after rain and the park closes roads for deep water and slippery conditions — the official advice is blunt, if it's flooded, forget it. Slow at blind corners too, because wide-load logging trucks use these forest roads, and the Mount Allan to Charlie Moreland track sometimes closes for forestry operations.
The Booloumba Creek day-use area is the hub: barbeques, picnic tables and toilets beside a rainforest-lined creek, with the three camping areas strung along Booloumba Creek Road beyond it. Booloumba Creek 1 takes tents plus a handful of sites for high-clearance 4WD campervans and off-road camper trailers, has flush toilets including wheelchair-accessible ones, a wheelchair-friendly tent site for a six-person tent and the park's pay phone. Booloumba Creek 3 is tents only, and Booloumba Creek 4 is the open-forest option for tents, high-clearance 4WD campervans and off-road caravans and camper trailers, suiting larger groups. None of the three has showers, barbecues or picnic tables; campfires are allowed in the provided fire rings subject to conditions, generators and dogs are not, and the creek water at area 1 must be treated before drinking. Parking sits beside the road adjoining the sites, so expect to carry your gear a short distance, and everything you bring in goes out again — there are no bins, deliberately, to keep feral animals away.
The Conondale Range Great Walk is the park's big commitment and it starts and finishes at the Booloumba Creek day-use area. It is a 56km Grade 4 circuit walked in four days, with three remote walkers' camps at Wongai, Tallowwood and Summer Falls. The stages run 11km in about six hours to Wongai, 17km in eight hours to Tallowwood, 15.2km in seven hours to Summer Falls and 12km in six and a half hours back to Booloumba Creek, including the 1.5km return detour to the Mount Allan fire tower. The track is clearly marked and generally firm and stable, but it includes very steep grades and creek crossings and follows new track, old forest roads and snigging tracks. The route deliberately keeps out of the Bundaroo Creek catchment, which is essentially road-free and has virtually no logging recorded — a decision that matches the conservation intent of the range.
The gorge walks all start from the same corner of the park. The Booloumba Falls walk runs 3km return in about two hours from the Booloumba Falls car park, and it passes The Breadknife where Peters Creek meets Booloumba Creek. The Gold Mine walk is 5.2km return in two hours from the day-use area through riparian rainforest to the entrance of a 1920s gold mine that is closed to the public for safety, although eastern horseshoe bats and common bentwing bats roost inside it. The Strangler Cairn walk is 6.5km return in two hours 30 minutes to Andy Goldsworthy's 3.7m sculpture of hand-cut granite and metamorphic blocks with a strangler fig sapling growing from its top, and Artists Cascades runs 10.6km return in four hours through Booloumba Creek Gorge with a side track to the cairn. These are Grade 3 and 4 walks, and the rock near the water is slippery.
The forest here holds more than 120 bird species and a long list of rare plants, and the animals worth listening for include the threatened yellow-bellied glider in the open forest — at night its calls carry — along with the cascade treefrog and plumed frogmouth shared with the Blackall Range. Northern brown bandicoots and red-necked pademelons turn up around the camps, and the rocks tell an older story: sediments laid down 370 to 320 million years ago were compressed and uplifted around 315 million years ago, with phyllite near Artists Cascades taking its silver sheen from mica. Forestry left its own marks, from the Mount Allan fire tower with its interpretive signs to the snigging tracks the Great Walk now uses. The park asks for minimal impact: take all rubbish out, reduce food packaging before you arrive, and respect sacred places.
Where to stay
Most people camp inside the park at Booloumba Creek; the fallback is Kenilworth for fuel, food and beds, or Maleny, and Charlie Moreland in Imbil State Forest is the 2WD camping option.
When bookings open: Camping permits must be booked in advance through the Queensland National Parks Booking Service and a camping tag with your booking number displayed at your camp site. The QPWS Conondale pages publish no booking window, so treat school holidays and long weekends as busy and book early. Official booking page. Checked 22 October 2026. Booking dates for every state.
| Stay | Guest rating | Best for | Distance | Style | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Booloumba Creek 1 camping area | Not rated | Tent campers who want flush toilets, a pay phone and a wheelchair-friendly site | Booloumba Creek Road, about 7km past Kenilworth — high-clearance 4WD only | Tent camping beside the creek, with camper trailers permitted at a few specific sites and a wheelchair-friendly tent site for a six-person tent; flush toilets including wheelchair-accessible ones, a pay phone and creek water that must be treated before drinking, but no showers, barbecues or picnic tables, no generators, no dogs and no mobile coverage | Book now |
| Booloumba Creek 3 camping area | Not rated | Walkers and tent campers after the quietest of the three areas | Booloumba Creek Road, beyond Camping Area 1 — tents only | Tents only, with no caravan, camper trailer or campervan access, campfires allowed in the provided fire rings subject to conditions, toilets on site, no wheelchair access, no generators and no dogs | Book now |
| Booloumba Creek 4 camping area | Not rated | Off-road caravanners and larger groups | Booloumba Creek Road, the furthest of the three areas — open forest setting | Tents, high-clearance 4WD campervans and high-clearance 4WDs towing off-road caravans and camper trailers; open forest that suits large groups, campfires allowed subject to conditions, toilets, no wheelchair access, no generators and no dogs | Book now |
| Charlie Moreland camping area | Not rated | Conventional 2WD vehicles and families who want creek-side camping without the crossings | Sunday Creek Road, Imbil State Forest — 5km along Sunday Creek Road from the Maleny–Kenilworth Road | The 2WD-accessible alternative to Booloumba Creek, in adjoining Imbil State Forest, offering similar creek-side walking and camping on a road conventional vehicles can manage | Book now |
| Crystal Waters EcoPark | Not rated | RV and tent campers who want hot showers and a camp kitchen after a wet day | Lot 48/65 Kilcoy Lane, Conondale | Bush camping on nine sites within a wildlife sanctuary in the Crystal Waters Eco Village, with powered and unpowered van and tent sites plus bunkhouse rooms, hot showers, laundry, a covered camp kitchen with fridge, fire pit and broadband; powered sites from A$25 a night for one person | Check rates |
| Down at The Dale | Not rated | Couples wanting a bed, a bath and a deck after days on the tracks | 1267 Maleny–Kenilworth Road, Conondale — about 13km north-west of Maleny | Two private self-contained cabins on an 82-acre working cattle farm with views to the Conondale Ranges and Kenilworth; each has a queen bed, kitchen, ensuite, deck with outdoor bath and fire pit | Check rates |
Audacia earns a commission on qualifying bookings made through the booking links and widgets on this page, at no extra cost to you.
What to do here
7 walks & sights
Booloumba Falls walk
The signature walk of the park, 3km return from the Booloumba Falls car park in about two hours, climbing beside Booloumba Creek through the junction where Peters Creek joins Booloumba Creek and The Breadknife rock formation stands in the creek. The forest on the way is the wet, green kind that keeps the creek running, and the falls themselves run in two sections down a steep rock face. Carry water and watch your footing on the rock near the falls — surfaces are slippery and the pools below hold submerged logs, so look before you get in and never dive in. The falls car park sits at the far end of Booloumba Creek Road past the camping areas, so the high-clearance 4WD and several creek crossings come with the walk, and wet weather has repeatedly closed this car park under access restrictions.
Gold Mine walk
A 5.2km return walk from the Booloumba Creek day-use area through riparian rainforest to the entrance of a 1920s gold mine. The mine is closed to the public for safety, but the entrance is worth the walk: eastern horseshoe bats and common bentwing bats roost inside, and one creek-side stop along the way is known as a place to sit and soak. Allow two hours and treat it as the morning leg beside the Booloumba Falls walk.
Strangler Cairn walk
A 6.5km return walk to one of the more unusual things in any Queensland park: Andy Goldsworthy's Strangler Cairn, a 3.7m sculpture of hand-cut granite and metamorphic blocks with a rainforest strangler fig sapling planted in its top, intended to eventually be strangled by the fig's own roots. The track is Grade 3 and firm underfoot, and the sculpture sits in rainforest where the light drops away. It is a sculpture in a forest, not a lookout — go for the walk and the object together.
Artists Cascades
The big day walk, 10.6km return in about four hours through subtropical rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest along Booloumba Creek Gorge, with a side track to the Strangler Cairn. The creek cascades through boulder gardens and over the iron- and manganese-stained phyllite that gives the rock here its colour and silver sheen. It is Grade 4, it is four hours of walking before you add stops, and after rain the creek crossings and rock ledges demand attention.
Conondale Range Great Walk
The Conondale Range Great Walk is the park's big commitment: a 56km Grade 4 circuit starting and finishing at the Booloumba Creek day-use area over four days, with three remote walkers' camps at Wongai, Tallowwood and Summer Falls. The stages run 11km in about six hours to Wongai, 17km in eight hours to Tallowwood, 15.2km in seven hours to Summer Falls, and 12km in six and a half hours back to Booloumba Creek including the 1.5km return detour to the Mount Allan fire tower. The track is clearly marked and generally firm and stable, but it includes very steep grades and creek crossings and runs over new track, old forest roads and snigging tracks, so a good level of fitness and navigation sense are assumed. Walkers' camps need a camping permit booked in advance, and the circuit keeps out of the road-free Bundaroo catchment by design.
Booloumba Creek day-use area and Peters Creek walk
The day-use area is where most people spend the middle of the day: barbeques, picnic tables and toilets beside a creek lined with rainforest, with pools deep enough to swim in and shallow enough for kids. Bring your own drinking water and either a fuel stove or clean milled firewood, because gathering wood in the park is illegal. The Peters Creek walk is a 500m return stroll of about 15 minutes, and it is the easiest way to see where the water comes from.
Mount Allan and the Charlie Moreland link
The 11km return Grade 4 walk from the Booloumba Creek day-use area climbs to Mount Allan, where a 9.6m fire tower gives 360-degree views over the Mary Valley and the Conondale Ranges, with interpretive signs on past forestry fire and plantation management. Note that Queensland Parks has closed the fire tower to climbing under a standing alert, so treat the tower itself as scenery and check park alerts before you plan on the stairs. From Mount Allan an 8.8km return Grade 4 walk drops to Charlie Moreland camping area in Imbil State Forest through steep State Forest roads and pine plantation, and that track sometimes closes for forestry operations.
Conondale itineraries: 1, 2 or 3 days
3 plans
One day: Booloumba Falls and the gold mine
- Morning. Drive in from Brisbane — about 130km, roughly 2 hours via Kenilworth — and walk Booloumba Falls from the Booloumba Falls car park: 3km return, allow 2 hours, Grade 3, passing The Breadknife where Peters Creek joins Booloumba Creek.
- Afternoon. Back at the Booloumba Creek day-use area, walk the Gold Mine walk: 5.2km return, allow 2 hours, Grade 3, through riparian rainforest to the closed 1920s gold mine entrance, then swim in the creek pools. The day-use area has barbeques, picnic tables and toilets.
About 8km on foot plus the drive each way, and no nights. The plan runs from the Booloumba Creek day-use area, reached by high-clearance 4WD over several creek crossings; fuel and supplies are at Kenilworth, there is no phone coverage in the park, and the crossings flood after rain.
Two days: the gorge and the Strangler Cairn
- Day 1. Booloumba Falls (3km return, allow 2 hours, Grade 3) and the Gold Mine walk (5.2km return, allow 2 hours), then set up camp at Booloumba Creek 1 and swim in the creek.
- Day 2, morning. Artists Cascades through Booloumba Creek Gorge: 10.6km return, allow 4 hours, Grade 4, with the side track to the Strangler Cairn sculpture. The standalone Strangler Cairn walk is 6.5km return in 2 hours 30 minutes if you want a shorter day.
- Day 2, afternoon. Pack down and drive out via Kenilworth, filling up there before the highway.
About 19km on foot over two days, one night at Booloumba Creek. Camping permits are required and must be booked in advance through the Queensland National Parks Booking Service, with the camping tag displayed at your site; the park pages publish no fee amounts. Everything runs from the Booloumba Creek day-use area, high-clearance 4WD only.
Three days: add Mount Allan
- Day 1. Booloumba Falls (3km return, allow 2 hours) and the Gold Mine walk (5.2km return, allow 2 hours), then camp at Booloumba Creek 1.
- Day 2. Artists Cascades through Booloumba Creek Gorge (10.6km return, allow 4 hours, Grade 4), with the side track to the Strangler Cairn sculpture.
- Day 3, morning. Booloumba Creek to Mount Allan: 11km return, allow 3 hours 30 minutes, Grade 4, to the 9.6m fire tower and its 360-degree views over the Mary Valley and the Conondale Ranges. Climbing the tower is not always permitted — check park alerts first.
- Day 3, afternoon. Pack down and drive out via Kenilworth, filling up there. If you have the legs, the Mount Allan to Charlie Moreland walk is 8.8km return in 4 hours, but that track sometimes closes for forestry operations.
About 30km on foot over three days, two nights at Booloumba Creek. Day 3 is the longest at 11km return before any side trip. Camping permits must be booked in advance, fuel and supplies are at Kenilworth, Conondale, Maleny and Kilcoy, and the whole plan needs a high-clearance 4WD. The Conondale Range Great Walk — 56km, four days — is a separate trip from the same trailhead.
Experiences worth booking
Tours run by independent operators and booked on Viator. Booking links go to Viator, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices are "from" figures in AUD, checked 2026-11-09.
Suggested gear for Conondale
18 items
- Water bottles or a hydration bladder Carry at least 2 litres per person on the walks.
- Water treatment tablets or a filter Treat creek and camping-area water before drinking.
- Sun hat, sunscreen (SPF 50+) and sunglasses
- Sturdy, broken-in walking shoes or boots
- Day pack (20–30 L)
- First aid kit, including blister care
- Insect repellent
- Head torch with spare batteries
- Lightweight rain jacket
- Personal locator beacon Mobile coverage is unreliable in remote parks.
- Rated recovery gear — snatch strap, rated shackles and a tyre repair kit Every park road is gravel and the Booloumba Creek crossings are unbridged and usually wet; a high-clearance 4WD is required, and there is no roadside help inside the park.
- Water shoes or grippy sandals for the crossings Water usually covers the Booloumba Creek crossings, the park warns of slippery rock surfaces around every pool and cascade, and you will be in and out of the creek at camp.
- A second spare tyre and a jack you have used before Sharp gravel, steep sections in and out of the creeks and no fuel or tyre service between Kenilworth and the falls car park.
- Clean milled firewood or a fuel stove Campfires are allowed only in constructed fireplaces or provided fire rings and are banned when prohibitions apply, collecting firewood from the park is illegal, and the day-use area asks for a fuel stove or clean milled timber.
- Strong sealable bags or containers for food and rubbish There are no bins anywhere in the park — the design is deliberate, to keep feral animals away — so everything you carry in comes out with you.
- A warm layer and a sleeping bag rated for near-freezing nights Temperatures in the area drop below zero in winter and nights are cool at any time of year, and the Booloumba Creek camps sit in a shaded gorge where the cold settles.
- An offline map or a printed park map Mobile coverage is poor across the park, the Great Walk follows old forest roads and snigting tracks where junctions look alike, and you cannot rely on reloading a map at a turn.
- Extra drinking-water capacity beyond your day bottle Water pumped from the creek at Booloumba Creek 1 is unsuitable for drinking without treatment and the day-use area asks visitors to bring their own, so the nearest reliable supply is back in Kenilworth.
How this compares
Conondale vs Glass House Mountains National Park
Glass House Mountains National Park is the cluster of volcanic plugs rising from the coastal plain between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast — short, steep summit and lookout walks on sealed roads, with no 4WD and no creek crossings to think about. It suits a half-day of big views rather than a weekend in forest. Choose Glass House Mountains for lookouts and short climbs on the drive north; choose Conondale for cold rock pools, deep rainforest and camping at the end of a gravel road.
- Difficulty
- 2 of 5 — Moderate
- Access
- Sealed roads and 2WD access to the main day-use areas and lookouts
- Best for
- Short summit walks · Lookouts · A stop between Brisbane and the coast
Conondale vs Main Range National Park
Main Range National Park is the Scenic Rim's heavyweight — volcanic escarpments and World Heritage Gondwana rainforest on the rim of the Fassifern Valley, with cliff-edge walks like Mount Cordeaux and Bare Rock. It is closer to Brisbane and more dramatic per hour of walking, but it has no creek you can swim in and no village of food and fuel beside it. Choose Main Range for escarpment walking and World Heritage rainforest on a short trip from Brisbane; choose Conondale for swimming holes, gorge country and a four-day circuit that starts at the car park.
- Difficulty
- 3 of 5 — Challenging
- Access
- Sealed highways and park roads from the Cunningham and New England highways; day-use areas suit 2WD
- Best for
- Escarpment walks · World Heritage rainforest · Weekend from Brisbane
Conondale vs Bunya Mountains National Park
Bunya Mountains National Park protects the world's largest stand of ancient bunya pines on a cool plateau, with rainforest circuits, three camping areas and red-necked wallabies grazing beside the tents at dusk. It is easier to reach in a conventional vehicle and gives a full weekend of walking without a single creek crossing. Choose Bunya Mountains for bunya pines, easy camping and tracks that start at the tent door; choose Conondale for turquoise creek pools, gorge walking and the longer, rougher Great Walk.
- Difficulty
- 2 of 5 — Moderate
- Access
- Steep, narrow sealed approaches, manageable in 2WD in dry conditions
- Best for
- Rainforest circuits · Easy camping · Cool-plateau escapes
Before you go
- Take a high-clearance 4WD — every road inside the park is gravel and Booloumba Creek Road has several creek crossings, usually with water over them; registered vehicles need no special permit unless the trip is commercial, competitive or an organised event, and conditionally-registered vehicles are not permitted
- Book camping before you leave home: permits are required at Booloumba Creek 1, 3 and 4 and at the Great Walk walkers' camps, all camp sites must be booked in advance through the Queensland National Parks Booking Service (13 QGOV, 13 74 68), and the camping tag with your booking number must be displayed at your site
- Check park alerts and road closures before you drive in — roads close for deep water at the crossings and for wet, slippery conditions, and wet-weather access restrictions have repeatedly shut Booloumba Creek Road beyond Camping Area 4, the Booloumba Falls car park and the Booloumba View Lookout
- Fill up before you turn off: fuel and supplies are at Kenilworth, Conondale, Maleny and Kilcoy, and there is nothing inside the park
- Bring all the drinking water you need — the creek water pumped at Booloumba Creek 1 is unsuitable for drinking without treatment, and visitors to the day-use area are asked to bring their own
- There are no bins anywhere in the park, so carry strong sealable bags or containers for food and rubbish and take everything out with you; collecting firewood is illegal, so bring clean milled timber or use a fuel stove
- Expect no usable phone coverage — reception is poor across the park, pay phones sit at Booloumba Creek camping area 1 and outside the QPWS Kenilworth office on Sunday Creek Road, and Triple Zero (000) is the emergency number
- Never dive into creeks or rock pools: submerged rocks and logs, unpredictable depth and slippery surfaces; and if the crossings are flooded, forget it
When to go
seasons & the hard months
May to September is the comfortable window. The cooler months drop the humidity that makes the forest hard work in summer, the creek crossings settle and the walking surfaces firm up, and September is the driest month of the year at about 43mm of rain. Winter is genuinely cold by coastal standards — temperatures in the area drop below zero on winter nights and nights are cool at any time of year — but the days are clear and the swimming is still on. Whatever the month, the park is beautiful in the wet, and the waterfalls run best when the rain has been recent.
December to March is the range at full volume and at its least forgiving: temperatures exceed 30°C, the forest does not cool even in shade, and March averages about 379mm of rain across 18 rain days. That is when the crossings flood, the roads close and wet-weather access restrictions bite. Summer is also when the park is busiest, since Brisbane is only a couple of hours away, so the best quiet-and-dry compromise is late autumn through spring outside school holidays. Whenever you go, remember the annual rainfall here runs to about 1,721mm, so a wet day is always possible.
Questions
6 answers
Yes. Every road inside Conondale National Park is gravel and Booloumba Creek Road includes several creek crossings, usually with water over them, so Queensland Parks requires a high-clearance 4WD for the Booloumba Creek day-use and camping areas. If you are in a conventional vehicle, the Charlie Moreland camping area in adjoining Imbil State Forest is the 2WD-accessible alternative.
The QPWS Conondale pages state only that camping permits are required and fees apply — no dollar amounts are published there. Check the Queensland National Parks Booking Service for current fees before you book, and remember that permits are required at Booloumba Creek 1, 3 and 4 and at the Great Walk walkers' camps.
Book through the Queensland National Parks Booking Service online, or phone 13 QGOV (13 74 68) for bookings, cancellations and permit enquiries. Camping permits for all camp sites must be booked in advance, and a camping tag showing your booking number must be displayed at your site. The park pages publish no booking window, so treat holiday periods as busy.
Yes — the creek pools below the day-use area are the reason many people come. Never dive in: the pools hold submerged rocks and logs and the depth is unpredictable, and the rock surfaces around the water are slippery. Bring your own drinking water, because the creek water is unsuitable for drinking without treatment.
It is a 56km Grade 4 circuit walked in four days, starting and finishing at the Booloumba Creek day-use area, with three remote walkers' camps at Wongai, Tallowwood and Summer Falls. The longest stage is 17km in about eight hours, and the last day includes the 1.5km return detour to the Mount Allan fire tower.
None of those in the park. Fuel and supplies are at Kenilworth, Conondale, Maleny and Kilcoy, mobile coverage is poor across the park, and pay phones are at Booloumba Creek camping area 1 and outside the QPWS Kenilworth office on Sunday Creek Road. There are no bins either — take your rubbish out with you.
Nearby & next
Official information
Always check current alerts before you travel.