Scenic Rim Trail Track Report- Feb 2025

[Tigers_Stripes]

[*] Scenic Rim Trail (48km) 2 Day

See my video that I’ve put together for the 1st day ( equivalent of day 1+2) of the SRT .I’ll be putting the video together of Day 2 this week and will be posting it. Im currently in training to do the PCT trail a 4200km hike, so if you like the video- subscribe and I’ll be posting a bunch more content including the Great Cooloola walk ( about to start)

https://youtu.be/hddMoKrFqLg

YouTube- @tigers.stripes “Hiking- Scenic Rim Trail, Main Range National Park, Qld, Australia”

SRT SUMMARY-

Hikes potential- 4/5 stars (currently very very over grown and probably wouldn’t recommend unless your experienced, and have got decent gators/ long pants and gps)


Date completed- 5/2/25 - 6/2/25

Days taken: 2 days 1 night

Transport/getting there - Parked my car at West Cunninghams Gap rest area and arranged a lift from Encompass Wellbeing ( 0478041512 ) for 6am the morning of my hike. It cost $270 but was a 1.5 hour trip. Note: do not take the short cut on Red Gap Road ( it’s a fire trail, washed out and requires 4wd)

I arrived at around 8am and set off. The start of the hike is severely overgrown and without a gps would be very difficult to follow if not impossible. Constantly pushing through hip/shoulder high scrub with no visual on your foot placement. The actual ascent wasn’t too bad. Would highly recommend walking poles to help clear the track, clear spiders webs, and also would highly recommend for some of the decent on slippery rocks. I made it to the first camp by 11am and continued to the second camp (equivalent of day 2) for 4:30pm. I had some light rain , went through a few section of very bad leeches, saw a python and a few feral pigs. Second camp had a nice drop toilet and water in the tank.

Day 2 I kicked off around 7am again a few sections of severely overgrown trail, lots of trees down across parts of it, lots of prickly wild strawberry bushes across the trail and what I believe to be gympie gympie trees along side the trail. Again would highly recommend gators/ long pants as my legs got destroyed and covered in cuts by bush bashing through on the trail. Hiking poles also very handy pushing the prickly strawberry bushes aside. Creek crossing were tiny ( 2m wide ankle deep). I made it to the 3rd camp ( equivalent of day 3) by 11:30am. Water in the tanks here and nice tent platforms. Had lunch up on bare rock lookout with great views, but an approaching storm front. By the time I left here it was pouring with rain and vis dropped down to 20m with cloud coming across. Saw about 6 pythons, 3 other unidentified snakes all basking in the sun next to the trail. I finished up at around 5:30pm back at west Cunningham’s gap carpark. Note there is approximately 2.5km additional to the all trails route to get back to this carpark.

Has got the potential to be a great hike and was surprised at how parks present this hike online and the fact they have put a lot of effort into the trail, huts, camps and signage/ info boards. But appears it’s been completed left with little Maintence in some parts and no care to upkeep this awesome trail.

Let me know if you’ve got any Questions!

[Summitview]

Tiger - many thanks for your help with this walk. I have just done the walk, and the track was cleaned up in the lead-up to the commercial season opening in April and after ex-cyclone Alfred. My own report on the walk follows in the next post.

[Summitview]

Report on the Scenic Rim Trail

I walked the Scenic Rim Trail in south-east Queensland in early April 2025. I have major problems with the increasing trend of creating walks in national parks that provide exclusive rights to commercial operators. As a result, I approached the walk with scepticism; nonetheless, I really enjoyed it. I hope this report provides useful information for those contemplating walking the Scenic Rim Trail. To be clear, I walked on my own, rather than with a Spicers commercial trip.

How many days to take?
The walk is normally 47km but is currently 50km long (due to road work closures at Cunninghams Gap) and it is expected that walkers will take four days, with three designated camping areas. I did not record a gpx file for the walk, but the approximate distances and gross climbs for the days are:

Day 1: 9km and 750 metres
Day 2: 14.5 km and 570 metres
Day 3: 10.5 km and 400 metres
Day 4: 15.8 km and 340 metres
These are short distances for most experienced walkers, although the standard of the track varies significantly.
A few people have done the walk in two days (and some in one), but these would be long days for most people. It all depends on how you want to walk the track. I felt two days would be too rushed and considered just combining days 1 and 2. I am glad I didn’t; as an ecologist and birdwatcher, I enjoyed being very leisurely. I started walking the first day just before midday so that I would not get into the first camp too early. Even with a late start, the second day did bring me into camp fairly early. The third day, however, I was very happy to take the day slowly through superb rainforest and to enjoy the birdlife at the third camp.

Campsites
The walk is expected to be undertaken from north to south. To encourage this, the three ‘official’ campsites for the walk cannot be booked separately, but must be booked as a package over three consecutive nights. They are in order: Mt Mistake, Castle View and Banshee. Each campsite has a toilet and a water tank. Note that toilet paper is not provided and, of course, there are no rubbish bins, so you are carrying out your rubbish.
The booking system allows three bookings for each starting date, and a booking can be for up to four people. (Note that apparently in the past the booking system was flawed and might only allow one booking per night – it looks like that has been fixed). That means there could be up to 12 tents at a campsite on any night. That would make the campsites very crowded. So, it is a lottery whom you will share your evenings with. I chanced to get a group of three teenage boys, who were a little louder than I would have liked.

The first two nights I could camp on management tracks to get some distance. I found to my cost, however, that the management track at Castle View quickly floods – an unpredicted storm dumping 20-30 mm appeared from nowhere.
Banshee is the only campsite with timber platforms, and there were four of those. Most people would find it difficult to fit more than one tent on the platforms, but there are other decent tent sites available off the platforms.
The water tanks would have been recently filled by ex-cyclone Alfred. I do not know if the tank water levels are monitored by Parks or Spicers, or if they would be refilled during an extended dry (all campsites are accessible by offroad vehicles). When Spicers are running commercial tours, someone drives a buggy past the first two campsites and I understand checks them, but I don’t know what maintenance they would undertake (other than clearing the track). There are creek crossings on day 3 and water would generally be accessible not far from the track on day 4.

Another option for camping is the QNPWS ‘remote bush camps’. These have no facilities, might not be maintained and are tricky to locate from the QNPWS map: https://parks.desi.qld.gov.au/parks/main-range/camping#park-maps

The campsites relevant to this walk appear to be Knoll E12, Knoll T30 and Ramparts South. You can book these online for the standard tent site fee – an approach I have not heard of outside Queensland. They would certainly be a way of avoiding the crowds for a night.

Walking track standard and what to expect each day
The first day is mostly along a well-benched track with switchbacks up a solid climb. At times, the track goes up narrow creek lines. After rain, these sections could be slippery or even flooded, which could make it interesting. The walk is mostly through highly disturbed ground with significant weed infestations, but after a while great views open up across the plains towards Brisbane and Mt Mistake.
The second day was along a management trail through mostly good quality subtropical rainforest, with very limited long views before the campsite.

The third day was nearly all along a narrow and often subtle foot-track. Walkers sometimes need a well-developed sense of track-finding, particularly when negotiating treefalls. The ground underfoot is often uneven and slippery, due to the clayey soils. Some downhill sections of rock need to be taken slowly. The track goes through some outstanding rainforest and occasionally emerges out at spectacular lookouts. There are also multiple creek crossings, which I was interested to find mostly did not have bridges or stepping stones, so prepare for wet feet. The water levels were up following rain the previous night, but I decided I couldn’t be bothered taking shoes and socks off each time – you might prefer to carry thongs or similar for the crossings. Walking poles were useful for the crossings and the riverside rock slabs, which were often very slippery.
Day four was again mostly under rainforest canopy. I particularly needed to take care to follow the route heading up from the saddle about 3km past Banshee campsite. Once you get to Bare Rock, the track standard improves considerably, as does your walking speed. The views from Bare Rock and Mt Cordeaux lookout are superb. As of April 2025, Crest carpark at Cunninghams Gap is closed and walkers need to continue a further 2.5 km to West Gap Creek picnic area. This track is through magnificent brushbox forest, but it can be slippery or boggy underfoot.
There are very few markers along the track, other than at track junctions. This makes it more challenging to follow the track, but I support the decision to keep the bush relatively unchanged in this way. Having said that, the track had been maintained in preparation for the suggested walking season starting in April, and after ex-cyclone Alfred. There were still fallen trees, which can occur all through the year, but the track was not overgrown as it reportedly was in February.

Hazards and pests
There seems to be a high chance that you will see snakes. Mostly, these will be pythons which, while non-venomous, I am told might strike if they feel threatened. A bite would be unpleasant and an infection risk. There are also venomous snakes in the area, including brown and black snakes, so it is important to be alert while walking.
Many people report ticks and leeches. I was fortunate not to find either on me, although I did see some leeches at Banshee. My good fortune might have been because I treated my clothes and gaiters with permethrin. My only caution here is that it appears that you should only treat overwear and not underwear, including socks.

Everyone, particularly those from outside Queensland, should ensure they know what the leaves of the giant stinging tree or gympie gympie look like. Coming into contact with this plant can be extremely painful, meaning that leaving the walking path should be done with great caution.

Accessing the start and finish
For some reason, both Google and Apple maps were giving us weird instructions to get to the start of the walk. Don’t trust them in this case, as I have heard reports of people being directed to very dodgy four-wheel drive tracks. Instead, follow the directions on the QNPWS website. Lower clearance vehicles should be able to get to the trailhead with a little care; the only section that could cause problems is the last kilometre.
For those needing public transport, buses run regularly between Brisbane and Toowoomba, and it appears from the internet there are taxis based in Laidley that could get you to the start.

Getting public transport from the end of the walk is more difficult. Crisps Coaches has a service that leaves Fisher Park for Brisbane at 8.35 am most days. Fisher Park is an extra 2 km west of West Gap Creek Picnic area. It would not be practicable to get from Banshee to Fisher Park by that time. An alternative would be to stay at Stacey’s at the Gap the previous night, which extends the trip by a day. On limited days, there is a Crisps Coaches service to Brisbane at 12.30pm from Fisher Gap, which might be feasible with a very early start from Banshee and some fast walking.

It appears that shuttle service businesses in the area come and go quickly. At the time of writing, there is no taxi service operating out of Boonah.
If you need a shuttle, I would first try Encompass Wellbeing on 0478 041 512. Fighting Fit is a gym in Toowoomba which also provides some outdoor services, but is probably better placed geographically for a drop-off at the start of the walk. Green Frog Cars 0409 111 752 (in Beaudesert) and Cher Ride 0413 030 480 might also be options. If you are heading to Brisbane, you would probably be looking for a lift to one of the Ipswich area railway stations, and then taking one of the regular services into Brisbane (currently 50 cents for the trip!). Other than Crisps, there appear to be no regular bus services from Boonah.
Finally, you could consider hitch-hiking, but that is made more difficult by the ongoing road works at Cunninghams Gap. This busy road is down to one lane for a short section with alternating direction flows, meaning that eastbound traffic queues back beyond the West Gap Creek picnic area. It is therefore unlikely that people are going to stop when they are able to move, although you just might be able to charm someone at the picnic area or who is stationary in their car on the highway!

Resources
Your first stop for information is the QNPWS webpage for the walk. It is a bit fiddly to navigate, but it does have useful information. Despite the sometimes clunky cheap-tourism-promotion style writing style, I recommend downloading or printing the track notes, but they are certainly not sufficiently detailed to help route find along the way.

There are two places, however, where the track notes are misleading, both on day three. From Sylvesters Lookout, the track resumes right from the end of the railing around the lookout. The track notes might also confuse in the Dalrymple Creek area. The notes say that the track zigzags bring you into a gully – they are actually taking you to the first creek crossing. From here, you continue shortly downstream until the next creek junction – another track marker or two might have been helpful here! At this point you head upstream maybe 10-20 metres, possibly crossing the stream a couple of times, until the signposted track heads generally south uphill. The track notes say that you ‘continue upstream’, but note that you are not walking right beside the creek, but are up the hillside! An additional confusion is that the QTOPO digital coverage has the first creek crossing marked in the wrong spot; it should be marked as on the eastern tributary, upstream of the junction – not just downstream of the junction.

I had QTOPO coverage on my GPS app and that conveniently has the Trail marked on it. I also uploaded two gpx files from web sources, but these were strangely inaccurate.

I also believe in taking paper map coverage as back-up. I didn’t try to track down the five 1:25 000 map sheets (which would have been heavy to carry). The QTOPO digital online coverage is good (but beware you have to tick a small ‘I agree’ box at the bottom of the first page to allow access). To save on weight, I used the ‘Snip’ tool to print off just what I wanted and this provided reasonable quality prints, but I found my GPS app a much more useful tool for navigation.

AllTrails provides a really 3D nice preview of the walk, but I think you need to be a subscriber.
I also found the Take-A-Hike Queensland Facebook group useful for gathering information. I was fortunate to have one of the group members very kindly offer me a lift from the end of the walk to Ipswich.

Weather
Be cautious in interpreting weather forecasts on the website or apps. I am certain that none them are specifically tailored to the particular microclimates along the top of the range. As someone trying to reduce my pack weight, I had carefully checked weather forecasts for stations surrounding the walking area to assess what wet-weather and warm gear to take. All of the forecasts suggested I might at most get a couple of millimetres. As mentioned above, I probably got 20-30 mm in one downpour.
The track gets to about 1100 metres above sea-level and the campsites are not much lower. Notwithstanding the latitude, the third night was quite cool. Queensland walkers would better understand how to cater to the climate, but I would encourage others like myself from southern Australia to err towards good wet weather gear and some warm clothes.

Phone reception
I have access to the full Telstra network and the coverage was variable. Much of the walk was along the edge of the escarpment and these sections provided strong phone reception, but this was not the case when behind hills or in valleys (particularly on the third day). I had data coverage at the first campsite, but no voice bars. I had very good reception at Castle View. I did not have coverage at Banshee campsite itself, but did have reasonable coverage a few hundred metres east along the track over the crest of the hill.