Montserrat Lookout loop at Mt Barney

[dkselw]

We recently walked the Montserrat Lookout loop in a clockwise direction, from the carpark to the Upper Portals then up to Montserrat Lookout and back down to the carpark. As we got near to the bottom, the track turned into a vehicle track and brought us close to a private building.
We cut the corner through a overgrown vehicle track to avoid going close to the building until we got back to the main track.
The attached map shows our route, along with property boundaries downloaded from the Queensland Spatial Catalogue. The green area is National Park. It looks like we left the NP about 400m before we reached the bottom. Is there another track that stays within the NP, as we would like to do this route again sometime, but don't want to walk on private property.

Great view from the lookout

[Aardvark]

I would say the majority of people who visit Monserrat L/O do the loop you have described. I wouldn't worry about the property at the bottom. Just show respect and leave it as you found it. ie gates etc. The more you do the route , you may start to leave the ridge a little earlier and hit the road a bit further downstream.

[ofuros]

As we got near to the bottom, the track turned into a vehicle track and brought us close to a private building.

That would be Graces Hut, in the past it was owned by a bushwalking club if my ageing memory is correct...may have changed hands since then.

[dkselw]

I would say the majority of people who visit Monserrat L/O do the loop you have described. I wouldn't worry about the property at the bottom. Just show respect and leave it as you found it. ie gates etc. The more you do the route , you may start to leave the ridge a little earlier and hit the road a bit further downstream.

If you were to do the loop in the anti-clockwise direction, you would have to go past a National Parks sign saying private property no entry.
In the direction we walked, we did not see anything saying we were entering private property, but did see the sign on the way out of the property.
I was wondering if we missed an established track that skirted around the property, or is it currently bush-bashing.

[Aardvark]

What you're talking about is really a route. It is not a graded track and is therefore considered off track. Despite the existence of a pad it is still regarded as off track. On that basis, people are not always going to take the same path. You are only likely to see the most common path after a fire (or higher on the ridge itself where alternatives are less favourable). The most trod path near the bottom of the ridge will usually then stand out as the least burnt area. Given the long grass and weeds most of the time, leaving the ridge a little sooner is perfectly logical.
The existence of a sign at the property entrance would be aimed more at vehicles and casual passers by. The property owners would be more than aware of the route over Monserrat L/O. If they had a particular beef with walkers on that route you would likely see signs on the fence above.

[Lyrebird]

As a quick (and hopefully vaguely related ) side note, I recently walked from Burnett Creek to the summit of Minnage's Mountain via the narrow strip of Mt Barney NP land that stretches up the mountain from the creek. Bushpeople's and other online track notes list it as an entry to Junction Peak and Mt Ballow, but I didn't get that far (I saw where the track continued but by that stage was running low on water, daylight and puff).

It's a very nice day walk (for me: 6 and a half hours to summit and return, no water en route) and similar to Mt Maroon in terrain and vegetation; fully open and steep in parts, but without the outstanding views. Nor does it have a track per se, though there are a lot of footpads leading in all kinds of directions which were a bit confusing on descent. As with the OP, I found working out exactly what is National Park and what is private land was a bit tricky, particularly as the NP land is neither fenced nor signposted. I hope I got it right, because I also dislike trespassing. However, these things considered it's a very nice mountain day walk and nav exercise (which is why I did it) if you're in the area and feel like a change, particularly if you don't have access to a 4WD.

I just thought I'd mention it because I couldn't find any recent track reports, and it's a decent option provided your nav skills are up to scratch (particularly in descent).
P.S. Watch out for ticks. I collected two to take home as souvenirs.

[gbagua]

My plan is to go from Mt May to Montserrat Lookout but without taking the Waterfall Ck Rd as it will be too easy (not to mention how boring would be walking on a dirt road). Has anyone done it? Any tips? Cheers