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18 Tips For Queen Mary Falls In Main Range National Park QLD

Looking to find the best waterfalls in Brisbane and have questions about Queen Mary Falls in Main Range National Park? We did too. When we saw pictures of this beautiful Queensland waterfall, we knew we had to make an effort to find it.

But, we wondered whether this Brisbane waterfall would be worth visiting and how long it would actually take us to walk down to the base of it? After going on a road trip along The Falls Drive a few days ago, we’re sharing everything we learnt about one of the best day trips from Brisbane.


1. Where Is Queen Mary Falls?

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Unsure where Queen Mary Falls is located? It’s a 2-hour drive South West of Brisbane to get to Queen Mary Falls, which is located near to the small town of Killarney.

Located in the beautiful Main Range National Park, The Falls Drive is a gorgeous scenic road along Spring Creek Road. It’s a beautiful drive worth putting on your list which sits right on the border of NSW and QLD.

If you’re coming from the Gold Coast, it will take 2h30m. We drove down from Sunshine Coast, which took us around 3 hours to get there.


2. What Makes It Special?

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The Queen Mary Falls section is a really popular day trip from Brisbane or a day trip from Gold Coast. Being part of the Gondwana era, the trees are tall, old and gracious, making you feel like you’re a world away from city life.

While you’ll enjoy the beautiful scenic route along Spring Creek Road, Queen Mary Falls is easy to get to the bottom and makes a unique road trip from Brisbane. You can combine it with stopping off at the beautiful Carrs Lookout, and other waterfalls in the area, such as Treviot Falls, Daggs Falls, Browns Falls and much more.


3. Fuel Up Before You Go

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Carrs Lookout

We bumped into a family at Carrs Lookout asking us if we had a pump to get some fuel because they were nearly out. They didn’t realise there are no fuel stops on The Falls Drive. You can get fuel in Boonah, a 1hr drive away from Queen Mary Falls, or in Warwick, a 35min drive away.


4. Two Walking Trails To Choose From

There are two walking trails to choose from at Queen Mary Falls in Main Range National Park!

Cliff Circuit – 570m return (20min)

This walk takes you along the top of Queen Mary Falls quite literally. The entrance for this walk is on the right of the car park when looking at the picnic area.

Queen Mary Falls Circuit – 2km return (40min)

This walk will take you right to the bottom of the falls and back up to a lookout point that looks over the falls’ tops before returning to the car park. Take the left entrance when looking out to the picnic area to do this walk.


5. Three Paths To Queen Mary Falls

We found it quite confusing when we arrived at the car park because there are three paths to to choose from to the falls. Take the path on the far left when facing the picnic area (away from the cafe) to go down to the valley floor to the bottom of the falls.

If you’re doing the shorter walk to the top of the falls, go to the middle of the far-right path. It doesn’t really matter which one you take as it’s a loop.


6. How Long Did The Walk Take Us?

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We did the Queen Mary Falls Circuit and although it says it takes 40 minutes to walk it, it took 50 minutes in total. It took us this long because we spent a while at the bottom admiring the falls and we took a load of photos and videos to share with you.

However, I did time each section of the walk worth noting and it would in fact take just 20 minutes of regular walking to do the entire walk if you didn’t stop too much.

Here are the times so you can understand how long it takes:

  • 9min walk from the car park to the bottom of Queen Mary Falls
  • 6min to walk from the bottom to the lookout at the top
  • 3min from the lookout back to the car

7. Go Clockwise

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Queensland Parks recommends going clockwise on the walk like we did as the walk back up the top is more gradual. It really means that you’ll walk down a couple of steps if going clockwise, but it’s not really steep or anything.


8. No Swimming Allowed

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Lookout

When you reach the bottom of the spectacular Queen Mary Falls, you’ll notice there is in fact a metal fence up to stop you from swimming in the pool at the base of it. Please respect these guidelines as there are other swimming holes to be found nearby, like at Browns Falls, Condamine Gorge and Yangan Rockies.


9. Visit Between Oct – Nov For Something Extra Special

If you’re thinking about driving the scenic route to Southern Queensland Country to these famous waterfalls, come between October and November and you might just see fireflies and glow worms around the falls! You’ll need to pop down at night, but just be careful, bring a torch but don’t shine it at the glow worms if you see any!


10. Is The Walk Child Friendly?

Queen Mary Falls walk is indeed child friendly! We saw loads of families on this walk as it doesn’t take very long and it’s not a difficult walk. It’s also really easy to follow and doesn’t require hiking boots.


11. Is It dog friendly?

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Unfortunately as Queen Mary Falls is located in Main Range National Park, it is not dog friendly. We did see people with dogs at other stops along the way on the drive, but they wouldn’t have been able to walk into the park to see Queen Mary Falls with their pups.


12. Where To Get Lunch Near Queen Mary Falls

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There’s a lovely cafe opp the Queen Mary Falls car park that serves homemade food like lasagna and nachos. Usually, when we’ve found cafes near remote waterfalls, they haven’t been great so we always bring our own lunch. But, if we had known, we probably would have eaten at this cafe. They sell cakes, wraps and sandwiches too.


13. Feed The Birds

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Outside the Queen Mary Falls Cafe is a little bird feeding area. This is really popular for families as the birds are tame and will sit happily on your hand or head!


14. Stop Here For A Picnic Or BBQ

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We brought our lunch with us but because we were continuing along the Spring Creek Road to the other waterfalls in the area, we thought we’d have lunch at another spot. It turns out Queen Mary Falls really is the best spot to have lunch, even if it is busier than other places. There are plenty of picnic tables and BBQ areas, plus toilet facilities as well.


15. Continue On To Daggs Falls

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Daggs Falls literally feels like a stones throw from Queen Mary Falls is just a couple of minutes drive down the road. While you can’t reach the bottom of this waterfall, you literally just need to hop out of your car and walk over to the lookout point. I really liked this waterfall and would have loved to have seen it from the bottom.


16. And to Browns Falls

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When we got to the carpark for Browns Falls, it says it’s 600m and 20 minutes. It literally did take us 20 minutes to walk there, being a longer walk than Queen Marys Falls. Many people turned back on this walk because they were wearing thongs.

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You need to wear hiking boots to do this walk because there’s no clear path. You have to follow red markers along the creek where you’ll climb over rocks and trees and jump across the river while trying not to fall in.

This walk feels much longer than it is because it’s easy to think 600 metres isn’t far. It is worth it but don’t bring young kids on this one – we saw someone who had split his chin open after slipping on the rocks to get here.


17. Where To Stay

Looking for places to stay near along The Falls Drive? Here are our top picks!

  1. Queen Mary Falls Caravan Park & Cabins – location doesn’t get much better! Stay right opposite the famous waterfalls and enjoy camping amongst the Gondwana Rainforest.
  2. Killarney View Cabins And Cararvan Park – Just a few minutes down the road will bring you another cararvan park with beautiful cabins equipped with kitchen appliances and surrounded by nature.

18. Would I Recommend Going To Queen Mary Falls?

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We had a fun day trip along The Falls Drive and would definitely recommend checking it out. The waterfalls are all fun to visit and we had a great time exploring the Southern Downs region. While we’ve personally seen better waterfalls closer to the Gold Coast such as Twin Falls in Springbrook National Park or the many waterfalls along the Toolona Creek Circuit in Lamington National Park, it was nice to get away from it all.

One of the best things about The Falls Drive is that it doesn’t require much walking effort to see a few waterfalls in the area. The drive is stunning and we loved it. It’s also a great detour if you’re heading over to Girraween National Park – the next place to visit on our ever growing list!


Things To Know About Queen Mary Falls

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