Hiking and Walking Near Toowoomba: The Great Dividing Range and Darling Downs

Toowoomba's position on the Great Dividing Range escarpment gives it access to spectacular walking terrain within the city limits and a short drive beyond. Picnic Point Lookout, at the southern escarpment edge of the city, has a well-maintained walking track along the cliff edge with views 400 metres down to the Lockyer Valley, one of the finest escarpment views in Queensland and accessible as a 30-minute return walk. The Ravensbourne National Park, 40 minutes north through the Lockyer Valley, has subtropical rainforest walking tracks that are genuinely exceptional when the humidity is lower in the dry season. The Main Range National Park to the east, accessible via Cunningham's Gap (90 minutes from Toowoomba), has some of Queensland's finest walking in the Scenic Rim, including the Bare Rock and Governor's Chair tracks. The Bunya Mountains National Park north of Kingaroy (2 hours) has ancient bunya pine forests with walking tracks through a World Heritage-quality landscape. The Lockyer Valley near the base of the range has flat creek and river walking accessible from Gatton and Laidley.