Main Range National Park Brisbane | Queensland Country

Look for splashes of colour from wildflowers along the trail. Photo credit: © Chris Whitelaw

Impressive mountain peaks, escarpments and ridges offer breathtaking views. Photo credit: © Janette Asche

Heritage trail

Step back in time and sample Queensland’s best-known example of sophisticated 19th century civil engineering.

Journey type
Walk
Distance
3.2km return Start and finish points are the same and the traveller must return via the same path
Time suggested
Allow 1hr walking time.
Grade
Grade 4 walking track

Accessible by

  • 4WD

Journey facilities

  • Walking

Wander along Old Spicers Gap Road and discover some of the best road-building practices of the pioneering period. Signs explain the techniques, used between 1850 and 1870, and you can still see remnants of the road built in 1960 by surveyor and engineer Robert Austin.

Austin used gently sweeping curves and low gradients to cater for the heavy transport of the day—bullock drays and horse-drawn wagons. His use of 'macadamised' or 'metalled' pavements and careful attention to drainage were well before their road-building time.

This park is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, famed for its ongoing geological processes, evolutionary history, and diversity (especially of rare, threatened and endemic species).

Getting there and getting around

The Heritage trail is in the Spicers Gap section of Main Range National Park about 120km south-west of Brisbane.

Getting to the Spicers Gap section

Eastern approach

  • The eastern approach to Spicers Gap is suitable for 4WD vehicles.
  • From Brisbane, drive about 95km south-west on the Cunningham Highway.
  • About 5km west of Aratula turn onto Lake Moogerah Road, drive 6km then turn onto Spicers Gap Road and a further 6km to the park entrance.

For tourism information for all regions in Queensland, see Queensland.com, and for friendly advice on how to get there, where to stay and what to do, find your closest accredited visitor information centre.

Wheelchair access

There are no wheelchair-accessible facilities.

Before you visit

Opening hours

Heritage trail is open 24 hours a day.

Check park alerts for the latest information on access, closures and conditions.

Visiting safely

For more safety information see Visiting Main Range safely and Walk with care.