Adventure: Booloumba Gold Mine Walk (5km)

Escape the busy Easter holiday madness and get a taste of the Conondale Range Great Walk with this lush, peaceful walk beside the clear Booloumba Creek to an abandoned gold mine.

Suitability

Suitable for walkers with some experience, relatively easy, just getting here can be a challenge sometimes. Dogs are not allowed in this national park.

Highlights

The picture perfect Booloumba Creek is the big drawcard for this walk, with some superb spots to sit and soak it all up such as Eric’s Rest, just before the turnoff to the old mine.

Cutting deep down between towering mountainous terrain the creek is pure emerald perfection. It’s impossible to ignore its timeless beauty.

The little detour to the barred-up gold mine from the 1920s dives deeper into the dark rainforest. It’s daunting to imagine working down there. Bats live in there today.

All up, the return walk to the Booloumba Day Use Area is about 5km. Back at your starting point, you can relax beside Booloumba Creek where there are lots of birds, including Kingfishers, the red chested Mistletoe bird, Riflebirds and Brown Cuckoo Doves. It’s also hard not to miss the lace monitor lizards.

Afterwards

There are numerous walks to enjoy in this area, including Artists Cascades and the impressive 3.7m high Strangler Cairn sculpture by artist Andy Goldsworthy. This walk is part of the 56km Conondale Range Great Walk.

How to get there

Follow the M1 / Bruce Highway north and take the Kenilworth exit. Follow the signs for Kenilworth, travelling along the Eumundi-Kenilworth Rd for about 28km. Go through Kenilworth and continue toward Maleny. The turn-off to Booloumba Creek day-use and camping areas is on your right. Follow this road for another 7km and you will get to the Booloumba Creek Day Use Area.

*NOTE: Queensland Parks advises: All park roads are gravel and at present suitable for high clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles ONLY. Booloumba Creek Road includes three creek crossings. Many keen walkers park their cars on the side of the road before the first creek crossing and walk in. The walk starts from the Day Use Area. 

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