The Gold Coast Hinterland is a wonderful place to go walking, visit some wineries or just relax and enjoy the peacefulness of the area. There is a great diversity of scenery and things to do there although bush walking does tend to be the main activity especially in Lamington and Springbrook National Parks.
You can easily visit the Gold Coast Hinterland for a day if you are staying on the Gold Coast but if you have enough time it is a wonderful place to spend anything from a few days to a few weeks. There are campsites in all three of the national parks mentioned below and a range of accommodation from rustic cabins in Binna Burra to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in the Green Mountains.
Mount Tamborine National Park is more touristy and a bit less wild than the two parks mentioned below. The walks here tend to be easier and you don’t need to be so experienced to do them. It is only a short distance from the Gold Coast and is an easy day trip to do from there.
If you want to stay a night or more there are plenty of accommodation options. There are three townships in Tamborine Mountain: Mount Tamborine, North Tamborine and Eagle Heights. Eagle Heights is the most touristy and has a range of craft shops and winery’s cellar door tasting options.
Lamington National Park is a bush walker’s paradise. It has many kilometres of walks ranging from short, easy 1km circuit walks to the more difficult Border Track which is 21km one way. The park has two main sections and most of the walks are in the Binna Burra section although there are also quite a few in the Green Mountains section. If you like walking then this park is a must if you are visiting the Gold Coast Hinterland.
If you want to stay overnight in the park there is a private camping site and a rustic lodge in Binna Burra or some national park camping and O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in the Green Mountains section.
Canungra is a lovely little village just outside Lamington National Park and Tamborine National Park. You will probably pass through going to or from either of the two parks. If you are looking for a cheap accommodation option you could try the Canungra Motel which is run by a friendly couple. When in Canungra be sure to try one of the homemade pies in the Outpost Cafe – they are fantastic.
The Springbrook National Park is further east than Lamington National Park and has three sections: Springbrook, Mt Cougal and Natural Bridge. Again it has lots of rainforest, beautiful gorges and waterfalls and lots of walking options. There are also more accommodation options here than in Lamington National Park.
The weather in the Gold Coast Hinterland tends to be a lot cooler than on the Gold Coast itself and can actually get quite cold in the winter months. You can also expect quite a lot of rain from December to March when many of the walking tracks in the national parks get muddy. You should take a jumper and rain coat with you whenever you go as the conditions can change fairly quickly and good hiking boots are a must if you are going bush walking.