Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk

What the Great Walk is (and is not)

The Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk is a 54 km multi-day route through Gondwana rainforest country, including Lamington’s Border Track between Green Mountains and Binna Burra and continuing toward the Springbrook plateau. It is a backpacker product with official camps, not a “long day walk with a taxi.”

First-time Lamington visitors should not start here. Start with Green Mountains short walks or a single Grade 4 circuit, then come back with permits.

Camping systems — keep them split

Remote bush (walk-in) camping inside the national park requires a permit and fee via the Queensland National Parks Booking Service. Display the tag. Unpermitted camping attracts fines.

All remote bush camping sites close annually 1 December–31 January. Queensland Parks fees from 1 July 2026: $7.75 per person per night or $31.00 per family per night — check the booking page. The Cyclone Alfred alert also suspends permits for closed remote camps until those sites are declared safe.

O’Reilly’s Campground and the Binna Burra campground are private. Book their channels. They are not the QPWS remote-camp system.

Comms, weather, post-storm honesty

Coverage is not reliable. Carry the ability to get help without a phone: leave a plan, consider a PLB/sat messenger on remote nights, know that 000 needs reception. The Cyclone Alfred severe-weather alert applies to 31 December 2026. Unplanned works at Woonoongoora Walkers’ Camp were listed to 30 September 2026. Check park alerts before you book a night.

Hazards are ordinary rainforest plus isolation: flooded creeks, cliffs, ticks, leeches, stinging trees, snakes. No pets. No MTB on walking tracks.

Sampling it as a day walk

The Border Track (21.4 km, ~7 hr, Grade 4) is the honest day-walk sample — only with a two-car or transfer plan. See the Border Track trail page and the one-way itinerary. Do not “start the Great Walk and see how far we get” without a finish.

Highlights at a glance

• 54 km Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk
• Border Track 21.4 km one-way as the Lamington spine
• Remote bush camps — permit + fee; closed 1 Dec–31 Jan
• World Heritage rainforest and escarpment

Walks & lookouts nearby

Grades, times and open/closed status change — open each guide and verify on Queensland Parks before you go.

Border Track

hard

The Border Track is Lamington’s 21.4 km Grade 4 one-way walk between Green Mountains and Binna Burra along the McPherson Range. Official Queensland Parks time is about 7 hours. It is also a section of the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk. There is no ordinary-vehicle through-road between the two trailheads.

Grade

Grade 4 · one-way rainforest spine

Time

About 7 hours walking — a full daylight product, not a late add-on

Distance

21.4 km one way (~7 hr; add 600 m for the Mount Merino side trip)

View guide →

Itineraries that use this area

Multi-day (54 km Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk) — not a day trip

Overnight on the Hinterland Great Walk (planning notes)

Overnight notes for the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk via Lamington’s Border Track: official permits, Dec–Jan remote-camp closure, private lodges booked separately, patchy phone coverage, and a post-storm check of alerts. Not a first Lamington visit.

Full daylight — ~7 hr walking + two winding drives + shuffle

Border Track one-way (car shuffle)

Green Mountains to Binna Burra (or reverse) on the Border Track: 21.4 km one way, about 7 hours, Grade 4. No ordinary through-road. Logistics first, rainforest second. Not stacked with Toolona or Tree Top Walk.

Map

Orientation only — confirm trailheads and road status before you drive.

FAQ — Great Walk