The Scenic Rim is a magical place. Known as the ‘green behind the gold’, the Scenic Rim explores the beautiful hinterland that’s too often overlooked by those seeking the sun, sand, and sea that Queensland is famous for. However, once you leave the beaches behind and head inland, you’ll be amazed by what the Scenic Rim has to offer: an ancient volcanic land with a World Heritage-listed rainforest and six national parks just waiting to be explored. This blog will explore the Scenic Rim Drive, so buckle up and bring your sense of adventure - this four thousand square kilometre space is worth the road trip.

Millions of years ago, the supercontinent of Gondwana was an epic-rainforest covered land. Now, it’s remnants cover part of Queensland, which you can visit while on the Scenic Rim Drive. The rainforest is spread out over several national parks, all of which you can explore while on this epic road adventure. Explore the ancient vegetation as you wander through the flora which  can be linked to plants that grew over 100 million years ago. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Area, and you can visit it through one of the following national parks: Lamington National Park, Mt Barney National Park and Main Range National Park. It’s absolutely beautiful, and we recommend taking your time during your visit here. 

This trip will surely immerse yourself in natural ancient history, and this is true again while visiting the highest peaks in South East Queensland. 24-million years ago an ancient Focal Peak Shield Volcano erupted and formed the rugged peaks that can be explored today. Climb high and marvel at the expansive green landscape atop Mt Barney, Ernest, Ballow, Clunie, Maroon, May, and Lindesay. All peaks are over 1,000 metres high, and it’s definitely worth a climb to the top if you have time. 

While the Scenic Rim is known for the vivid green landscape, one thing this road trip isn’t short of is waterfalls. Visit one of the many thundering waterfalls while on your trip: hike down into the dense rainforest and visit a whole new world under the canopy of green. These waterfalls will amaze you at how versatile they are, from huge ones high above, to smaller ones, and all the kinds in between - there is definitely not a shortage of falls to marvel at. Check out Elabana, Curtis, Coomera, Morans, Chalahn, Bog Log, Mirror, Denham, Lips, and Yarrabilgong to name a few. They feature in all the National Parks on the Scenic Rim, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to visit them. 

There are a grand total of six national parks within the Scenic Rim region. From the dense ancient Gondwana rainforest of Lamington, to the inland rocky mountains of Mount Barney, the landscape is diverse in this region. There’s plenty of light walks in Tamborine, which is perfect for those new to hiking. Main Range and Moogerah feature diverse, mountainous landscapes: rugged and beautiful, these are perfect national parks to spend a few days exploring! Finally, there’s the Mount Chinghee National Park, which also features the Gondwana Rainforest. 

The perfect fun spot while road tripping through the Scenic Rim: the Tree Top Walk is part of the O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat. Make sure to not skip this walk, it’ll provide plenty of fun and laughter while you’re high up in the sky! It’s an easy 800-metre trail that consists of nine suspension bridges. You’ll always be at least 16-metres above the ground, and there’s the opportunity to climb a giant fig tree, too! This is the perfect rest stop while driving through - and it’s free to enjoy at your own leisure.

The Scenic Rim is waiting to be discovered. You can spend as long as you like while on the roads here, there are plenty of itineraries to find that vary from 48 hours on the road, to four days, to even a week or more. However you choose to explore, we know that you’ll have the best time. While Queensland is typically known for its expansive beaches, the Scenic Rim is a welcome break. The ‘green behind the gold’ will welcome all explorers into the gorgeous endless green landscape. Take your time, and bring your sense of adventure, you’ll need it!