Rising majestically above the surrounding landscape, the rugged peaks within Mt Barney National Park are some of the best known and most spectacular mountains in south-east Queensland&These mountains are special places to Aboriginal people, bushwalkers and naturalists alike."
Mt Barney National Park - Park Guide. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service 2004

The Mount Barney region remains an idyllic pocket of rural charm. Its proximity of the Mt Barney National Park, and Mt Gilles State extend the feeling of wilderness, peace and wildlife into the backyards of the handful of home businesses that welcome guests to the area. Guests can get away from it all and engage in unique experiences, without having to travel too far from Brisbane or the Gold Coast, as it is under a 2 hour drive from both.

Our area offers

  
• Vineyards and beautiful gardens recently featured in the Australian open garden scheme that provide a magnificent autumn foliage display against the backdrop of Mt Barney   
• Personalized accommodation with a range of options   
• Farm life experience   
• Horseriding   
• A memorable venue for groups, weddings and conferences   
• Adventure activities including abseiling, rock climbing, kids night adventure, led hikes and mountaineering   
• Quality campgrounds on creek frontage

Recent History

On 6 September 1947, Mt Lindesay National Park and Mt Barney National Park were gazetted, originally as separate parks. Mt Barney National Park was extended to include Mt May and Mt Maroon in 1950. Thirty years later, in 1980, these parks were amalgamated to form the current Mt Barney National Park, named after the park's highest and most imposing peak. In December 1994, the World Heritage Committee officially declared the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves (Australia) World Heritage Area over the scenic rim (including Lamington and most of Main Range, Springbrook and Mt Barney National Parks) and the rainforests of northern New South Wales.

World Heritage status is a prestigious international recognition of the important conservation value of this area, especially its unique geology, subtropical and cool temperate rainforests and rare fauna.

Bushwalking

Mt Barney National Park is World Heritage listed and is designated a Wilderness Park, which means there are very few maintained walking tracks within the park. This is an important reason for many people making the journey to walk in Mt Barney National Park, as it gives them the feeling of untouched wilderness as they journey through the park. The other side to this untouched wilderness is walking within Mt Barney National Park is something you need to be prepared for.

For tracked walks, particularly in summer, the options include the Lower and Upper Portals tracks and Cronan Creek track. The Portals tracks finish in some of the most spectacular rock pools and gorges in SE Qld with small waterfalls, slippery rock slides and deep swimming holes to tempt you. As the creek only receives 1-2 hrs direct sunlight each day the water temperature stays a steady COLD year round. It's still takes your breath away in the summer months but the reward of a swim after the 4km walk in is something to be savoured. Take a small fuel stove in (no fires allowed) and have a warming cuppa ready for when you hop out.

The Cronan Creek track takes you past the start of the only tracked route up Mt Barney, South Ridge or more commonly known as Peasants Ridge track. It then progresses into some cool green rainforest as it meanders along side the picturesque Cronan Creek. Its climax is the 15m-waterfall drop into a shaded rock plunge pool, best visited after recent rain to ensure the waterfall is running.

For anyone with a more adventurous spirit the craggy peaks of Mt Barney and Mt Maroon beckon. Neither of these mountains is a light undertaking and it is strongly suggested that you go with someone who has climbed the mountains before you attempt them yourself. For further information please contact Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service on (07)5463 5041 or boonah@epa.qld.gov.au. Mountain information and guiding for onsite guests can also be obtained at Mt Barney Lodge (07) 5544 3233.

Mt Maroon via the Cotswold track is an excellent test of your fitness before tackling the more demanding Mt Barney. From the car park at the end of Cotswold Rd follow the track around the dams and up the ridge that gets steeper and steeper until you reach the summit cairn at 965m above sea level. The views from this point are sublime with the Mt Barney Massif dominating the skyline. Famous photos have been taken from this point.

Climbing Mt Barney via the South Ridge or Peasants Ridge is considered the easiest route up the mountain, however to be honest there is simply no easy way to ascend the 1354 meter summit, or 1.1 vertical kilometres. The track starts at Yellow Pinch Reserve and contains steep and exposed sections as it ascends to the East Peak Summit. Look for Mt Warning to the south and the towers of Brisbane to the north. It is not unusual for this walk to take up to 8 - 12hr return.

Mt Barney National Park is rugged yet delicate and needs to be treated with care, please enjoy the scenery and spectacular views whilst still maintaining the wilderness feel that this park exudes.

Geology

Mt Barney is composed of granophyre, a granite-like rock which formed below the earth's surface as a dome-shaped intrusive mass about 350 million years ago. Erosion has stripped away the softer overlaying sedimentary rocks, leaving the mountain as it stands today. The nearby peaks of Mt May, Mt Maroon and Mt Ernest also began from underground cooling of molten rock but are composed of rhyolite.

Flora and Fauna

The National Park is one of the largest areas of undisturbed natural vegetation remaining in south-east Queensland. It is significant for nature conservation with many rare and restricted plant species, especially on higher peaks. Much of the country is open eucalypt forest, with some beautiful grassy slopes and lower country bearing tall, spreading gums, boxes and native apples. Kangaroos and wallabies are common, as are many species of birds.

Creeks with cascades and deep pools flow through the park, and are lined with river she-oaks, red-flowering bottle-brushes, golden silky oaks and patches of rainforest. Platypus swim in the lower reaches of the creeks and nest in their banks, kingfishers, honeyeaters and robins can be spied nearby.

Higher rocky slopes and depressions support patches of mountain heath, some of which have spectacular wildflower displays in spring. Steep rocky slopes are the habitat of brush-tailed rock wallabies and provide nesting sites for birds of prey.

Vegetation of special significance includes Antarctic beech forest on Mt Ballow, low closed forest (rainforest) on Mt Barney, heath on Mt Maroon and tall banksia forests on Mt Lindesay.

Aboriginal and Pioneer History

The massive mountain, within 75miles of Brisbane, 1354 meters in height, was originally known as Mount Lindesay, but for years past, better known as Mount Barney, and is the centre of a remarkable area of country. This part of Queensland also holds a wealth of beliefs of the aboriginals in regard to the mountain peaks. The region, at the head of the Logan River, comprises Mount Lindesay, years ago called Mount Hooker - the 'Talkenbun; of the aboriginals, Mount Barney, with its aboriginal name of Boogah Boogah, and Mount Maroon, apparently derived form its aboriginal name of Olimoorum.Past the foot of each of these remarkable mountains, the Upper Logan River runs down to the sea.

E. W. S. Hardgrave first settled at the head of the Logan River in 1882. The stream was better known to the aboriginals as Dugulunba ('Leave it alone') and, with the meaning of Mt Barney, ('Go away', 'Get further away') scarcely could have created a pleasant welcome. It, however, did not deter Hardgrave from making a home right in the centre of the area. He soon learnt that it was a right-of-way for the aboriginals passing to and from the Northern Rivers of New South Wales and the country around Brisbane and Ipswich. Thus, as the years passed, the aboriginals found that the Hardgrave home of Moringararah was a friendly place for them, where they could always obtain sufficient food to carry them on their way.

But the passing aboriginals seldom stayed in the neighbourhood of the mountain. The over-powering grandeur of Mount Lindesay and Mount Barney was too awe-inspiring for them. The mighty echoes of the thunder and falling rocks were, perhaps, the angry voices of the long departed warrior chiefs.

The first recorded ascent of the mountain occurred in 1828 by the Commandant of the Brisbane settlement, Captain Patrick Logan, and botanists Alan Cunningham and Charles Fraser. Fraser's journal graphically recounts the climb, describing the perils the group encountered. Logan was the only one to complete the climb to the sumit.

We welcome you to explore the Mt Barney area further by tripping down for the day, and stopping in at the local businesses in the area for further information and friendly advice. But to get a really memorable experience, please visit and stay for longer at a vineyard, a working cattle property, an eco-retreat, or a Scottish themed cottage.