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- You drive to the summit on Sir Samuel Griffith Drive, and parking at the lookout is free, says Brisbane City Council.[1]
- The lookout is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and has a café and gift shop, so it works as a daytime stop or an evening drive for the city lights.[1]
- From our Hendra yard, OpenStreetMap routes it in about 16 km and 22 minutes, via the Inner City Bypass, Milton Road and Mt Coot-tha Road, with no toll road on the way.[5][6]
- Lower down, the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha have their own free car park on Mt Coot-tha Road, and some picnic areas in the reserve close their gates at night.[2][1]
How do you drive to the Mount Coot-tha lookout?
From 238 Nudgee Road, OpenStreetMap's car routing runs along Kingsford Smith Drive and the Inner City Bypass, out Milton Road, and up Mt Coot-tha Road and Sir Samuel Griffith Drive to the summit: about 16 km and 22 minutes in clear traffic.[5] None of those roads is on Linkt's list of Brisbane toll points, so the trip costs nothing but fuel.[6]
Brisbane City Council's own directions are just as brief: drive via Sir Samuel Griffith Drive, and free parking is available.[1] The lookout's heritage listing gives its address as 1012 Sir Samuel Griffith Drive, Mount Coot-tha, which is the easiest thing to put into a maps app.[4]
The last stretch climbs through the reserve's bushland, and council also lists Sir Samuel Griffith Drive as a way to cycle to the summit,[1] so expect riders on the bends and a slower climb than the distance suggests.
Where do you park, and does it cost anything?
| Where | Parking | Hours to know |
|---|---|---|
| Summit lookout | Free parking, reached via Sir Samuel Griffith Drive[1] | Lookout open 24 hours, 7 days[1] |
| Brisbane Botanic Gardens main entry, 152 Mt Coot-tha Road | Free car park at the main entry, with accessible parking[2] | Gardens open 8am to 6.00pm September to March, 8am to 5pm April to August[2] |
| Ada Street car park | Across the road from the gardens' main entry[2] | Use it when the main car park is full |
| Anzac Park surrounds, Toowong | Walk to the gardens over the Canon Garland Overpass[2] | Further out, but an option on busy days |
| Reserve picnic areas | Some have car parks[1] | J.C. Slaughter Falls and Simpson Falls open 6am–7pm; Grey Gum and Hoop Pine locked each night by boom gates[1] |
The picnic-area gates matter if you plan a late walk: council says the J.C. Slaughter Falls and Simpson Falls picnic areas are open 6am to 7pm daily, and the Grey Gum and Hoop Pine areas have boom gates that are locked each night. The other picnic areas are open around the clock.[1] Leave a gated car park in good time.
What's at the summit?
Council describes the lookout as Brisbane's highest point, with views across the city and out to Moreton Bay, and a café and gift shop on site.[1] The Mount Coot-tha Lookout and Kiosk is on the Queensland Heritage Register, entered on 13 January 1995, and is also known as One-Tree-Hill.[4]
If you'd rather earn the view, park lower down and walk: council suggests the J.C. Slaughter Falls Picnic Area as a starting point for the walk to the lookout, by the Summit Track or the Mahogany Track through Mt Coot-tha Forest.[1] Dogs are welcome in the reserve on a leash.[1]
Is it worth driving up at night?
For the city lights, yes, and because the lookout is open 24 hours a day there's no gate to beat.[1] A few things make an evening trip easier:
- Go up just before sunset, so you drive the bends in daylight and watch the lights come on from the top.
- Dip your headlights for oncoming cars on the way down, and take the bends at a speed that lets you stop in the distance you can see.
- Watch for cyclists with small rear lights on the climb, and for wildlife on the verges in the bush sections.
- Don't plan to finish at a gated picnic area. The lookout itself is the safe place to sit after dark.
Sharing Sir Samuel Griffith Drive with cyclists
Council lists Sir Samuel Griffith Drive as a way to ride to the summit,[1] so you may find yourself behind a climbing rider on a road with bends. Wait for a clear straight before passing, give the full legal gap, and don't sit close behind on the descent. Our guide to driving around cyclists, e-scooters and pedestrians has Queensland's passing-distance rule.
Change is being discussed. Council's Draft Mt Coot-tha Vision, open for comment until 30 November 2026, includes turning Sir Samuel Griffith Drive into a one-way loop road with a lane reserved for cyclists.[3] That's a proposal in a draft, not a decision, so drive the road as it's signed today.
Adding the botanic gardens
The Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha are at the foot of the mountain, entered from Mt Coot-tha Road. Opening hours are seasonal (see the table above), and facilities inside keep their own hours.[2] The Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium is in the gardens, and its visitors park in the gardens' main car park.[1]
Without a car, the closest bus stops are stop 19 at the gardens and stop 17 on Mt Coot-tha Road, and Toowong Station is a 40-minute walk.[2] With one, a single afternoon covers the gardens, the drive up and sunset at the top.
A week or more with a car makes it easy to come back on a clear evening rather than squeezing it into one day. Each car has its own minimum rental, shown with the car (at the moment 8 weeks for every car). For another short trip from Hendra, try Redcliffe on the bay, or Lake Wivenhoe for a full day inland.
Sources
- Brisbane City Council: Mt Coot-tha precinct (consulté le 5 novembre 2026)
- Brisbane City Council: Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha (consulté le 5 novembre 2026)
- Brisbane City Council: Mt Coot-tha precinct transformation (consulté le 5 novembre 2026)
- Brisbane City Council (Heritage Register): Mount Coot-tha Lookout & Kiosk (consulté le 5 novembre 2026)
- OpenStreetMap (OSRM routing): Directions: 238 Nudgee Road, Hendra to Mount Coot-tha lookout (car) (consulté le 5 novembre 2026)
- Linkt (Transurban): Toll pricing (consulté le 5 novembre 2026)
Rédigé par Équipe Rentzy (Rentzy Car Rentals). Les prix, frais et règles Rentzy de ce guide proviennent de nos conditions publiées et sont mis à jour avec elles ; les règles fixées par d'autres (routes, péages, permis, transports) proviennent des pages officielles ci-dessus, telles que consultées aux dates indiquées. Une information n'est plus à jour ? Signalez-le-nous.
