Maleny and Montville day trip from Brisbane: a Blackall Range loop

Which way do you drive up to Maleny?

Queensland Parks' directions for Kondalilla, which sits beyond Montville, double as directions for the whole range.^[1] In order:

1. Travel 54 km north from Brisbane on the Bruce Highway (M1) to exit 163, Steve Irwin Way, also signed Glass House Mountains Tourist Drive 24.^[1]
2. Follow Steve Irwin Way about 22 km north and take the Landsborough turn-off.^[1]
3. Go through Landsborough and follow the Montville signs onto Landsborough–Maleny Road, Blackall Range Tourist Drive 23.^[1]
4. Near the top of the range, turn right onto Maleny–Montville Road for Montville, or carry straight on into Maleny.^[1][5]

OpenStreetMap's car routing from 238 Nudgee Road follows the same line, joining the Bruce Highway from the Gateway Motorway, and puts Maleny at about 92 km and 77 minutes and Montville at about 98 km and 83 minutes in clear traffic.^[5][6] Steve Irwin Way runs past the Glass House Mountains, so a morning walk there fits on the way; our Glass House Mountains guide lists the trailheads.

Queensland Parks notes that bitumen roads lead all the way up the range.^[1] The climb from Landsborough has bends, so keep to the speed signs, use the pull-offs if you're holding up a queue, and take it gently in rain.

When is Mary Cairncross open, and where do you park?

Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve is run by Sunshine Coast Council. Its rainforest walks are open from 7am to 6.00pm every day, and the Rainforest Discovery Centre from 9.30am to 3.30pm, closed on Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Anzac Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.^[3] The access gates to the walks and the car park are locked daily from 6.00pm to 7.00am,^[3] so don't leave the car there for an evening in town.

• Parking: allowed in the regulated areas between 7am and 6.00pm.^[4]
• Entry: the Rainforest Discovery Centre takes a gold coin donation, and eftpos is available.^[4]
• The view: a Glass House Mountains viewing platform, with lift access.^[4]
• Picnics: tables, shelters and barbecues are free, and there's a playground and open lawn.^[4]
• Pets: not permitted anywhere in the reserve, including the car park and café; assistance dogs are accepted.^[4]

The café on site is an independent business and keeps different hours from the Discovery Centre,^[3] so check before you plan lunch around it.

Getting from Maleny to Montville and Kondalilla Falls

Montville is a short drive along the ridge. From the Maleny–Montville Road, Queensland Parks' route goes through Montville, where the road becomes Main Street and then Flaxton Drive. About 2.6 km north of Montville, turn left onto Kondalilla Falls Road and drive another 700 m to the park entrance.^[1]

Kondalilla National Park is about 103 km north of Brisbane.^[2] Two things catch people out. First, the picnic area and the start of the walking tracks are a 150 m downhill walk from the Kondalilla Falls Road car park, down multiple stairs, which you climb again at the end.^[1] Second, the walking tracks close during severe wet weather because they flood; Queensland Parks says not to enter while closure signs are up.^[1]

Queensland Parks warns that people have died or been permanently paralysed after slipping over waterfalls in this area, and asks visitors to keep to the tracks, stay behind safety fences and never dive into creeks or rock pools.^[1] Walk in daylight only.^[1] When we checked, Kondalilla had no park alerts.^[2]

Can you loop back a different way?

Yes, via Mapleton and Nambour. Queensland Parks' directions from the north are the same road in reverse: from Kondalilla, Mapleton is about 6.3 km north along Flaxton Drive, and from Mapleton the Nambour–Mapleton Road drops about 11.5 km off the range towards Nambour, where Blackall Range Tourist Drive 23 leads back to the Bruce Highway.^[1]

That turns the day into a loop: up from Landsborough in the morning, along the ridge through Maleny, Montville and Flaxton, and down to Nambour in the afternoon, with no stretch of road driven twice.

Fill up before the drive home if you need to; fuel and supplies are available in Montville, Mapleton and Maleny.^[1]

What's the weather like up on the range?

Cooler than the coast, and changeable. Queensland Parks says temperatures can go above 30°C in summer and drop to freezing overnight in winter, nights can be cool at any time of year, and forest areas are hazardous in strong winds because branches can fall.^[1] Severe wet weather, mostly in spring and summer, can close tracks.^[1]

If cloud is sitting on the ridge when you arrive, drive it with headlights on, speed down and a longer gap to the car ahead. On a day when the range looks wet, the coast below is an alternative; Noosa by car covers one beach day.

Doing the loop in a Rentzy car

Without a car, Queensland Parks notes there's a train to Nambour and Sunshine Coast Council's Hinterland Connect bus to Montville, which stops near the Kondalilla Falls Road turn-off,^[1] but the loop above isn't practical by bus. Planning a longer drive north later? See Brisbane to Hervey Bay.