Guide
By Chelsea Tromans
What to expect on the Scenic Rim Trail | Accommodation | What you'll eat | Sustainability | Itinerary highlights
Good for the soul, great for clearing the mind, walking holidays provide an undeniable boost to your overall well-being.
Walking or hiking through the Scenic Rim, however, takes an enjoyable sojourn next level. The fresh country air, and breathtaking scenery (just 90 minutes from Brisbane) – think rolling hills, ancient forests, an abundance of native wildlife; it’s no wonder Lonely Planet named the Scenic Rim on their Top 10 Regions of the World list for 2022.
A celebration of all these elements, the region’s Scenic Rim Trail is a must-do.
With walks is suitable for most fitness levels, ranging from 2-days to 6-days in length, the Scenic Rim Trail takes in some of the most iconic areas of natural beauty, including Main Range National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Gondwana Rainforest – with a plenty of luxury thrown in for good measure.
Pack your hiking boots; here’s what to expect on the Spicers Scenic Rim Trail.
Scenic Rim Trail, Scenic Rim, Brisbane. Photo by @scenicrimtrail
Only 90 minutes from Brisbane, and located in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, South East Queensland’s Scenic Rim is a pretty special corner of the world. The Scenic Rim Trail's multi-day guided luxury walking tours give you unparalleled access through some of its most spectacular and remote sections, many previously only touched by Indigenous Peoples and early pioneers.
There's a Scenic Rim walk for everyone: be introduced to its beauty in a weekend on the two-day adventure, explore the highlights with the signature four-day trail, or extend your time in the great outdoors along a six day walk.
Routes taken depend on the length of your walk, but expect to walk up to 14-18km per day and be ready to tackle Grade 4 & 5 tracks along the way, which means tracks are less defined and are rough and steep in sections.
Your expert guide will lead the way through sub-tropical rainforests, eucalypt forests, old logging trails, waterfalls and ancient volcanic terrain as you scale a handful of the 40 mountain peaks. Throw in sightings of endangered rock wallabies and ample flora lessons (the guides here really know their stuff) and you’re basically on the great Australian adventure.
You’ll also be pleased to know that groups are kept small (maximum 12), your package is all-inclusive and you don’t need to lug around your luggage thanks to the optional daily porterage.
Eco Camp along Scenic Rim Trail, Scenic Rim, Brisbane. Photo by @scenicrimtrail
Two words you’ll be pleased to hear after walking up to 18 kilometres per day: relaxed luxury. Spicers' welcoming farmhouse, eco cabins and sustainable luxury glamping sites are dotted along the Scenic Rim Trail, making winding down after a long day's hike all the more rewarding.
Expect all life's luxuries of good food, plush king-size bedding and bathrooms provided in between. This is the bush, done beautifully.
Where you'll sleep depends on your chosen itinerary, but most include a night in the much-loved Eco Cabins that will have you floating above the forest floor in a unique treehouse-like sleeping 'eco pod' with a private balcony and magical views to boot.
For added luxury, you can always book a stay at nearby Scenic Rim retreats - Spicers Hidden Vale or Spicers Peak Lodge - to top or tail your adventure.
Scenic Rim Trail, Scenic Rim, Brisbane. Photo by @scenicrimtrail
As for the refuelling? You won't go hungry on the Scenic Rim Trail. The daily menus - including a cooked breakfast and dinner at each lodging; and a packed morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea on the trails - are designed by Head Chef Jake Knauth. Think wholesome dishes made from local ingredients - be it vegetables from Homage’s organic garden, or produce sourced from local artisan producers - that embody a paddock-to-plate philosophy. There's nothing better than ending the day around the dining table with new friends.
All tours include complimentary tea and coffee, with other beverages available to purchase along the way. Most camps run on an honesty system where you simply tally drinks as you go - but whether you prefer a shiraz or a kombucha at the end of a day's hike, you'll be well looked after.
Scenic Rim, Brisbane. Photo by @scenicrimtrail
While your comfort is of the utmost importance, great care has also been taken to ensure Spicers’ structures make a positive impact on the environment in the long-run.
Your showers might be timed (four minutes and counting), but the feel-good factor is a big drawcard on the Spicers Scenic Rim Trail for any eco-conscious traveller. Sustainability is as king-sized as the beds, with the use of carefully-sourced and recyclable building materials, solar power, refiltered rainwater, and low water-use toilets among some of the initiatives.
If you don’t arrive with a bursting appreciation for Queensland’s bushland beauty and history, you’ll certainly leave with it. There are few worthier spots to ‘leave only footprints’ as you stand atop this spectacular trail and breathe in the fresh mountain air. It’s not called Scenic for nothing.
While Spicers' Scenic Rim walks range from two-day to six-day, the four-day itinerary is the signature Great Walks of Australia walk - and it's a life-enriching 60km adventure. Read on to follow the trail.
The Scenic Rim Trail fires up the adventure from day one, with 12km ahead as you ascend the Mistake Mountain Range. The trail is rough and uphill most of the day – but the views are worth it, along with the satisfaction of tackling the 16-metre ladder climb. Don’t worry, you’re safely harnessed in – so get ready to cheer on your fellow hikers.
Depending on the speed of the group, you’ll arrive at Spicers Mt Mistake Farmhouse around 3.30pm and settle into your private room. Still got energy? This is a great spot for birdwatching, photography or a game of tennis before sharing stories while tucking into a chef-prepared dinner in the large dining room.
Scenic Rim Trail, Scenic Rim, Brisbane. Photo by @scenicrimtrail
Our tip? Even if your muscles are sore from yesterday, rise early today, grab a hot cuppa and wander to the escarpment: sunrise at Mt Mistake won’t be one of yours.
Today’s 18km trek follows a former logging route once traversed by bullock and cart, but after a steady incline up the escarpment you’ll have your first introduction to our World Heritage listed Gondwana Rainforest. This ancient sub-tropical rainforest dates back some 180-million years, predating Australia itself, and is home to some species so rare they’re found nowhere else on earth. Luckily, your expert guide will be able to point out important flora and fauna along the walk.
Your accommodation for the night, the Spicers Amphitheatre Eco Cabins, is the perfect example of sustainable ingenuity that doesn’t compromise on luxury. Fall asleep to the sounds of the endangered Fleay’s barred frogs as they remind you that you’re truly deep within nature now.
Whether you sleep in until breakfast or take advantage of the supplied yoga mats for a sunrise stretch, be sure to pause in the beauty of the bush this morning. Another 16km of the Scenic Rim Trail is ahead today, but you’ll have a relatively flat start to enjoy the song of the rainforest as you wander.
The hike then gets a little tougher and the terrain varied, including some steps, boulder-fringed walkways and an ancient eucalyptus forest. Under the cool cover of the rainforest canopy, you’ll descend into Dalrymple Creek where you can refill your water bottle from the mountain spring water that flows from the waterfall.
Listen out for Albert’s lyrebirds, endangered eastern bristlebirds and vulnerable, black-breasted button-quail. Tonight’s camp is Spicers Timber Getters Eco Camp – a serene, off-the-grid haven of cabins tucked among the trees. Formally a loggers camp, you can view the old tin shack that once housed loggers ‘timber getters’ of the era.
Scenic Rim Trail, Scenic Rim, Brisbane. Photo by @scenicrimtrail
Your final full day on the Scenic Rim Trail begins like the rest: an early breakfast and an 8am departure. But with 16km before the finish line, you’ll get the heart racing on an uphill climb, before heading deeper into the rainforest along a Grade 5 track. Catch your breath at Bare Rock – taking in 360-degree views on clear days.
From here, you’ll connect with public walking trails and other hikers out enjoying their days, unaware you’ve just spent four days hiking in the most remote parts of the Scenic Rim. Meeting the end of the trail, you’ll be transferred to tonight’s destination, Spicers Hidden Peak Cabins, to celebrate the journey and toast to memories made.
You’re also rewarded with a sleep in: tomorrow’s decadent farewell BBQ breakfast is served at 8am. Bliss.
Searching for more adventure in the Scenic Rim? Use this guide.