Joyners Ridge to Northbrook Parkway

This is a very long but picturesque walk through the centre of Brisbane Forest Park. Mobile reception is quite good for most of this walk, however this is limited once the Parkway is reached.

Take Joyner's Ridge Road and walk along it for approx 2.5 hours until the crossroads. This section is a nice walk through the Park, it is relatively flat and there are breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and England Creek catchment area. Bellbirds can often be heard making their distinct 'tinkling' sound in the surrounding trees.

Once at the crossroads, turn right into England Creek Road which takes you down to the creek. This stretch of track will take about 2 hours but eventually you will reach the England Creek crossing and the 'campsite' beside the creek.

There is the opportunity to swim here, however when I visited here some years ago there was very little water in the creek, even after several days of rain. There are some waterholes along the creek, but once agin there may not be enough water in them or they are simply stagnant from lack of it. From the campsite the track starts to ascend, climbing the ridge up to Northbrook Mountain. This stretch is very long and tedious, but relatively easy to walk up.

Once at the top there is a deeply eroded track that drops steeply down the side of the ridge to Red and White Cedars. Alternatively, turn left at the top and follow Lawnton Road all the way, which will also take you down to the Parkway. This could be done either as a full day walk or ideally as a throughwalk, camping at the crossing of England Creek or at the campsite below Northbrook Mountain.

England Creek (Right Branch) via Mount Nebo Road

This is a circuit walk that begins at the top of Mount Nebo Road, between Westridge Outlook and Mount Nebo Transfer Station and descends to the creek below via a management vehicle access track. From here either walk up or down England Creek or, take a track northwest up to the crossroads to visit the Left Branch of England Creek, via England Creek Road. On the return trip, I took a track up to Goodes Road which connects with Dundas Road. This will then take you to the Mount Nebo Transfer Station and back to Mount Nebo Road. (For further directions see also England Creek via Joyner's Ridge Road)

Mount Samson via Cedar Creek

I did this walk whilst participating in the BFP's 'Go Bush' program and must say I found this walk quite intense. The walk is interesting due to the many different features along the way, most notably the sheer cliffs, rainforest and extensive views from the summit.

We started at Andy Williams Park at Cedar Creek. The first part of the walk involves climbing up the side of Mount Lawson which is extremely steep, however at the top it becomes easier, travelling along a flat ridge that stretches out towards Mount Samson. We took both a compass and GPS on this walk because of the navigational difficulty and the terrain is somewhat confusing at times. The thick rainforest and vegetation obscures most views until reaching the top of the mountain. Therefore when walking in this area there should be at least one of your party that has a good knowledge of the area and or has sufficient compass and map reading skills.

The rainforest behind the peak of Mount Samson is quite dense. There is much Laywer Vine growing here which can slow progress, however beyond the rainforest the walk to the summit is quite feasible and presents little or no difficulty. At the summit, the views stretch across Brisbane and as far as Mount Warning to the South and the Glasshouse Mountains can be seen quite clearly to the North.

On the return trip, we descended by contouring down the back of Mount Samson, before walking across private property down to Cedar Creek. From there we simply followed the road along the creek for about 1 km, back to the park.

Please note: Permission to cross private property may be required to do this walk, especially around Mount Lawson and descending into the catchment of Cedar Creek.

For more information on other walks to Mount Samson, please refer to the relevant posts on this site.

Mount Samson via Mount Kobble

Mount Samson Range is located on the Northeast edge of Brisbane Forest Park and can be climbed from various access points to get to the summit. There are some interesting views of the summit from several vantage points along the range. The walk begins at the top of a hill, on the corner of Hipathetes and Kriesch Roads, Samsonvale.

Access is between two properties via a driveway up to Mount Kobble, depending on if access is possible. If so, it is only a short walk up to Mount Kobble climbing a steep hillside to get to it. From here the walk is fairly easy going and presents little or no difficulty, however there are some steep sections to climb at the start of the range and two sections towards the end of the range. The walk takes about 4 hours if it is walked to the end of the range and back ONLY. To the summit and back to the road would obviously take longer. I have not as yet walked to the summit from Mount Kobble, so for more information on climbing to the summit of Mount Samson please refer to the Mount Samson walk via Cedar Creek I have posted on this site.

Last time I walked along the Range, there was almost a plague of Golden Orb spiders hanging from webs across the track. Overall the track was clear, however the steep sections were deeply eroded, so both ascent and descent may present some difficulty depending on fitness,agility and recent weather.

There are some breathtaking views of Lake Samsonvale and from the top of the range, evidence that there may have been some type of dwelling here in the past. Just before the summit, an old truck sits in grass and parts of machinery are strewn all over the ground. There is a house that is partially erected and a well used fire pit with chairs sitting around it, near the edge of the cliff overlooking Samsonvale below. I found this place to have an eerie feeling about it, probably due to the fact it is completely deserted and there are no clues as to who lives here or if someone IS still living here. This part of the Range was once popular with hang gliders some years ago and has amazing views to the South East and the city of Brisbane. Beyond the 'abandoned' site there is a National Park sign, where a trail picks up and winds it's way around to the highest part of the Range towards the summit. The summit appears to be easily accessible from this point.

Upon descent it is possible to return a different way to the bottom of the range, via a track that branches off to the right and winds it's way down to Basin Road. However at the time of this walk there was much private development near the bottom of this track so access may not be possible and if so, permission most likely required.