Picturesque Blackall Ranges: A Scenic Drive Guide

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The Blackall Range Tourist Drive is on traditional Kabi Kabi and Jinibara Country. I acknowledge the Kabi Kabi and the Jinibara peoples as the Traditional Custodians whose lands and waters we all now share on the Sunshine Coast. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present.

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Even though the Sunshine Coast Hinterland isn’t as spectacular as the lush and dramatic Gold Coast Hinterland, there’s still plenty to do, including some very pretty scenic drives.

If you’re after views of the Sunshine Coast, short walks or are keen to poke around local shops, the Blackall Range Tourist Drive (#23) is the perfect choice. From pretty much anywhere on the coast, you’ll be up in the hinterland within 30-40 minutes.

Depending on how much time you have, you could just do the scenic drive and stop at the lookouts—or explore some of the towns and walking tracks along the way.

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BLACKALL RANGE TOURIST DRIVE (#23)

Just like the Glass House Mountains Tourist Drive (#24), the Blackall Range Tourist Drive is an official tourist drive on the Sunshine Coast. You’ll see the brown #23 road signs dotted everywhere along the route, and because the signage is really excellent, you won’t have any trouble finding your way.

Because the Glass House Mountain and the Blackall Ranges scenic drives sit right next to each other in the hinterland, it’s easy to mix them up if you’re planning a weekend trip from Brisbane. Here’s a quick overview:

LOGISTICS: GETTING AROUND

You can easily do the Blackall Ranges route as a day trip from Brisbane or the coast. Alternatively, you could make a weekend of it, as there are plenty of accommodation options to choose from in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

BEST TIME FOR EXPLORING THE HINTERLAND

Just like the Glass House Mountains scenic drive, you can do this route at any time of the year. But it’s definitely more enjoyable when it’s not raining and humid every day.

• Cooler months (April to September): Crisp, clear views from the ridge lookouts and dry conditions on the walks; perfect time of year for scenic driving, longer hiking trails or just enjoying the bright winter sun.
• Spring (October to November): The humidity gradually increases but the jacarandas also come into full bloom.
• Summer/wet season (December to March): The views become more hazy as humidity is high. Most of the tracks are in the rainforest, and mozzies and leeches abound. It also rains a lot. Ideal for swimming at Kondalilla or Gardners Falls.

The Weekend Factor: Weekends mean full carparks and crowded footpaths in Montville and Maleny. Starting early (before 10am) or heading up into the hinterland on a weekday can make a huge difference as to whether you’ll actually enjoy your day out.

HOW TO DO THE BLACKALL RANGE SCENIC DRIVE

The Blackall Ranges are about 100km north of Brisbane and are easily accessible right off the Bruce Highway.

If you’re already based on the Sunshine Coast, you can turn this route into a great day-trip loop. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a scenic drive from Noosa to Brisbane, heading up the range is a far more rewarding option than driving down the uninspiring Bruce Highway.

The official route is about 55km long, which you can technically drive in about an hour. However, I’ve never actually managed that—there are simply too many spots to stop at.

Plan at least half day, or better yet, a full day to actually explore the region without having to rush.

START & END POINTS

You can tackle the drive from either direction: Starting in Nambour in the north, or approaching from Landsborough in the south. To turn it into a loop, you can head back to your starting point via the Bruce Highway (not the most inspiring road, I concede) and Steve Irwin Way.

If you’ve got plenty of time on your hands, you can easily combine this route with my Glass House Mountains scenic drive guide and tick off two of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland drives in one go.

• Starting from Nambour (North to South): Take Netherton Street up the hill past Nambour General Hospital and simply follow the road. This turns into Nambour-Mapleton Road outside Nambour but you can’t really get lost.
• Starting from Landsborough (South to North): Take Maleny Street, which quickly turns into Landsborough-Maleny Road just outside of town.

As you can see, we’re really creative when it comes to road names up here. 🙂

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BLACKALL RANGES SCENIC DRIVE: WHAT TO SEE AND DO

No matter which direction you start from, you will find plenty of fabulous stops along this scenic drive.

Just a quick note of caution: Since I’m much more of a nature lover than a dedicated shopper, you won’t find many recommendations for shops or eating out here. My itineraries lean heavily towards sweeping lookouts and rainforest strolls rather than meandering around busy town streets—unless, of course, those streets happen to have a great local bookstore.

1. VISIT THE SUNSHINE COAST HINTERLAND TOWNS: MAPLETON, MONTVILLE & MALENY

Visiting the three “M-towns” along this ridge route is practically obligatory. They are rather neat little towns, though Maleny is my personal favourite by a mile.

Here is my quick verdict on how to split your time between them:

• Mapleton: The sleepy northern town. Best for a quiet atmosphere with a local bakery, waterfall and day walk access and missing the midday weekend crowds.
• Montville: High-density tourism. Go for the classic coastal views, local crafts, and cafés—but bypass the main strip if you can’t stand busy tourist towns.
• Maleny: The local heart. Best for excellent independent bookshops, country scenery, local cafés and a more authentic community feel.

MAPLETON

Coming from Nambour, Mapleton is the first town you’ll reach. It’s wonderfully sleepy with a bakery, pub and a couple of eateries that can get busy on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

There’s also a lovely waterlily pond right in town but the real drawcard is how close it is to Mapleton Falls National Park, which offers a fabulous, short rainforest walk.

From Mapleton, it’s a quick 6km drive to Montville. Along the way, you can catch lovely glimpses of the coast or pass the turnoff to Kondalilla Falls Road if you fancy a rainforest picnic at Kondalilla Falls National Park.

MONTVILLE

Montville is the polar opposite to Mapleton—it is that picture-perfect, almost kitschy village where you can stuff yourself full of slightly overpriced food, buy pretty things you don’t actually need, and eat far more chocolate than is good for you.

On the flip side: All this comes with gorgeous views for a backdrop.

However, Montville is just a bit too touristy for my liking, which is why I always prefer heading further along to the next stop.

MALENY

From Montville, it’s about 16km to Maleny. You could easily drive it in 15 minutes but I always seem to dawdle and rarely get there in under 40 minutes.

Maleny has a much stronger locals’ vibe. It’s home Maleny Food Co., which sells incredible gluten-free artisan gelato—a fact that obviously helps strengthen my conviction that this is the best of the three towns! 🙂

Beyond the gelato, Maleny has a fabulous main street with some cute cafés and indie shops selling everything from new and used books, clothing, antiques to timber knickknacks. It just feels like a real town.

From Maleny, you can easily coast back down the range to Landsborough to call it a day.

2. TAKE A SHORT WALK

If you’re keen to stretch your legs, there’s more than enough hiking in the Blackall Ranges to keep you busy for a day.

WOMPOO CIRCUIT (MAPLETON FALLS NATIONAL PARK)

For an easy stroll through a mix of lush rainforest and open eucalypt forest, try the Wompoo Circuit (1.3 km loop).

Most day-trippers just walk the 50 metres from the carpark to the Mapleton Falls Lookout. A quick word of warning: You can’t really see the waterfall from the platform so don’t expect too much. However, the sweeping valley views are quite nice.

KONDALILLA FALLS LOOP (KONDALILLA NATIONAL PARK)

If you want something a bit more substantial, try the Kondalilla Falls Loop (4.7 km), located right between Mapleton and Montville.

This track offers picturesque valley vistas, rainforest gullies, a gushing waterfall (most impressive after we’ve had some rain), and a freshwater swimming hole. Expect mozzies and lots of people—it can get incredibly busy here, particularly on weekends.

MALENY TRAIL

While you’re exploring Maleny, you could head to the Maleny Trail, which offers a peaceful, paved meander right from the edge of town and beyond. It features some interesting art sculptures along the way.

GARDNERS FALLS

Alternatively, head to Gardners Falls at the end of Obi Lane South (off Landsborough-Maleny Road). It’s a very short, flat walk from the carpark along the river to a series of mini cascades and a larger rock pool. It’s really popular with locals but it isn’t among my personal favourite spots in the hinterland.

MARY CAIRNCROSS SCENIC RESERVE

For one of the absolute best subtropical rainforest walks on the Sunshine Coast, make a stop at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve along Mountain View Road on your way down to Landsborough. We always bring our visiting friends and family here; it’s just such a beautiful spot.

There’s a huge grassy picnic area, a café that serves lovely food (including plenty of gluten-free options), an excellent education centre, and a rainforest walk that’s less than 2km.

3. ENJOY THE VIEWS FROM THE BLACKALL RANGES

If the weather is just too warm or you are simply not that keen on hiking through the rainforest, pulling over at the various ridge lookouts is a great alternative. There are plenty to choose from along the route.

DULONG LOOKOUT

If you’re approaching the range from Nambour, Dulong Lookout is your first opportunity for a view. It offers a beautiful, sweeping panorama over the sprawling coastal plains below, which is especially sharp on a crisp winter day.

GERRARDS LOOKOUT

Located roughly 7km south of Montville as you curve along the road toward Maleny, Gerrards Lookout is another recommended viewpoint. It serves up sweeping, rolling farmland views that stretch right out to the ocean—or at least, it feels that way.

BALMORAL LOOKOUT

I really like Balmoral Lookout because of the beautiful trees planted around the park. They come to life in winter and blossom bright red.

This spot also includes sheltered picnic tables and makes for a great lunch stop, provided you don’t mind the passing road noise.

MCCARTHYS LOOKOUT

For a completely different view, head along Mountain View Road near Maleny to McCarthys Lookout. Instead of the coastline, this spot offers stunning, dramatic views looking directly at the volcanic plugs of the Glass House Mountains.

MARY CAIRNCROSS SCENIC RESERVE (UPPER DECK)

Alternatively, you can get similarly impressive views of the Glass House Mountains from the upper deck of the education centre at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve. An early morning in winter is best; there is much less humidity in the air and you might even see Brisbane’s skyline in the far distance.

4. EXPLORE SOME SUNSHINE COAST ATTRACTIONS

This is an area we haven’t explored extensively yet. I mean, we’ve only lived on the Sunshine Coast for over a decade now so what’s the hurry? 😉 That said, there are a few paid local attractions well worth visiting on an outing to the Blackall Ranges.

MALENY BOTANIC GARDENS

The Maleny Botanic Gardens are a nice, little spot though admission is on the pricey side.

Last time we visited, they weren’t quite looking their best as they were still recovering from consecutive years of terrible weather but the general layout was still lovely.

If you just want to wander the walking paths and photograph the flowers, you can buy a garden-only ticket, which is much cheaper than the combined aviary pass. I’m not much of an aviary-fan so we happily skipped the birds and stuck to the greenery.

I love that they have plenty of benches and gazeboes scattered around the grounds—great for a picnic with gorgeous views over the Glass House Mountains.

Best of all, you’re welcome to pack your own picnic delicacies—works for me!

MALENY CHEESE CAFÉ

If local dairy is more thing than flowers, make a stop at Maleny Cheese on Balmoral Ridge (just look for the giant iconic milk can on the side of the road).

Their retail shop is open seven days a week for cheese and yoghurt—aim for Wednesdays to Sundays for a sitdown meal at their café. While they don’t offer full factory tours anymore, you can take cheese and yoghurt tasting tour during the school holidays and learn more about cheese and yoghurt-making.

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ENJOY THE DRIVE!

So, these are just a few ideas on how to best explore the beautiful Blackall Ranges in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland! Enjoy a lovely day out up on the ridge. 🙂

Happy exploring,

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