Lawn Hill Gorge would have to be one of our most favourite places in the world. It is an absolute must for your bucket list. Rochelle and Sarah visited on separate occasions. Rochelle did a trip of North West QLD in September 2020, and Sarah recently went to Mt Isa to visit a friend in May which included a weekend at Lawn Hill.
Apart from water activities, including kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and swimming, there are several trails that will win the heart of any hiker.
This place is pure magic and you just have to experience it for yourself.
How to Get There
Lawn Hill Gorge is located in Northern Queensland, almost at the border of Northern Territory. There are many different routes to this destination, depending on where you are departing. Trust Google Maps should be able to point you in the right direction.
The National Park itself is only accessed via gravel road. You should expect corrugation along this road. Whilst you don't need a 4WD, you shouldn't attempt this in anything less than a high clearance AWD. Expect the trip to take longer though. Sarah has a Mazda CX-5 and it took her about 5 hours, whereas friends of her friend did it in 4 hours leaving Mt Isa a couple of hours later and arriving at the campsite at a similar time. There are a few creek crossings (3) which Sarah didn't have trouble getting her car through, but each were assessed before driving through. We would absolutely not be recommending this as suitable for cars smaller than Sarah's as there was a noticeable (however minor) pull when driving through the water that smaller cars simply wouldn't be able to manage. Disclaimer: we take no responsibility in what you decide to do and please be safe!
Accommodation:
There are two options for where you can choose to stay when visiting Lawn Hill National Park. Rochelle and her group stayed in the national park itself. There are limited camping spots available and they book out quickly so you will have to book well in advance.
Queensland - (usedirect.com) -> Create a profile and follow the links through to book your permit.
If you cannot manage to secure a spot in the national park, you can stay at Adel's Grove, which is where Sarah stayed when she visiting Lawn Hill. Sarah's friend had stayed at Adel's Grove several times before and rated it highly. Whilst Rochelle is of the opinion that staying at the heart of the National Park is the better option, Sarah disagrees! Adel's Grove was incredibly well set up with showers (and yep they were hot!), a kitchen serving food and beverages as well as a tea and coffee making station (including boiling water from a kettle which feels like a luxury), laundry, fuel and washing up facilities. If camping is not for you, there are air-conditioned cabins that can be booked also. We will let you decide for yourselves!
Ideally you would base yourself here for at least 4 full days. However it can be done in less as was Sarah's case who only had about 48 hours and felt the only thing she missed doing was hiring a canoe to paddle through the gorge which is a longer day activity. The weather is hot, even in winter, so we suggest due to limit on available ice in the area that you pack cautiously in terms of food.
Hiking Trails
Five out of Seven trails start at the National Park camping grounds. The other two trails split off from the Duwadarri Lookout trail (this trail is accessed from the camping grounds).
None of the tracks are strenuous in the usual sense that we use that word. There are certainly some steep sections on some of the trails, however they are relatively short. We feel that the trails can be accomplished by all fitness levels. When Sarah visited in May, some of the tracks were closed as the bridge allowing access to the 'Island' had been removed. This meant the Island Stack walk, Botanic walk and Wild Dog Dreaming track were not accessible. Sarah and her friend scouted the area for an alternative route but unsuccessful in finding a track that didn't mean swimming across banks. Unfortunately we didn't run into any rangers who could tell us when the tracks would be re-opened so if you are there primarily for the hiking you may want to suss this out beforehand to avoid disappointment.
Upper Gorge Circuit
The Upper Gorge Circuit incorporates the Indarri Falls lookout and the Duwadarri lookout. We did the entire loop clockwise, however you can choose to do as much or as little as you choose. The hike is well signposted and basically starts just past the day-use carpark where the toilets and ranger's office is located. The track starts on a well built manmade footpath before turning into rocky ground underfoot. The lookout is the best place in Lawn Hill for those 'insta-worthy' photos so allow yourself plenty of time to enjoy the views and take some pics!
Sarah's suggested route: Turn left after walking past the ranger's office. The group Sarah was with decided to head up towards Duwardan Waterhole and then headed up to the Duwardan Lookout. This is a steep track and is a bit rough underfoot with some large steps to manoeuvre over and creates a bit of a calf burn but we promise you it will be worth it! This section is the steepest part of the circuit and hence we wanted to knock it out of the way early on. The lookout provides some unrivalled views of the gorge and some fantastic photo opportunities.
After soaking in the views, Sarah's group made their way down towards Indarri Falls with the promise of a cool-off swim on our return. We continued our way along the circuit going in a clockwise direction up towards Upper Gorge Lookout, before completing the circuit at Indarri Falls. Indarri Falls is a fantastic place to swim and there are pontoons and stairs entering the water. It is deep in some sections but if you aren't a confident swimmer you can hang out around the edges. There are rumours of freshwater crocodiles inhabiting the area (the non-dangerous kind!?) but we honestly didn't see evidence of any and plenty of people swimming about to alleviate some of the concern. After you spend some time swimming, follow the track up towards the Indarri Falls Lookout before completing the circuit back to the carpark.
The route Sarah took was about 8km long and were out for about 3 hours-> the time isn't reflective on the difficulty of the hike though, rather how incredible the views were and the epic opportunity to swim in the gorge.
From the Indarri Falls Lookout the track continues back towards the campsite and upwards to the Duwadarri Lookout. Rochelle's group timed their walk perfectly and were able to sit and watch the sunset from Duwadarri with some refreshments that they had carried up with them.
Island Stack Track
This is actually the first trail that Rochelle tackled. It is probably the easiest trail so it was a good warm up and starting point. Yes there is a little uphill involved, but once you make it to the top, it is flat and had great views towards the lower gorge. She did this hike for sunrise also and it was magical in the morning.
Constance Range Walk
Rochelle highly recommends this walk for sunrise! It is absolutely magical, like something out of the Lion King. Sarah didn't make it out of her tent for this one at sunrise but still found the hike pretty amazing in the daytime.
This hike can be accessed from the main car park at the entrance of the national park. To find the track, walk past the ranger office then turn right and follow the Serpent track to the trail head-> this is all well signed but if you reach the canoe hire, you have gone too far! .
The hike is approximately 4km and does require a steady incline so a moderate level of fitness is required. The track traverses sandstone and there are silver arrows to follow the route up to the look-out. 1.6km into the hike and nearing the top, you will reach a fork with a sign titled 'Constance Range Circuit' where it really doesn't matter whether you go left or right. Follow your chosen track for another 400m where you will be rewarded 360 degree views of a gorgeous outback vista! Take your time here before completing the circuit and heading back down the same route towards the carpark. The hike shouldn't take longer than 2 hours and despite being a bit rough underfoot, should be achievable for most fitness levels.
Botanical Walk and Cascades Path
This is a short easy walk located near Wild Dog Dreaming Track. These two tracks are best done together and are accessed from the east side of the day use area. There isn't a lot to see on this trail, if you are lucky enough you may seem some turtles in the blue pond.
Wild Dog Dreaming Walk
The Wild Dog Dreaming Walk does not involve any incline which many will be relieved to hear. It is basically a loop around Island Stack (pictured above). From this walk you will have great views of the sandstone cliffs and you will also be able to see Aboriginal Rock Art.
Shout out to Victoria, Jarrod and Connor for sharing your slice of paradise in the North-West in what was an epic weekend of hiking and camping at Lawn Hill- Sarah.
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