The Earl Hill Summit track would have to be one of the most underrated trails close to the Cairns City.
With magnificent views out across Double Island, this short trail provides great rewards, without the need to stray too far from home, which is great when you are short on time.
There are two separate tracks to the top. We have covered both tracks in this article. The old original track starts from Flagship Drive and is roughly 1.8km shorter (return) than the new Bakarra Track that starts from the Trinity Par Foreshore. Whilst the Bakarra track is longer, it is our favourite because it starts from the beach and there are better views along the track.
This trail is dog friendly so you will see lots of pooches out and about exercising.
Bakarra Track (New Track)
Rating: 6/10
Last visited: April 2021
Approx. 6.75 km return from carpark
Time: 1 hour to 1.5 hours return
The track starts from the Trinity Beach foreshore. You will need to walk out onto the beach, turn left and keeping walking along the beach until you reach the staircase which is easy to spot and is the start of the well defined trail.
Once you hit the stairs the trail is easy to follow. There are quite a number of stairs.
The first fork you come to, you can turn left to continue along the trail or you can take a short (maybe 100 metre) detour to the right to get a good view of Earl Hill (and what is yet to come) from a small look out.
Once you have turned left at the fork you keep following the track until you get the the next fork (this is where the two tracks link up for the summit) turn right.
There is one final fork close to the top. There are two options, go left for the old track (much steeper and very slippery if there has been rain) or right for the Warrkin track which is the most popular option. Both ways are equal distance. I went right as it had been raining recently. You can always do the track as a loop by going up one way to the top then coming down the opposite way.
There are plenty of good spots along this walk with park benches to stop and take in the views, including over Yorkey's Knob.
Remember on the way back down to turn left back onto the Bakarra Track.
Flagship Drive Entrance
Rating: 5/10
Time: 45 minutes to an hour return
The track that starts from the corner of Roberts Drive and Flagship Drive is shorter in distance around 3.5 km return. There is no easy parking at the entrance. We have taken a photo of the entrance below. The track is straight up, I promise you can't get lost on this trail.
Whilst this track is shorter and leads to the same final destination, I find the beach track worth the extra km's for the additional views of the beach and across the ocean.
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