📍6 Best Day Trips From Toowoomba Within 2 Hours Drive From A Local Road Trip Enthusiast. (2024.)
WONDERING WHAT THE BEST DAY TRIPS FROM TOOWOOMBA ARE?
Toowoomba is Queensland’s largest inland city. It also happens to sit atop the Great Dividing Range about 2 two-hour drive west of Brisbane and is the gateway to the Darling Downs, a vast area of rural agricultural land between the coast and the Outback, making it the perfect blend of city-meet-country. This means that to make the most out of a visit here, heading out of the CBD is a must.
From gorgeous valleys with creeks running through them like glittering diamonds to peaceful lakes with calmly glistening waters and dramatic waterfalls plunging over sheer cliff faces, there are plenty of fantastic places to enjoy day trips from Toowoomba.
👉 My top 3 picks for the best Toowoomba Day Trips:
- Within An Hour: Crows Nest National Park.
- Within 2 Hours: The Falls Drive. (Main Range National Park.)
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Best Day Trips From Toowoomba Within 1 Hour Drive.
You needn’t go far to find incredible day trip destinations from Toowoomba, as it has some fantastic places to visit nearby that won’t take longer than an hour to reach. That is especially great if you don’t want to have to leave at the crack of dawn, want to make the most of your time there or don’t want to get back to the hotel late.
1. Crows Nest National Park.
My favourite place to visit within the greater Toowoomba region is Crows Nest National Park. The small but stunning natural habitat is a gorgeous setting to enjoy time outdoors. Although it technically has only one walk, the 4.5km return trail includes several short branch tracks to different scenic spots offering plenty of beautiful things to see along the way.
The first deviation leads to the stunning Cascades and Kauyoo Pool, a picturesque boulder-strewn landscape and the perfect place to enjoy a refreshing dip in its still shallow waters. If you come early in the morning or late in the afternoon, you may see rock wallabies. These guys blew me away with their impressive ability to navigate up the sheer cliff faces with such ease in what can best be described as Australia’s version of mountain goats.
Further along the trail is the tranquil Bottle Brush Pool, another lovely spot with deeper waters for a more immersive swim. About halfway along the trail is a viewing platform overlooking the place where several waterways converge with Crows Nest Creek. Crows Nest Falls is also there, however, it is mostly obscured by trees.
The best part of the track lies at the end. Koonin Lookout is a spectacular natural viewpoint as the vista it looks down into is known as the Valley Of The Diamonds, thanks to the glistening waters of the creek carving its way between the mountains. What makes this place even more special is that it showcases a pristine environment with no signs of human civilisation, an increasingly rare sight in this day and age and even more remarkable knowing how tiny this national park is and how developed the surrounding areas area, making it feel like you’re a world away from it all.
- Distance From Toowoomba: 50km
- Minimum Time To Traverse: 41min.
- Other Places To Visit En Route: Crows Nest Soft Drinks.
2. Lake Cressbrook.
If you’re craving a lakeside outing, Toowoomba has 3 supply dams and two are visitable. The first is Cooby Lake, but I recommend the second, Lake Cressbrook.
While both have spacious picnic areas and playgrounds by the water, and a boat ramp for engaging in water-based activities such as kayaking, sailing and boating, the latter often has kangaroos hanging around, especially at the campground, which Cooby Lake also doesn’t have. And thanks to its pay-on-arrival system, you can spontaneously stay there overnight the good old-fashioned way, which I also encourage as Dad and I had possums visiting us after dark, which was the favourite part of our stay.
It is also superior as it is close to two of the region’s other must-visit places Crows Nest National Park and Ravensbourne National Park, so visitors can enjoy a full day exploring the beautiful lakes and forests northwest of Toowoomba.
- Distance From Toowoomba To Lake Cressbrook: 57km.
- Minimum Time To Traverse: 50min.
- Other Places To Visit En Route: Lake Perseverance, Ravensbourne National Park.
Best Day Trips 2 Hours From Toowoomba.
Heading out further afield lies even more incredible day trip destinations. From the breathtaking waterfalls of Main Range National Park to the isolated peaks of Bunya Mountains National Park, these spectacular natural habitats are the perfect place to escape Toowoomba for the day.
3. Bunya Mountains National Park.
Another wonderful place to visit within two-hours drive from Toowoomba is Bunya Mountains National Park. This spectacular isolated mountain range is located 110km northwest of Toowoomba and has many beautiful walking trails to discover leading to one of its many lookouts and waterfalls, such as Mt Kiangrow, Pine Gorge Lookout, and Paradise Falls.
This revered place is also famously home to the largest density of naturally occurring Bunya Pines that remain globally and are easily recognisable for their distinct shape which looks remarkably like a fish skeleton and for the notches in their trunks which the indigenous Aboriginals used to climb up them.
That is because the massive cones they grew (which can weigh up to 10kg) contained up to 100 individual nuts and were an important, nutritious and reliable food source for them, thanks to the tree’s consistency in producing them. For today’s visitors, the nuts are available in the cafes as part of their menus in Dandabah, the mountaintop village, and they taste amazing. I would describe them as hard like a typical nut, looking like a freshly cooked hot chip and tasting like a cold one but without the crunchy exterior, making it quite the deceptive texture sensation, and something you need to experience for yourself.
Speaking of Dandabah, this place is wildlife heaven!!! Most notable are the resident wallabies, which are everywhere, which is utterly delightful. They are wild but are used to humans so you can observe these friendly hopping marsupials remarkably close without scaring them away easily. There are also wonderful bird-feeding opportunities, making the Bunya Mountains a fantastic day trip destination for those who love immersing themselves in nature and getting up close to native wildlife. And with three campgrounds and a prolific number of holiday cabins, it is also the perfect place to enjoy an even longer escape.
Additional Note: The two times I went, the waterfalls were unfortunately trickles.
- Distance From Toowoomba: 110km.
- Minimum Time To Traverse: 1hr 30min.
4. The Falls Drive. (Main Range National Park.)
For incredible scenery, no drive is as unforgettably beautiful as Falls Drive. Highly regarded as one of the best routes in the region, this spectacular drive goes high up into the breathtaking mountains of Main Range National Park and is full of gorgeous scenery to make your jaw drop, making it easily the visually reward day trips from Toowoomba. And that’s before you get out of the car.
When you do that, there are even more incredible sites to discover, such as the hallmark 2km walk to the base of the magnificent high Queen Mary Falls as it plunges 40m off a sheer cliff face and stopping by to peer down at the equally impressive Browns Falls and discovering the sweeping panoramic views from Carrs Lookout.
If you have a 4WD, things get even better, as The Head, one of the drive’s most striking natural landmarks, beckons those with off-road vehicles to explore the beginning of Australia’s longest continuous river, the Condamine, which starts its humble 657km cross-continent journey here.
- Distance From Toowoomba To Queen Mary Falls Carpark: 130km.
- Minimum Time To Traverse: 1hr 40min.
- Other Places To Visit En Route: Warwick.
5. Goomburra. (Main Range National Park.)
Another section of Main Range National Park worth visiting is Goomburra. Located an hour and ten minutes drive on the western side of the Great Dividing Range, it is a fantastic hidden gem that not many people know about.
Some of its best walks include the 3.5km return hike to Araucaria Falls, a breathtaking horsetail waterfall, and the 960m stroll to Mount Castle Lookout and the 940m wander to Sylvesters Lookout, which both offer panoramic views of the stunning Scenic Rim.
Goomburra also has a beautiful picnic area, ideal for enjoying a picnic in a peaceful natural setting and the Poplar Flats Campground for those hoping to spend a longer adventure immersed in nature and sleeping under the stars.
- Distance From Toowoomba: 94km.
- Minimum Time To Traverse: 1hr 10min.
6. Ipswich.
Just a relaxing hour and ten-minute drive east of Toowoomba along the Warrego Highway (A21) lies the historically rich city of Ipswich. This notable heritage city, once a bustling mining town and in the running to become Queensland’s capital, but was kicked out of contention because the Bremer River was too narrow, offers a treasure trove of unique heritage attractions and surprising outdoor adventures.
The CBD is particularly notable for its historical buildings, dating back to the early 1900s, making it an incredible place to explore for those who love discovering old architecture, especially the beautiful spires of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. For an even more intricate look at the past, the Workshop’s Rail Museum highlights the city’s significant contributions to railway infrastructure, and the Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre pays tribute to Australia’s military aviation history and its vital role in international conflicts and disasters.
While Ipswich is known as a heritage city, defining it merely as so is a disservice as it also has some fantastic places to visit that don’t fit under that label, which will come as a surprise to many. They include the Ipswich Art Gallery, which features a fantastic interactive kids area (many of my favourite childhood memories are here.), the Orion Lagoon, a free resort-style lagoon pool and College’s Crossing, a must-visit beloved wild swimming recreational reserve on the banks of the Brisbane River, along with some fantastic walking trails, such as to White Rock, Flinders Peak and around Lake Manchester, making this destination city one of the most well-rounded day trips from Toowoomba you’ll find.
- Distance From Toowoomba: 90km.
- Minimum Time To Traverse: 1hr 10mins.
Conclusion: Best Toowoomba Day Trips.
Whether you’re exploring Queensland’s largest city for a quick escape or including it in an extended road trip, the variety and beauty of day trips from Toowoomba offer something for every traveller. From pristine landscapes to glistening creeks, rivers and lakes to towering waterfalls and heritage cities, there is plenty to enjoy within 2 hours drive from the mountaintop destination.
If you are planning to visit Toowoomba & surrounds, consider looking at these other posts.
