📍12 Best Gladstone Lookouts & Other Photogenic Scenic Spots In The City, Coast & Countryside. (2025.)

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WANT TO DISCOVER THE BEST GLADSTONE LOOKOUTS, VIEWPOINTS AND SCENIC SPOTS?

Gladstone is a striking city with a unique juxtaposition between having
Queensland’s largest multi-commodity shipping port occupies its expansive harbour and some of the world’s largest heavy industry plants, factories and refineries and has many incredible natural wonders right on its doorstep including several breathtaking islands and just as many national parks.

This stark contrast between these two polar opposite entities is best appreciated from its many lookouts, which thanks to its hilly terrain and undulating topography means that there are many outstanding viewpoints.

From the sweeping panoramic views of Auckland Hill Lookout to the impressive industrial scenery showcases at Queensland Alumina And Boyne Smelter Viewing Platform and seeing the stunning beauty of the hinterland from Krrombit Tops Lookout, here are the best Gladstone lookouts I discovered visiting the region for 5 weeks.

👉 My top 3 picks for the best lookouts in Gladstone:

  • Auckland Hill Lookout.
  • Round Hill Lookout.
  • Connor Bluff Lookout, Curtis Island National Park.

Planning Your Trip? Use My Favourite Resources!

Tours/Experiences: I recommend Viator.
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Car Rental: I recommend economybookings.

Best Lookouts In Gladstone.

1. Auckland Hill Lookout.

Right amidst all the action, there’s no place as magnificent to enjoy Gladstone’s breathtaking scenery than from Auckland Hill Lookout. An outstanding highlight of the gorgeous East Shores Parklands, the several viewing decks take epic advantage of its harbour and riverside location offering fantastic panoramic views perfectly showcasing the unique interplay between its prominent heavy industries and its beautiful natural landscape.

Clockwise, you’ve got the lovely CBD, the split bridge going over the winding Auckland Inlet, the boats of various makes and models in the marina with the region’s largest peak, Mt Larcom looming off in the distance, Spinnaker Park bordering the Port Authority docks and the harbour the ships navigate through, the nearby island of Curtis, Facing and Quoin, plus some giant grain silos and even more industrial buildings.

All these key features on display at this one lookout make this place a phenomenal first stop for first-time visitors as I found it gave me a fascinating insight into everything that makes this city the unique and bi-polar destination it is and captured the essence of Gladstone like no other lookout I visited.

The Gladstone Marina with Mt Larcom in the background is just a very small view of what you can see at Auckland Hill Lookout.
  • Type Of Lookout: Several platforms. 111 steps from the bottom.
  • View: City, Auckland Inlet, Gladstone Marina, Gladstone Port Authority, Gladstone Harbour & Island.
  • Optimal Time To Visit: Sunrise, sunset, night.
  • Best For: Landscape, night and storm photography.

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    2. Round Hill Lookout.

    For even more incredible sweeping views of the coastal and harbour city, Round Hill Lookout is another unmissable viewpoint. While its name follows the classic Australian theme of naming landmarks in a very obvious manner to what they are, this breathtaking place is so much more than just a vantage point atop a softly domed peak.

    The summit has an oval car park and footpath circumnavigating a telecom tower, and more than half of its circumference has views, which means that you can see Gladstone and the greater area in a multitude of directions. This broader scope allows you to more greatly appreciate the size scope of the operations they’ve got going on here, which extends long into the distance and informs you about the industries that there are here which are detailed about along with some of the city’s most iconic attractions, such as Heron and North West Island.

    Plus, its multi-directional views make it excellent for watching or photographing the rising and setting of the sun and moon, along with other bright astrological events. And because it’s a drive-up lookout with many favourable parking spots pointing towards the view, you needn’t have to get out to enjoy it, making it perfect for cold days and romantic dates.

    • Type Of Lookout: Car lookout.
    • View: Broader view Gladstone city.
    • Optimal Time To Visit: Sunrise, sunset, night.
    • Best For: Landscape & night photography,date night, storms, some astrological events.

    3. Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) Viewing Platform.

    Heavy industry is such a big part of Gladstone’s identity that not only are its factories and plants a significant part of the visual landscape, but they’re also the ones who funded some of the city’s biggest tourist attractions, such as the stunning East Shores Parklands, which features the breathtaking aforementioned Auckland Hill Lookout. It, therefore, makes it not all that surprising that its largest industrial economic contributor becomes an attraction of its own in the form of a lookout.

    The Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) Viewing Platform is loosely open from 7 am-5 pm daily and gives an impressive front-and-centre glimpse at one of the world’s largest alumina refineries, which works around the clock turning raw bauxite mined for Weipa into alumina, which then gets exported out globally to be further processed into aluminium, including at the nearby Boyne Smelters Limited (BSL), Australia’s second-largest aluminium smelter.

    • Type Of Lookout: Platform.
    • View: Queensland Alumina Limited. (QAL.)
    • Optimal Time To Visit: 7am-5pm.
    • Best For: Learning about processing aluminium.

    Curtis Island National Park.

    Occupying a huge 676km2 of real estate off Gladstone’s coastline, Curtis Island is, by far, the largest of the seaside destination’s three main harbour islands. It’s also one of the city’s best nature escapes, whether for a day trip, weekend or even longer, thanks to its side-by-side national and conservation parks which make it a fantastic place to visit for hiking, biking, boating, camping and sightseeing.

    4. Connor Bluff Lookout.

    If you only visit Curtis Island for one reason, make it Connor Bluff Lookout. This gorgeous roadside viewpoint, which is accessible by car or walking/cycling the Conservation Park’s Oceanview trail has incredible views overlooking the vast coral sea and the extensive 5km of beach stretching from the base of the headland to the township of South End.

    But don’t just stop at the top and leave after that as I saw some people do, as that’s not the only place that the spectacular scenery is on showcase. A short walk down the stairs takes you closer to the edge of the headland where this lookout reveals its duality because along with having more direct views of the aforementioned foreshore, there is an even more impressive seascape to discover looking northward where the coastline meets the ocean in a breathtakingly rugged and rocky way.

    • Type Of Lookout: Roadside/hike.
    • View: Rugged, rocky coastline and beach.
    • Optimal Time To Visit: Sunrise.
    • Best For: Landscape and long shutter photography, whale watching.

    5. Oceanview Trail (Northern Half.)

    Although the Oceanview trail starts close to the township and follows the coast until it rejoins the road where it starts heading inland, none of the southern half has any seaside scenery as the name suggests.

    It’s only as you reach Conner Bluff Lookout halfway along does the scenery opens up and spectacularly lives up to its name, because from there on out, it’s almost entirely short and wind-stunted trees that don’t get in the way of the gorgeous sweeping panoramic views, making it one of Gladstone’s most picturesque hiking tracks.

    Note: Due to the lack of tall trees along this exposed track, it gets very hot, especially in spring and especially summer. Try to walk it during the cooler months, or at least earlier on an overcast day and take a wide-brim hat, apply SPF 50 sunscreen and drink plenty of water.

    • Type Of Lookout: Walking trail.
    • View: Hills meets the ocean.
    • Optimal Time To Visit: Sunrise & during the cooler times of the day.
    • Best For: Exercise and landscape photography

    6. Yellow Patch.

    Over on the northern side of Curtis Island and only accessible by boat, lies Yellow Patch, a towering exposed sand dune on the inner peninsula that you can’t miss. This gorgeous spot offers a spectacular two-for-one.

    A hard slog up the soft sand to the top gives breathtaking views of the sheltered bay, while a waxed-up sandboard or one you make-shifted out of a boogie or skip board is an exhilarating way to come back down, and an inviting incentive to head back up again and enjoy the scenery even more, making it the most fun and immersive lookout you’ll find in Gladstone.

    • Type Of Lookout: Natural landmark.
    • View: Coastline.
    • Optimal Time To Visit: Sunrise.
    • Best For: Boating adventures, sandboarding, landscape and long-shutter photography.

    Lake Agoonwa.

    Directly south of Gladstone lies Lake Awoonga, the greater region’s only water supply reservoir and a stunning day trip alternative to the pristine beaches and picturesque countryside thanks to its beautiful lookouts, gorgeous picnic areas, leisurely walking trails and opportunities to do many different watersports.

    7. Lookout 1.

    The first of Lake Awoonga’s three lookouts is a lovely easily accessible viewpoint that showcases the business end of the dam wall, with the 53m concrete-faced rock-fill structure and spillway on full display.

    • Type Of Lookout: Car park lookout.
    • View: Awoong Dam.
    • Optimal Time To Visit: Sunrise.
    • Best For: Architectural Photography.

    8. Lookout 2.

    A little further along, lies the equally creatively named Lookout 2. Also as accessible as the first, this vantage point offers picturesque views of the dam wall’s other side, allowing you to appreciate the engineering that went into creating the reservoir.

    Additionally, this is the start of one of the lake’s scenic walking trails along the lake’s foreshore. From here, it’s a lovely walk to Riverston Bay, which has some of the more gorgeous lakeside parklands I’ve come across in Australia, featuring plenty of sheltered picnic tables and a floating pontoon for swimming and docking canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards.

    • Type Of Lookout: Car park lookout.
    • View: Awoong Dam.
    • Optimal Time To Visit: Sunrise.
    • Best For: Architectural, landscape and slow shutter Photography.

    9. Mt Castle Lookout.

    Just by the side of the road a little further past the two lookouts and the turn-off to Riverston Bay, lies the Mount Castle Lookout.

    The views from here are a little hindered by the hedges, but you can still see the breathtaking rugged peaks of the remote lake-only-accessible national park.

    However, you can see also these gorgeous formations from the two picnic areas and the boat ramp uninterrupted, so it’s not essential to visit this spot, but seeing as how it’s on the way and only takes a moment, why not?

    • Type Of Lookout: Platform.
    • View: Peaks of Castle Mountain National Park.
    • Optimal Time To Visit: Sunrise/sunset.
    • Best For: Landscape photography.

    10. Millenium Beach Lookout.
    Tannum Sands.

    Down the coast at the lovely seaside town of Tannum Sands, lies Millenium Esplanade, a stunning foreshore parkland with lots of shady trees and sheltered picnic tables and views over the ocean.

    It gets even better when you discover that just across the road and up the stairs at Peters Play Park is a gorgeous elevated lookout that overlooks the northern coastline from the platform and the southern shoreline from the wooden beach chairs, giving you a fantastic look at the seascape of this central part of the Gladstone region. (you can also directly park up there.)

    • Type Of Lookout: Park.
    • View: Ocean, coastline and mountains.
    • Optimal Time To Visit: Sunrise.
    • Best For: Landscape photography, picnics.

    Kroombit Tops National Park.

    Out in the countryside, Kroombit Tops is Gladstone’s closest hinterland national park. Environmentally, it’s a unique anomaly, featuring plants and ecosystems that don’t propagate in this climatic region. For example, it has a subtropical rainforest, where this habitat is typically found much further south around Brisbane!

    Activity-wise, this place is a 4WD territory, with most tracks being an off-road enthusiast’s dream, with a highlight being able to travel across to the start of the WWII Bomber Crash Site walk. However, those in conventional vehicles can also visit some sections and see this next fantastic lookout in Gladstone.

    4. Kroombit Tops Lookout.

    One of the places that people in all vehicles can visit is Kroombit Tops Lookout. This spectacular spot is one of the highlights of this unique mountaintop escape as it has breathtaking views overlooking the vast and mountainous terrain of the beautiful Boyne Valley, capped off by the nearby escarpment’s sheer cliff face dominating the right-hand side of the scenery.

    Its east-facing direction also makes it a fantastic place to watch or photograph the sunrise, and it’s a great crescendo if you are hiking along the Escarpment Track from the Griffith Creek Camping Area.

    However, despite its name making it sound like it’s the most scenic thing here, it’s actually only got 2 places where you can see into the valley, which I did feel was worth the 11km one-way through hike unless you just wanted the exercise.

    Note: If you’re in a convention 2WD, you will need to be very cautious, especially the last 4km north of the lookout, not to mention the narrow roads most of the way.

    • Type Of Lookout: Platform.
    • View: Cliffs of Kroombit Tops
    • Optimal Time To Visit: Sunrise.
    • Best For: Landscape photography.