Tamborine Mountain Curtis Falls

A Kid-Friendly Walking Trail Near Brisbane

4 OCT 2025

Tamborine Mountain is just about an hour away from Brisbane!

The Curtis Falls track on Tamborine Mountain is 1.4 km long, well maintained, and has a spacious car park, making it super convenient—perfect for families with young kids. It takes around 15 minutes to walk to the falls and about 30 minutes for a round trip, which felt just right. I wanted to take Liam on a little mountain adventure, so I searched for kid-friendly trekking trails suitable for a 5-year-old, and this one turned out to be perfect. If you’re planning your child’s very first mountain walk, I’d definitely recommend Curtis Falls.

Tamborine Mountain, being a national park and a popular tourist spot, has so much to do, see, and eat. But because of that, it gets quite busy on weekends, and the famous Gallery Walk—with all its shops and cafes—can get so crowded that even finding a parking spot becomes a challenge!

It was a long weekend here in Queensland, Australia! 🇦🇺
We decided to make the most of one of the three days and have a fun-filled adventure with Liam. Here’s how our day went:

Curtis Falls
FRANQUETTE (French Bakery)
Robert Sowter Park Lookout
Paradise Country
Movie World

Curtis Falls

Trail distance: About 1.5 km return (suitable for young children)
Difficulty: Grade 3
Duration: Around 30–40 minutes
Parking: Free parking available at Curtis Falls Carpark with plenty of spaces
Note: Going down to the base of the waterfall or playing in the water is not allowed

After about an hour’s drive from Brisbane, we arrived at Tamborine Mountain.
This time, we went to Curtis Falls, a spot I’d wanted to visit for a while — and it turned out to be the perfect trail to do with Liam!

There was plenty of parking, and I noticed lots of families with young kids. From the entrance, a lush forest path begins, and the sunlight streaming through the trees made the whole walk feel so refreshing. Since the mountains around Brisbane are mostly rainforest, it almost felt like we had stepped into The Jungle Book — I half expected Mowgli to pop out at any moment! The air was crisp, and all we could hear were the birds and the gentle sound of the waterfall, making it feel like the city noise had completely disappeared.

The walk to the falls is just over a kilometer, and with all the interesting trees, bugs, and plants to look at along the way, we reached the waterfall in no time. It was an easy trail even for 5-year-old Liam! Most of the path is made up of stairs and flat sections, so walking slowly, it takes about 15–20 minutes to get there.

Along the way, we came across paths where tree roots stretched across the ground, giant trees towering above us, and even one with a big hollow in the middle — everything felt like a fun little adventure for Liam.

You can’t go down to the base of the waterfall or play in the water, but there’s a lookout point right in front of the falls where you can enjoy the view before heading back. On our way back, we found a small spot off to the side where you can step down a little closer to the creek. We stopped there for a while, ate some fruit we’d packed, and spent time hopping from rock to rock, tossing pebbles into the water, and watching tiny fish and insects swimming around.

Even though Brisbane can get quite hot, it was so cool and refreshing under the shade of the forest — such a nice escape from the heat!

More Details for Temborine Mountaine

FRANQUETTE (French Bakery)

We stopped by a French bakery located along Gallery Walk at Tamborine Mountain.

There were plenty of cafés and restaurants along Gallery Walk, but we decided to try Franquette French Bakery. We grabbed a croissant and a sandwich — simple, but just perfect for a quick bite.

Gallery Walk gets quite busy on weekends, so parking can be tricky. We left our car at the Curtis Falls car park and walked over instead. It’s just a little over a kilometer round trip, and the walk was totally manageable.

Robert Sowter Park Lookout

The famous hang-gliding hill on Tamborine Mountain is actually called Robert Sowter Park Lookout!

As soon as we arrived and took in the view, Liam gasped in amazement and said, “Wow~ I’ve never been this high before!” Hearing that made me feel so proud that we came together 🥰
There’s plenty of parking available, so no need to worry about that — but be warned, it gets quite windy up there!

We enjoyed the sandwiches we had picked up from the French bakery on Tamborine Mountain’s Gallery Walk while having lunch with a beautiful view.

We took some photos together and separately too!

After having a great time, Liam said he wanted to try gem mining, so we headed to Paradise Country. It’s about a 30-minute drive from Tamborine Mountain.

The road to Tamborine Mountain itself is quite winding, and the last 10 minutes were especially scary with cliffs on one side. In contrast, the route to Paradise Country was completely different — much safer and more comfortable to drive. Next time, even if it takes a little longer, I’d definitely take this safer route.

Paradise Country

Paradise Country on the Gold Coast is mostly known as a farm animal park, but they also offer a gem-mining experience that kids absolutely love. Lately, Liam has been really fascinated with gemstones — he’s always picking up rocks, whether on the ground at home or by the beach — so this was right up his alley. We usually just watch the animals at Paradise Country, but this time we went specifically for the gem-mining activities.

We tried two experiences, each costing $10 and $12. One involved sifting through sand to find gems, and the other was a mining-style activity where you use a hammer to break a wall and uncover hidden gems. After completing the mining activity, Liam even got a certificate — which made him super proud! 🥰

Anyway, mission accomplished since you loved it so much! 😄

Paradise Country is a place where kids can get up close and touch the farm animals, watch them nearby, and even interact with kangaroos. It’s definitely a favorite spot for young children.

무비월드

Paradise Country and Movie World are really close to each other, so it’s easy to visit both in one day. We set out early in the morning, but Liam wasn’t ready to go home… so we decided to stop by Movie World to catch the parade.

Liam and I rode a few rides together, and we promised him we’d do just one more before heading home.

Checking the app, we saw that The Wizard of Oz area had recently opened, and there were rides suitable for Liam. Two new rides had been added, and we chose to try the Kansas Twister. It’s for kids over 95 cm, so we thought it would be easy — but it went pretty high, spun backwards, and was surprisingly thrilling. Looking at the photos, you can see Liam covering his mouth in excitement… haha!

After the roller coaster ride, we finally headed home — and it was already 6 PM! 😅

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