Conway National Park Walks and Rides
Home to the Conway Circuit (previously named the Whitsunday Great Walk), the Conway National park is a dream for explorers, walkers, hikers and bikers of all styles! With a great selection of multiday hikes, tucked-away bushcamps and rainforest day walks, there’s is something for every kind of nature lover. Find out about hiking the Conway Circuit, day walks and all of the logistics like getting there and what to pack here!
Conway Circuit (Whitsunday Great Walk)
Perfect for: Prepared, experienced hikers of moderate fitness
Length: 27.1 km one way (3 days, 2 nights recommended)
The Conway Circuit is an incredibly immersive experience that will lead you through dense, bushy rainforest through valleys and along creeks. A fantastic trail for adventurers looking for a moderately challenging overnight experience adorned with native flora and fauna, peaceful bushcamps and stunning views, the Conway Circuit is a wonderful hidden gem in Airlie Beach.
Multi-day hiking the Conway Circuit
We highly recommend doing this trail anticlockwise, beginning at Forestry Road Carpark off of Brandy Creek Road and finishing at the spectacular Honeyeater Lookout with glistening views of the Whitsunday Islands, only a kilometre from the heart of Airlie Beach. Ease yourself into your natural rhythm with a relatively easy first 9.9km consisting of a maintained trail and gentle slopes. Spend your first night at Repulse Creek camp, where there are toilets, lockable trunks and taps connected to water tanks (hikers must treat water before drinking). Fall asleep under the stars in your secluded, peaceful bush camp where you can feel a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of city life!
Lace up your boots and get ready for a more challenging day of walking as your trail ascends and narrows over the next 10km. Really get back to nature with this nature-clad section of the trail in the heart of the Whitsunday rainforest. Don’t forget to stop off at the lookout to Mount Hayward on the way for some spectacular panoramas of the area. Keep an eye out for vibrant blue Ulysses butterflies, orange footed scrub fowl and Buff-breasted paradise-kingfishers who are common in the area. Arrive at Bloodwood camp (with the same facilities as Repulse) and pitch your tent for a final, peaceful night in the magical wilderness!
Your third day of walking will take you down a slippery, often challenging slope, to the final section of your trail - Airlie Beach! Walk through majestic cycads and eucalypts to finish up at Honeyeater Lookout with a majestic sweeping outlook over the turquoise waters, Whitsunday Island silhouettes and the colourful township. We can assure you, you won’t be able to refrain from smiling as you look out at the stunning views and reminisce on the amazing three-day two-night hike that you just completed!
Biking the Conway Circuit
The Conway Circuit is also a popular route for bike riders, taking roughly 4 hours to complete on a mountain bike. Much like the walking route, the trail is easy and suitable for riding for the first 10km, however becomes challenging when you hit Little Repulse Creek. Watch out for fallen trees, overgrown bushes, steep declines, sharp corners and narrow sections during this last part of the track, but most of all, enjoy the thrill of speeding through the beautiful, bushy rainforest!
Conway Circuit Tips
Conway Circuit Day Walks
Kingfisher Circuit
Perfect for: Walkers of moderate fitness
Length: 2km return (allow 1.5 hrs)
A beautiful walk that will deliver you through the lush rainforest, the Kingfisher Circuit departs from the Forestry Road car park and is perfect for a morning or afternoon nature escape. Be prepared for sections of steep stairs and sections of the path, as well as plenty of strangler figs, buttressed tulip oaks and an array of native wildlife.
Woompoo Way
Perfect for: Walkers of moderate fitness
Length: 7km return (allow 3.5 hrs walking or 45 mins riding)
Follow the Conway Circuit from Forestry Road car park for a short 2.3km until a lefthand turn off onto Woompoo Way. For 1.2km, walk through the magnificent rainforest to a babbling creek where you can chill out under the shade of a grand Alexandra palm for lunch. Listen out for the distinguished call of the Woompoo fruit-dove, the namesake of this brilliant trail. Return on the same path, and be ready for some steeper sections of the trail.
