Where and How to Get There
Murray Falls is just a short 30 minute trip off the Bruce Highway, situated in between Cardwell and Tully. Depending on where you are coming from, take Murray Upper Road or Bilyana Road heading West until you get to the Murray River School. This turns into Middle Murray Road then Murray Falls Road. The road becomes unsealed but it is generally in good condition. There is a local indigenous community – as you pass through here, just mind your speed.
What to Expect
Large campground, day use areas, river, waterfall, BBQ, shower, toilets, boardwalk, hiking, swimming.
Camping
If you have time to enjoy camping at Murray Falls, you will not be disappointed! There’s plenty of things to see and do for all ages and abilities.
National Park camping fees apply – so you really can’t go wrong! You can make your booking here.
Ultimate Aussie Bucketlist Experience
Rainforested mountains and tropical lowlands meet in the attractive foothills of the Kirrama Range. The clear waters of the Murray River cascade over boulders into rock pools in this picturesque spot, within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
Luckily for us, we were actually recommended Murray Falls by a couple at the base of Wallaman Falls – until then, we had never heard of it and missed it in our plans. So on our way north, be booked one night and thought we’d check it out.
After a drive on an unsealed road for 15 minutes or so, we arrived to the entrance of the National Park and seen the day-use area on our left. To our surprise, there was actually a wedding on the flat rocks right next to the river! It looked like a perfect spot and a perfect day for it.
Once we arrived to the actual campsite, it opened up into a mass of grassy areas littered with trees. It was such a large area, and when we went, there wasn’t too many people.
It’s a free for all – so if it’s busy, the prime locations will most likely be taken. We pulled up towards the far end of the campground, fairly close to the beginning of the waterfall boardwalk. After a quick set up, we enjoyed a short 200m walk to the falls and lower viewing platforms. Although it is a boardwalk, there are stairs to get to the actual falls viewing area, so it is not wheelchair accessible.
One funny moment we witnessed was when we got back from the falls, we seen a guy collecting firewood from around the outskirts of the camping grounds. He had found a massive log – massive enough that it would probably burn for a month haha. He tied it to the back of his ute and dragged it to his campsite. It made for some good entertainment for us!
At Murray Falls camp ground, you can enjoy a picnic in the grassy and shaded day-use area by the river, stroll along the boardwalk to a viewing platform near the falls, or for the more adventurous, take moderately graded 1.8 kilometre return walk through a cool rainforest gully, and then up into open forest and spectacular views over the falls and Murray Valley.
You’ll have a chance to see a lot of birds, maybe an echidna, wallabies and some beautiful flora.
Swimming at the falls is actually prohibited… there have been some serious injuries and deaths there – so it is understandable. To get your swimming fix, heading down stream to the day use area serves for a perfect alternative.
As my wife and I are both early risers, we woke up for sunrise at the falls. The peace and tranquility there is perfect at that time. The night before as we went to sleep, we could hear the waterfall pumping in the distance.
What we use and recommend!
Hiking/Camping Gear:
- Tent: Pro Hiker 2
- Sleeping Bag: Black Wolf
- Hiking Stove: Jetboil
- Water Bottle: Lifestraw
- Hiking Bag: Black Wolf 70L with Day Bag
Camera Gear:
- Camera: Canon DSLR EOS 200D Mark II, Black
- Long Lense: Canon 55-200mm Lense
- Camera Bag: Vanguard Camera Bag
- Tripod: Vanguard Veo 2 235ABM
- Memory Cards: SanDisk 64GB Extreme Pro
Drone Gear:
- Drone: DJI Mavic Mini
- Memory Cards: SanDisk 64GB Extreme Pro