Where and How to Get There

There are a few options if you wish to travel to Stoney Creek Falls.

  1. Drive to Kamerunga, just outside of Cairns, and follow Stoney Creek Road until you reach the car park at the end.
  2. Take the scenic train ride from Cairns to Kuranda. Book here.
  3. For the more adventurous, you can hike from Kuranda (or Barron Falls / Wrights Lookout carparks) via the Macdonalds Track. Expect a long day!
  4. And another option for the adventurous is to hike the Smiths Track and Douglas Tracks from Speewah or back along Stoney Creek Road.

What to Expect

Hiking, lookout, service road, creeks, waterfalls, train line, scenery, rock hopping, mountain biking, tours.

Stoney Creek Falls

Where to Stay

You’ll have a multitude of places to stay when in Cairns, but if are planning on staying in Kuranda, the Kuranda Rainforest Accommodation Park is a great place to base yourself – plus you can experience the full hike from here.

Kuranda Queensland

Ultimate Aussie Bucketlist Experience

For the purpose of this article, I want to share with you the 32km hike that I did just to experience Stoney Creek Falls. Firstly, a note of respect to those who hike in north Queensland – the heat and humidity are next level!

Yes, I am now certain that it would have been easier to pay for the train ride – and if I ever wanted to see the waterfall again, I definitely would haha. BUT, in saying that, I’m happy for the experience and if you enjoy hiking – I recommend you give it a go!

Kuranda Queensland

The last week we hadn’t done too much physical activity. Other than our daily walk in to Kuranda, there wasn’t much else going on. We had been non stop for so many months, that it was good to slow down, but the stress was building as we waited for our campervan to get fixed, and I knew something had to be done about it.

The night before I told my wife that I wanted to see Stoney Creek Falls. It was on our bucket list but so far it had evaded us. After a quick look on AllTrails, I discovered there was a track that could get me close. My wife had learned her lesson about coming along on these spontaneous hikes and opted to sleep in instead and get some things done – you can tell who the intelligent one is!

So the next morning at 6:00am, I was off! I packed a few snack bars, my Lifestraw bottle, drone and powerbank – this would be enough to get me out of trouble. The actual track began less than 10 minutes away by car – but I wanted to let my wife sleep in so I just decided to walk the extra 6km or so. By the time I reached Wrights Lookout, it was now 7:00am and the realisation set in that a pack of snack bars probably wouldn’t be enough. Oh well, I was committed now.

Barron Gorge

Wrights Lookout is a nice spot for a view of Barron Gorge and more mountains out in the distance. Until you fly a drone out from the lookout, it is hard to understand the scope and magnitude of the surrounding landscape. Well worth a visit while you’re in Kuranda (sealed road all the way, then a short walk to the lookout).

Now the fun would begin. It was time to head down the Macdonalds Track. This was basically a service road that allowed access to the power line towers connecting Cairns to Kuranda. It is mostly up and down (unsealed) and can get quite taxing! Even when going downhill, it’s a challenge in some spots not to slip on loose gravel. On one section I noticed someone had left some little clay figures on birds in the banks of the track – these small things can be encouraging on a long hike!

Eventually I reached Surprise Creek – it was a good spot to refill the water bottle and take a breather. This is roughly 1.6km from Wrights Lookout. Instead of following the track up from here initially, there is a small waterfall if you make your way upstream – perfect for cooling off on a hot day.

The days forecast was expected to be pretty warm after a long run of good weather. I didn’t check earlier, but it was supposed to be in the 30’s – I definitely wasn’t prepared for it haha.

Stoney Creek Falls

It certainly was a slog heading up from Surprise Creek. The up and down was pretty relentless and my legs were getting sore already. Eventually I started seeing some people on the track (they were headed for Wrights Lookout). One lady I met was sitting on the ground – she had underestimated the heat and didn’t pack enough water. I gave her half of my bottle – hopefully she was okay! I know that I struggled in the head until reaching another water source.

Next stop was Glacier Rock, a nice lookout over the valley, the Barron River and all the way to the ocean. It was all uphill to reach it (and a side trip from the main track), but definitely worth it for the view. I met a couple more people up there – it seems like a popular spot for the locals on the weekend.

Retracing my steps back to the main track, the descent began for Stoney Creek. Talk about a knee buster! I do prefer downhill opposed to hiking uphill, but the constant decline can hurts the joints – I’m starting to wonder if carrying a set of hiking poles is a good idea!

After reaching the stairs and bridge, I had one final rest before the forest descent which led to the creek.

Stoney Creek Falls

I’ll be honest, at the point where the bridge is over the train tracks, I was told you can walk down the tracks to reach the falls – I was tempted – but at this point too chicken and didn’t want to get a fine! (This wasn’t the case on the return trip).

Despite my knees hurting, the prospect of reaching the creek was overwhelming and by the time I got down there – it was all worthwhile. It’s a beautiful creek, and I can see why it is popular with the locals. But wanting a bit of swimming to myself, I headed upstream for about 10 minutes and found a swimming hole with some cascades all to myself.

By this point, I was drenched in sweat, so I just jumped in with all my clothes haha. After cooling off for a while. it was time to keep hiking upstream along the old water pipe.

At the end of the old water pipe, there is a beautiful waterfall which you can sit at the top of. There is an opportunity to swim at the base of it, but I was focused on getting to the main falls, so it only served as a place to rest.

Stoney Creek Falls

As the track ended, I was told it was all rock-hopping to the base of Stoney Creek Falls – and that is very true! You’ll even have a little scrambling to do – so when you reach some of the smaller waterfalls and cascades – plan your route. I had to turn around a couple of times and find a different path haha.

The thing with rock-hopping is that it is much more enjoyable and entertaining that regular hiking (for me at least), so it’s not too taxing. Regardless, I was still excited as I neared the end because a rest was on the cards.

After climbing one of the smaller falls on the way and climbing some boulders, I came into view of the main waterfall and bridge – and WOW I was impressed! The view from the base is so picturesque! There is a small swimming hole at the base of the lowest tier – perfect for cooling off and recovering.

Stoney Creek Falls

After another snack bar (I was wholeheartedly regretting not bringing more food and having a proper breakfast), it was now time to make my way up the lower tiers to get the the main waterfall that stood before the bridge. It was truly beautiful standing at the base of those falls. It you even get a chance to get here and experience it like this, it is so worth it (though next time I’ll do the short walk from the Stoney Falls carpark).

I stood under the falls for a while and enjoyed the free massage as the water pounded my shoulders and back. When I was wading through the water to get to the base, I remember stepping on some animal resting on a rock – I still don’t know what it was but it gave me a fright!

At this point, the AllTrails app on my phone was saying I had just reached the 18km mark. Now as the numbers ran through my little brain, I did the math – if I went the same way back, it would be a 36km day and I’d be back at dark… so then came the decision to be a bit dodgy (I know, I’m sorry!) – I decided to walk the train tracks until I reached the bridge that went over the train tracks. This would save me a lot of time and energy. 

It was a nice change walking on level ground for a couple of kms. At one point I reached the tunnel – and just before entering, a large lizard fell from the ground above the tunnel and gave me a fright! It’s amazing how animals can survive a fall like that and then still run away.

Stoney Creek Falls

Just a side note here, as I was getting really exhausted, the thought crossed my mind of just heading to Stoney Creek Falls carpark and somehow get public transport back up to Kuranda. Or I’d even wondered if the train had passed at low speed, I could jump on sneakily and get a free ride back to Kuranda. Silly thoughts, I just had to suck it up and get on with it.

After reaching the bridge and metal staircase, it was quite a brutal ascent, and the lengthy sections that were in full sun, made the ordeal more challenging. I was sweating profusely and everything was soaked, head to toe. 

The other problem was the lack of water – ever since the waterfall, I couldn’t find anywhere to top up – Surprise Creek would be my next opportunity.

I lost count of how many times I had to stop and sit down. Anyone who has hiked has probably experienced fatigue and knows that the mental battle can become quite fierce. But there’s nothing to do other than keep going! No one was coming to rescue me.

Stoney Creek Falls

The constant up and down was getting old. Overall it felt like it was uphill until after Surprise Creek. The km’s were adding up, and it was getting later and later in the day.

Eventually I made it back to Wrights Lookout – and again I thought about calling my wife and asking for ride back to the caravan park – it was a sealed road all the way back – but it would save me another 6kms. But, how could I live with myself if I copped out this close to the end?

Onwards. The walk back to Kuranda is nice and quiet and there were only a handful of cars that passed by. Upon reaching Kuranda I was so dehydrated and hungry my voice was very raspy. Hitting up the petrol station and smashing a coke was probably not a good idea as it stung my throat.

Now it was the last km to get to the caravan park where my wife was waiting – she had let me know earlier in the day that she had put some beers in the fridge. Talk about motivation!

Stoney Creek Falls

How amazing it was – arriving back at camp and having something nice to sit on! And the cold beer was waiting…

I had unintentionally stopped recording my hike on AllTrails at some point on the way back, so I wasn’t sure on the exact distance. But based on it being 18kms at the falls, it would be around 32-33km total – my biggest hike in a single day – and it took exactly 11 hours (including breaks).

Whether it is the train ride or the hike – definitely put Stoney Creek Falls on your Ultimate Aussie Bucketlist. It’s so impressive and I think it deserves as much respect as some of the more known falls around Queensland.

Let us know you’re experience in the comments 🙂

About Author

Currently travelling Australia! Our dream is to complete the 'Big Lap", and we've learned quite quickly that we want to share it for all to experience. We hope this website helps you all plan your next adventure.

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