Trevathan Falls; our favourite Queensland Waterfall?
Queensland is well known for its amazing waterholes and falls, and we’ve been lucky enough to see a huge number of them. Every one is different and amazing in its own unique way, but I was quite shocked at how amazing Trevathan Falls were, and would highly recommend you take a drive out.
We really enjoyed Blencoe Falls too, and Wallaman Falls, amongst dozens of others in Queensland.
Where are Trevathan Falls?
You’ll find this place not too far south of Cooktown, along the Mt Amos road. This is gravel to start with, and has a couple of small water crossings and ruts to negotiate.
From there, you turn right at a sign in the tree (which would be very easy to miss), and continue on this track all the way to the falls. There’s another sign part way along this track that is hard to read, but don’t turn off the grey, gravel track and you’ll get there just fine.
You eventually arrive at a turn around point and car park area, with the walk heading up what looks like a fun 4WD track (that doesn’t go anywhere, so park at the bottom).
Do you need a 4WD to get there?
The further you go, the more the track deteriorates. I think if you were confident, with a 2WD that had a bit of clearance you’d probably be fine, but it is a risk.
I’d certainly take an AWD in with some clearance, and of course a 4WD is most suitable. There are a couple of small pools to drive through (under 30cm) and a couple of holes or ruts to avoid or navigate around, but its all fairly straight forward.
What’s the walking track like?
You can tell pretty quickly that the Trevathan Falls are not a major tourist hot spot, with limited signage to get there, a narrow track through the bush and a walking track that is fairly narrow, slippery and undefined.
The actual walk is easy enough, providing you take it slow and careful, and you get your feet in good positions, as its on the edge of a hill, and we all had a couple of slips.
There’s a few dead ends, but eventually you wind yourself down to a big rocky area (down the tree roots), and you can climb across (or carefully walk through the water in a few spots) and you’ll get spectacular views of the falls themselves.
You can also head down from the falls a bit, or from the car park you can take the lower path that takes you to the creek.
How amazing are the falls?
I mentioned above that I was quite shocked at how beautiful these are. They are fairly big, with a heap of water coming down, and the pool at the bottom is beautiful, easy enough to swim around and you can get right to the rocks.
We had a ball watching the water pour over, with no one else around, and soaking up the views, and whilst they’re not as big as the Bloomfield Falls, you can swim, and its incredible.
Our kids enjoyed exploring the rocky area below the falls too, with a heap of smaller pools and waterfalls to enjoy.
Can you swim?
We were told it was safe to swim here in terms of crocodiles, and after a look around ourselves, deemed it to be fairly safe.
There were also others who’d been in before us, and whilst there is a very slim chance of a crocodile being in the hole after a big wet, it seemed unlikely. Please do your own research though, and make sure you’re comfortable to swim!
You can camp at Trevathan Camp
If you’re looking for somewhere close to camp, you can stay at Trevathan Camp, which we did, and really enjoyed. This gives you quick access to the falls (under 15 minutes), and to Archer Point, which was also worth a visit.
Overall, this is a fantastic place, and one of my favourite Queensland destinations so far. If you haven’t been to Trevathan falls, put it on the list.
