Dandabah picnic area
Enjoy the blissfully-cool mountain air as you picnic in this open grassy area with great wildlife spotting opportunities.
Accessible by
- Conventional vehicle
- Bicycle
Attraction facilities
- Electric/fuel barbecue (free of charge)
- Picnic tables
- Toilets (flush)
- Wheelchair access (may require assistance)
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Dandabah picnic area is a popular site that has toilets, picnic tables and free electric barbecues. Photo credit: Robert Ashdown © Queensland Government
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Visit the outdoor displays to learn more about Bunya Mountains National Park. Photo credit: Robert Ashdown © Queensland Government
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Colourful crimson rosellas are often seen at Dandabah picnic area. Photo credit: Maxime Coquard © Tourism and Events Queensland
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The grassy, open Dandabah picnic area is often visited by with red-necked wallabies. Photo credit: Robert Ashdown © Queensland Government
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You might share Dandabah picnic area with a satin bowerbird. Photo credit: Maxime Coquard © Tourism and Events Queensland
Gather with friends and family for a picnic in the shade of ancient bunya pines at Dandabah, the most popular site in the Bunya Mountains. Visit the outdoor displays to learn gain fascinating insights to the park and its wildlife, the landforms and history of the area.
Choose from walking tracks ranging from short rainforest stroll to 10km half-day hikes. Enjoy spotting brilliantly-coloured king parrots and crimson rosellas along with kookaburras, brush turkeys, red-browed finches and the red-necked wallabies feeding in grassy areas. Look carefully and you might also spot satin bowerbirds, green catbirds and the huge tadpoles of great barred frogs in the creek nearby.
Getting there and getting around
The Dandabah picnic area is in the Bunya Mountains National Park, 200km north-west of Brisbane and 125km north-west of Toowoomba in the South Burnett region.
- The picnic area is near the park's south-east entrance.
- Turn off Bunya Mountains Road onto Bunya Avenue and drive 1km to the picnic area.
Several steep, narrow and winding routes, signposted as the Great Bunya Drive, lead to the park. The Bunya Mountains Road passes through the park from the south-east to the north.
From Brisbane via Toowoomba
- Drive 138km west along the Ipswich Motorway and Warrego Highway to Toowoomba.
- Continue 44km along the Warrego Highway to Jondaryan and turn right towards the Bunya Mountains.
- Travel 34km to Maclagan, turn left and follow the signs for about 31km to the park; 2km of this road is gravel.
From Brisbane via Yarraman
- Travel up the Brisbane Valley through Esk, or the D'Aguilar Highway through Kilcoy.
- Drive to Yarraman then turn left onto the New England Highway towards Toowoomba and travel 20km.
- Turn right to Maidenwell on Kingaroy-Cooyar Road, then turn left to the Bunya Mountains; about 3.8km of the road is gravel.
From Nanango
- Drive 30km to Maidenwell on Nanango-Tarong Road and turn right to the Bunya Mountains. This 55km route has about 4km of gravel road.
From Kingaroy
- Drive via Kumbia on the Bunya Highway and turn left onto Bunya Mountains Road and drive to the northern park entrance. This 56km route is sealed road.
From Dalby
- Travel 25km along Dalby-Cooyar Road to Kaimkillenbun, then drive 30km via Yamsion to Bunya Mountains Road and through to the south-eastern park entrance. These roads are sealed.
Wheelchair access
The toilets are wheelchair accessible.
Before you visit
Opening hours
Dandabah picnic area is open 24 hours a day
Check park alerts for the latest information on access, closures and conditions.
Visiting safely
For more safety information see Visiting Bunya Mountains safely.
- Temporary closure of Paradise carpark - Bunya Mountains National Park 3 May to 30 June 2023
- The Bunya Bunya walking track is closed 29 January 2023 to 29 January 2024
- Burtons Well camping area closure 1 February to 30 June 2023