Bunya Mountains National Park Southern Queensland Country

You might share Dandabah picnic area with a satin bowerbird. Photo credit: Maxime Coquard © Tourism and Events Queensland

Bunya Mountains National Park is a haven the whole family will enjoy. Photo credit: © Tourism and Events Queensland

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The Bunya Mountains are like an island, surrounded by a sea of plains. They are a refuge of biodiversity, harbouring the world’s largest stand of bunya pines. Photo credit: Michael O'Connor © Queensland Government

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)

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.