Forest Den National Park Outback Queensland

Things to do

    Camping and accommodation

    Camping

    Camping is permitted beside Four Mile Waterhole. No facilities are provided.

    Camping permits are required and fees apply.

    Other accommodation

    There is a range of accommodation available in and around Longreach and Aramac. See tourism information links for further information.

    Walking

    The park has no formed walking tracks but you can wander around the creeks and waterholes. As Forest Den is relatively quiet and the terrain is gentle, the road is also suitable for walking.

    When walking, wear sun protection and sturdy shoes, carry plenty of water, and follow the walk with care guidelines.

    Driving

    Follow the winding channels of Torrens and Paradise creeks on the track to Four Mile Waterhole, catching glimpses out across Mitchell grass plains. For your best chance to see Forest Den’s wildlife, drive slowly and venture out either in the early morning or evening.

    Please practise low impact driving in Forest Den National Park.

    Forest Den's Four Mile Waterhole is the only site accessible to vehicles (four-wheel-drive vehicles only).

    Viewing wildlife

    Animals

    The cooler hours of dusk and dawn are the best times to observe birds and other wildlife as they come to drink at the waterholes. Whistling kites, brown falcons, and waterbirds including white ibis, royal spoonbills, darters, Pacific herons, egrets, blue-winged kookaburras and rufous-throated honeyeaters nest by the waterholes. You may also see squatter pigeons hiding in the grass. At night watch for sugar gliders and brushtail possums in the trees, or Beccari's freetail bats skimming over water.

    Plants

    River red gums and coolibahs line the river channels and floodplains, while river tea trees flourish beside deeper waterholes. Other woodland species such as Reid River box, ironwood, beefwood and bauhinia occur on the sandy 'patchy plains' in the park's western sections. These trees create habitat for a range of fascinating wildlife.