The Palms National Park Southern Queensland Country

A beautiful stand of piccabeen palms is the key feature of The Palms National Park. Photo credit: Karen Smith © Queensland Government

About The Palms

    Park features

    Tucked away in the hills east of Cooyar, The Palms National Park is a gem worth making an effort to visit. Small in size, but big in nature, this tiny patch of remnant rainforest is filled with impressive piccabeen palms, towering fig trees and a rich suite of birdlife.

    At the heart of The Palms is an almost-exclusive stand of piccabeen palms Archontophoenix cunninghamiana clinging to a waterlogged depression. Encircling the palms is subtropical rainforest and dry vine forest, leading to open eucalypt forest on drier exposed locations.

    Wildlife finds refuge in the forest where it is moist, and thrives at the junction between different forest types.

    The Palms is a great place for a stopover on-route to the Bunya Mountains, or when driving between Cooyar and Yarraman.

    Looking after the park

    Help care for the park:

    • Leave pets at home; even their scent frightens native animals.
    • Leave all things exactly as you find them.
    • Take your rubbish out of the park.
    • Never light fires—the rainforest and its animals would be devastated by wildfire.
    • Never gather wood (or even kindling) from the bush.
    • Keep to constructed tracks; shortcutting causes erosion.
    • Protect streams from pollution.
    • Never feed, chase or scare native animals.

    See the guidelines on caring for parks for more information about protecting our environment and heritage in parks.

    Park management

    The Palms National Park comprises two separate sections, together totalling an area of 73 hectares. The section open to visitors is 12.4 hectares in size and was first gazetted a national park in 1950.

    Surrounded by cleared grazing lands, the park provides a refuge for many plants and animal communities that thrive in the sheltered spring-fed gully. It protects Araucarian microphyll vine forest which is a regional ecosystem of concern.

    The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service manage The Palms National Park under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.

    Tourism information links

    Nanango Visitor Information Centre
    South Burnett Tourism
    41 Henry Street, Nanango Qld 4615
    ph (07) 4189 9555
    email tourism@sbrc.qld.gov.au

    For tourism information for all regions in Queensland see Queensland Holidays.

    • There are currently no park alerts for this park.