Cronan Falls, Mt Barney National Park

Description: Join me for a 13km return hike to Cronan Creek Falls in Mount Barney National Park.

The walk will begin at Yellow Pinch carpark and follow the old logging trail to Cronan Falls. We will have lunch at Cronan Creek Falls, unless we are hungry before this and decide to stop at the picturesque crossing before our destination. We will spend time at the popular swimming hole at the base of the Cronan Creek falls.

After a short steep walk up the hill at the commencement of our hike, we will continue to walk down along the logging trail through a paddock (grazed upon by beef cattle), where we can marvel at Mount Barney on the right and Mount Ernest on the left. It is through these two mountains that we will traverse. On the other side of the paddock, we will walk through the national parks gates and cross the creek on a causeway. It is from this point on that we will cross the creek four more times and walk along the slightly ascending trail through eucalypt and semi tropical vegetation.

On the way back, we will have the option of climbing up to Yellow Pinch Lookout near the car park to view Mount Barney, Mount Ernest, Mount Lindsay and the valley traversed during the day’s activity. This steep path up is difficult but the views are worth the effort.

Please do not attend this event if you are unwell.

 Please register for this activity via the NPAQ website completing all fields for each nominee.

Walk Grading: Moderate – a reasonable level of fitness is required.

Meet: 8am at Yellow Pinch car park, Upper Logan Road.

What to Bring: Hat, light jacket, rain gear (just in case), insect repellent (leeches/ticks), torch, whistle, 2 litres of water, snacks, lunch, $5.00 NPA Fee.

Directions: From Brisbane, head towards Beaudesert and out along the Mount Lindsay Highway to Rathdowney.  Just after Rathdowney, turn right onto Boonah Rathdowney Road, and drive 7km turning left onto Upper Logan Road. Drive 12.5km to Yellow Pinch car park.  Carpooling is encouraged. There are toilets at Yellow Pinch car park. The last flushing toilets though, are at Rathdowney.

NB: Upper Logan Road is narrow and busy on the weekends as it is the gateway to Big Riggen and Flanagan’s camping grounds, Mount Barney Lodge, Lower Portals, Mount Barney, and Cronan Creek Falls. Please leave a little extra time and drive with care.

Nominations: Via NPAQ Website.

Leader: Frank Freeman – Co-Leader: Heather Stuart (0427 655 514; Email: frank_fr@bigpond.net.au

Cronan Creeks Falls Day Walk Report

On June 7th, 2025, four of us from the NPA met up at the busy Yellow Pinch Reserve car park, ready for a walk through Mount Barney National Park to Cronan Creek Falls. Around 8:15, we set off up the dirt forestry road, then headed down to a grassy paddock passing flocks of red backed wrens before passing through a turnstile to check out the first creek crossing — a shallow causeway. We waded through the cool water, just below ankle height, towards the Mount Barney National Park sign, with Mount Barney towering right behind it.

As we walked deeper into the forest, the trees got taller and thicker, with tall eucalypts and Bangalow palms all around us. By the time we hit the third creek crossing, we had no choice but to wade through water up to our thighs — refreshingly cold! We kept climbing gradually until we spotted the Cronan Creek wooden sign on the left. There, we took a short track through the rainforest and found a nice spot to settle on some rocks near the falls shortly accompanied by a larger group.

On the way back, we passed several climbers heading down from their Mount Barney climb, plus a lone cyclist making their way up to the falls. Before heading back to the car park, we detoured up to the Yellow Pinch lookout along a smooth, upgraded dirt path. The views were amazing — clear sights of Mount Barney, Mount Ernest, the valley we’d walked through, all the peaks leading up to Barney’s summit, and even Mount Maroon in the distance.

We chose the easy, gently sloping track back to the car park and arrived around 3pm. The whole day was spent under clear blue skies with warm weather and no wind — perfect walking conditions. We wrapped up our adventure with cups of soup, tea, and coffee at the picnic area supplied by one of the walkers which was well received.