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The best Hamilton Island hikes and walking trails

Carla GrossettiBy Carla Grossetti
Explore the natural beauty of this iconic island on foot with these seven Hamilton Island hikes.

What better way to see the delights of Hamilton Island than on one of its many walking trails, which include popular new routes that zigzag across the island from Hideaway Bay in the north to Escape Beach in the south. The walks were created as part of an annual event on the island, they have proved so popular that they are now a permanent activity.

Visiting Hamilton Island? Here are the best hiking and walking trails that offer wide-open views of the beach, bush and nature.

Passage Peak

passage peak hamilton island
Passage Peak is one of Hamilton Island’s most beloved hikes. (Image: Riley Williams)

Distance: 2.7 kilometres

Grade 3: Challenging with many steps

Lace up your boots and set off before sunrise to climb to the top of Passage Peak, one of the most popular Hamilton Island hikes. A viewing platform at the high point of the walk cater for those who want to see the break of day. The track is part of the Hamilton Island Icons Trail where, after pottering along the seaside path at the start of the Scenic Trail Entrance, walkers must carve off toward the northeast of the island to tackle the trail to Passage Peak.

passage peak hamilton island
Hike Passage Peak at sunrise. (Image: Riley Williams)

Download the Island app and receive commentary along the way to The View from the lookout, which is the No.1 icon on the Icons Trail and the highest point on Hamilton Island.

Southeast Head Trail

Southeast Head Trail hamilton
Southeast Head Trail vistas. (Image: Riley Williams)

Distance: 4.4 kilometres

Grade 3: Moderate walk

The Icons Trail has opened up a side of the island that wasn’t previously accessible to visitors, making it a draw for travellers who want to work wellness into their holiday plans.

GIant chair Hamilton Island
Stop for a photo on The Chair.

Linger a bit longer at Southeast Head to take photographs at the Insta-friendly icon dubbed The Chair, which looks like it’s been left there after a giant’s dinner party. Want to burn off a few more calories? Include a walk to Passage Peak.

Escape Beach Trail Walk

escape beach hamilton island
Enjoy a refreshing dip at Escape Beach after walking. (Image: Riley Williams)

Distance: 3.3 kilometres

Grade 3: Moderate walk

The Whitsunday Islands formed after the last glacial period (30,000 to 50,000 years ago) when the sea level rose, leaving the higher coastal peaks as islands. Admire the landscape as you loop along from the Scenic Trail Entrance through Saddle Junction and onto Escape Beach. Pack a picnic and enjoy on the beach, which is protected by huge rocky outcrops. Snap a selfie in the Giant Hammock (icon No. 3) as gentle waves kiss the sand.

Coral Cove

coral cove hamilton island
This biscuit-hued beach features a giant swing.

Distance: 3.1 kilometres

Grade 3: Moderate

Start at the Scenic Trail Entrance and head to Saddle Junction before meandering through a forested section and completing the circuit to Coral Cove, where you will find a biscuit-hued beach featuring a Giant Swing (Icon No. 4) and more stirring scenery. On a clear day, the beach boasts views of Lindeman Island, which rears up out of the ocean. Stay, sway and play all day as it’s likely you will have this stretch of sand to yourself.

Saddle Junction

mountain bikers at the Saddle Junction Walking Trail Map
Take a break at Saddle Junction Walking Trail Map. (Image: Harry Gruttner)

Distance: 1.8 kilometres

Grade 3: Moderate walk

Enjoy a slow 30-minute amble up to Saddle Junction to get the heart racing before breakfast. The junction is where the Passage Peak, South East Head, Escape Beach, Middle Head and Coral Cove trails intersect, and if you walk for about 100 metres and hang a left, you will join the Flat Top Hill trail which leads to a viewing area that looks out over the watery world of the Whitsundays. Keep your eyes peeled for the Proserpine rock wallaby, which is native to the Whitsundays mainland and islands. BYO binoculars to look for whales and dolphins.

Flat Top Hill Lookout

Flat Top Hill Hamilton Island
Views from Flat Top Hill.

Distance: 1.2 kilometres

Grade 3: Moderate

Like the eighties haircut of the same name, Flat Top Hill levels out at the very top of the trail, which starts from the Resort Trail entrance outside the Reef View Hotel . Look out for sea birds when you reach the lookout at Flat Top Hill, where you will see a series of lovely beaches and bays to the island’s north and south. Download the map  of the walking trails to help you find the Resort Lookout Trail entrance. Head to One-Tree Hill for a cocktail  to take selfies of your silhouettes and the sun setting over Daydream Island and the mainland beyond.

Resort Lookout

Distance: 1.7 kilometres

Grade 3: Moderate

The view from the Resort Lookout is spectacular whatever the weather, making this one of the best Hamilton Island hikes. When it’s blue-on-blue, it’s hard to tell where the sea ends and the sky begins. But even if the sky is bruised, black and blue, and heavy with storm clouds, you should don your wet weather gear and soldier on as the views from the second-highest point on Hamilton Island are spectacular. Follow the path through the Whitsunday bushland to the Resort Lookout which is one of the more well-trodden walks in the Whitsundays. The lookout drops off to sheer cliffs and allows an excellent panoramic view of Hamilton Island and a great vantage point for sightings of sea birds and marine life.

Rest your head at one of the top Hamilton Island accommodations.

 

Carla Grossetti
Carla Grossetti avoided accruing a HECS debt by accepting a cadetship with News Corp. at the age of 18. After completing her cadetship at The Cairns Post Carla moved south to accept a position at The Canberra Times before heading off on a jaunt around Canada, the US, Mexico and Central America. During her career as a journalist, Carla has successfully combined her two loves – of writing and travel – and has more than two decades experience switch-footing between digital and print media. Carla’s CV also includes stints at delicious., The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Australian, where she specialises in food and travel. Carla also based herself in the UK where she worked at Conde Nast Traveller, and The Sunday Times’ Travel section before accepting a fulltime role as part of the pioneering digital team at The Guardian UK. Carla and has been freelancing for Australian Traveller for more than a decade, where she works as both a writer and a sub editor.
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You haven’t heard of this Qld outback town, but history buffs can’t miss it

    Kassia ByrnesBy Kassia Byrnes
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    Under wide-open outback skies, discover a fossicking gem that’s managed to slip under the radar.

    While the name Clermont may feel new to even the most intrepid traveller, its gilded history stretches back centuries. You’ll find it just off the highway, humming quietly under the hazy veil of Queensland’s outback sun. It’s here, hemmed in by mountains and perched atop soil heavy with the earth’s treasures, that one of Australia’s most accessible outback adventures awaits.

    Thanks to deposits of gold, copper and gemstones – souvenirs left by exploding supernovas and the heave of tectonic plates – Clermont became a centre point of Queensland’s Gold Rush. And now? Australia’s fossicking capital is yours to discover.

    Getting there

    car driving along Capricorn Way in queensland
    Take a drive through Queensland’s Mackay Isaac region. (Image: Sean Scott/ TEQ)

    You’ll find Clermont in Queensland’s Mackay Isaac region. To get here, it’s an easy three-hour drive over sealed roads from Mackay. Or, if you’re heading from the Sapphire Fields of Emerald, the drive will carve out just over an hour from your day.

    Whether you’re road-tripping through outback Queensland or just tracing your way through all that Australia has to offer, Clermont is remote but easily accessible.

    Best accommodation in Clermont

    Theresa CreekDam in clermont
    Camp by Theresa Creek Dam. (Image: Riptide Creative/ TEQ)

    All accommodation comes with a generous helping of country hospitality here. The choice is yours between modern hotels, parking up the camper or pitching a tent.

    Theresa Creek Dam lies just outside town. Begin each day with crisp country air and bright outback sunrises. Spend the night under the sparkling country stars and your days out on the dam fishing or kayaking. Even if you aren’t camping, be sure to save space in your itinerary for an afternoon on the red dirt shore.

    To stay closer to town, opt for a central hotel to base yourself between exploring and fossicking, like Smart Stayzzz Inn and Clermont Country Motor Inn .

    Things to do in Clermont

    three people on a tour with Golden Prospecting
    Join a tour with Golden Prospecting.

    One does not visit Clermont without trying their hand at fossicking. There are strict rules when it comes to fossicking, so stick to areas dedicated for general permission and make sure you obtain your license beforehand. Try your luck at McMasters , Four Mile , Town Desert, McDonald Flat and Flat Diggings . To increase your odds, sign on for a tour with the expert team at Golden Prospecting . They’ll give you access to exclusive plots and expert advice along the way.

    Once you’ve tried your luck on the gold fields, head to the Clermont Township and Historical Museum . Each exhibit works like an archaeologist’s brush to dust away the layers of Clermont’s history. Like the steam engine that painstakingly relocated the entire town inch by inch to higher ground after it was decimated by flooding in 1916. See the tools that helped build the Blair Athol mine, historic fire engines, shearing sheds and all sorts of relics that make up Clermont’s story.

    The historic Copperfield Chimney offers a change of pace. Legend has it that fossickers found a solid wall of copper here, over three metres high, kick-starting Queensland’s first-ever copper mine.

    Bush Heli Services flying over clermont queensland
    See Clermont from above with Bush Heli Services. (Image: Riptide Creative/ TEQ)

    For hiking, nearby Dysart is the best place to access Peak Range National Park. Here, mountainous horizons stretch across the outback as if plucked from another world. Set off for a scenic drive along the Peak Downs Highway for access to countless geological wonders. Like the slanting rockface of Wolfang Peak. Summit it, and you’ll find yourself looking out across a scene surely conjured up by Banjo Paterson. Dry scrub dancing in the warm breeze, grazing cattle, eucalypts and the gentle creak of windmills. Don’t miss visiting Gemini Peaks, either, for one of the park’s best vistas, and a blanket of wild flowers after rain.

    Then, take to the skies with a scenic helicopter tour with Bush Heli-Services . Shift your perspective and cruise above all the sights from your trip. Spots like Lords Table Mountain and Campbell’s Peak are best viewed from the skies.

    Before you head home, be sure to explore the neighbouring townships. Spend a lazy afternoon in the shade of Nebo Hotel’s wrap-around verandahs . The hotel’s 1900s dance hall has since been replaced with one of the area’s biggest rodeo arenas, so consider timing your trip to line up with a boot scootin’ rodeo. Or, stop by a ghost town. Mount Britton was once a thriving town during the 1880s Gold Rush. It’s been totally abandoned and now lies untouched, a perfect relic of the Gold Rush.

    Best restaurants and cafes in Clermont

    meal at Commercial Hotel
    Stop into the Commercial Hotel Clermont.

    Days spent fossicking, bushwalking and cramming on history call for excellent coffee and hearty country meals. Luckily, Clermont delivers in spades.

    Lotta Lattes Cafe is beloved by locals for a reason. Start your days here for the best caffeine fix in town and an impeccable brunch menu.

    For a real country meal, an icy cold beer and that famed country hospitality, head straight to the town’s iconic hotel: the Commercial Hotel (known endearingly to locals as ‘The Commie’). It’s been a staple in Clermont since 1877. The hotel even survived the flood of 1916 when it was sawn in two and moved to higher ground.

    Naturally, time spent in the outback must include calling into the local bakery. For delicious pies and a tantalising array of sweet treats, make Bluemac Bakehouse your go-to while in town.

    Discover more of The Mackay Isaac region, and start planning your trip at mackayisaac.com.