Unique Things To Do In Toowoomba

From huge flower festivals to quirky little rail museums and the city’s nascent arts scene, there’s plenty of things to do in Toowoomba.

Queensland’s largest inland city is home to its fair share of attractions and events, drawing in visitors from near and far whatever the season. Choose your own adventure from this list of the city’s best.

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Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers

The so-called Garden City is awash with a sea of colourful petals come spring, when the annual Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers descends. The longest running floral event of its kind in Australia, this festival takes place every September and welcomes hundreds of thousands of flowers in full bloom, planted across the city’s parks and public spaces, and a similar number of anthophile attendees. But it’s not just the plants that attract out-of-towners: during the festival, you can expect twilight tours, light installations, live music, fairground rides and plenty of foodie events to boot.

Cobb+Co Museum

This highly rated Toowoomba museum’s primary calling card is the National Carriage Collection, comprising 47 restored horse-drawn vehicles, which played an important role in Queensland’s development. But the Cobb+Co Museum has plenty more to offer beyond: kids will love the interactive displays in the Sciencentre, as well as the Coach Stop play area, where little ones can become shop attendants in the old Museum General Store, dressing up in old fashioned clothes. Adults, meanwhile, can dabble in the super niche heritage trade workshops (think leadlighting, blacksmithing or millinery), which are available for beginners right through to consummate professionals looking to polish their skills.

Cobb & Co horse and cart — The museum explores more than 50,000 years of history of the Darling Downs and Toowoomba.

Public parks

Even if you don’t venture to Toowoomba for its annual Carnival of Flowers, green thumbs and budding botanists will still find themselves in total floral heaven in Toowoomba: simply stroll around the city’s plethora of public parks to find a bit of zen, or a perfect picnic spot. Two of the city’s standouts are Queens Park and Laurel Park. The former is an impeccably manicured 26-hectare heritage-listed garden that sits smack bang in the centre of town. The latter is home to ‘scented gardens’, a vast arched trellis dripping with wisteria and even croquet greens.

Toowoomba Queens Park from above — Queens Park is something to behold.

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The great outdoors

Toowoomba’s doorstep is littered with bushland, mountains and national parks waiting to be explored. Go for a bushwalk and journey to the summit of Table Top Mountain: a walk that typically takes around two hours one-way, and is steep in parts. Or save your legs and drive up to Picnic Point Lookout and Parkland, which promises panoramic views over the surrounding farmland.

To the northeast of Toowoomba, less than an hour’s drive away, lies Ravensbourne National Park, home to towering red cedars, eucalypts, rainforest and an abundance of birdlife – at least 110 species of birds either visit or live in this park. There’s a handful of short walks to uncover, as well as lookout points and picnicking areas.

And some 49 kilometres north of Toowoomba lies the Crows Nest National Park, which features a eucalypt forest, granite boulders, cascades and a waterhole that’s perfect for a dip. Lucky day trippers may even spy platypus, swamp wallabies, echidnas, bandicoots or lace monitors on their travels through this sprawling park.

Crows Nest National Park boulders — Crows Nest National Park protects spectacular creek scenery.

DownsSteam Tourist Railway & Museum

Trainspotters rejoice! This volunteer-run attraction in the Toowoomba suburb of Drayton has quite the collection, and is staffed by rail enthusiasts who offer tours of the old carriages it has rehomed. Peruse the historic displays and railway memorabilia, and wander through the Dreamtime Journey Coach, an SX coach that’s been repurposed as a permanent art installation in acknowledgement of the contribution made by Indigenous people to the building of Queensland’s Range Railway. Entry is by donation and there’s a small gift shop on-site too.

Pride of Toowoomba: C16-106 undergoing steam tests at DownsSteam Drayton.

Explore the local arts scene

Toowoomba might not have all the arty assets of a major city, but it still punches above its weight when it comes to creative attractions. For one thing, the Southern Queensland city is home to a bit of a burgeoning street art scene. The murals painted along the side of the CUA bank building in 2012 are recognised as Toowoomba’s first, kickstarting the trend city-wide. More than 90 different artworks now pepper the city’s streets, including creations by internationally acclaimed artists Adnate and Fintan Magee, based in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

Those a bit more traditionally inclined should pay a visit to the Toowoomba Regional Arts Gallery , the oldest of its kind in regional Queensland, and a venue that plays host to three permanent collections, as well as contemporary exhibitions that change each month. Or, spend an evening at the heritage-listed art deco Empire Theatre , the largest regional performing arts complex in Australia, which regularly hosts music and ballet recitals and comedy events. You can also uncover a little more of the building’s architecture and history, by signing up for one of the venue’s backstage tours.

Read more about Toowoomba here.

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.

Unique things to do in Toowoomba