Where To Find The Best Scenic Queensland Drives

The Gold Coast, Cairns, O'Reilly's Rainforest, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast - Queensland is absolutely jam-packed with some of the most beautiful, exciting and iconic destinations in Australia. Whether you love driving along stunning oceans or through lush rainforests, Queensland will always have something to excite and enthral the avid adventurer.

Are you an outdoor adventurer? Do you love outdoor adventures? More specifically, do you enjoy long scenic drives that take you through the best parts of Queensland? If so, then get ready because at Anaconda, our expert team of outdoor adventurers who specialise in scenic drives in Queensland have created a list of where to find the best Queensland drives that will take you on a journey through the best parts that this great state has to offer!

Quick Links:

• Big Red Bash Road Trip
• Great Beach Drive Road Trip
• Overlander's Way Road Trip
• Cairns to Cooktown Road Trip
• Cairns to Cape York Road
• Gold Coast Hinterland Road Trip

Big Red Bash Road Trip

If you are looking for some awesome scenic drives in South East Queensland, then the Big Red Bash Road Trip should be on your bucket list. This epic journey will take around five days to complete and can be done in a 2WD, although we do recommend doing it in a 4WD. Spanning over a whopping 1,892km, it begins in Brisbane, travelling through Toowoomba, Winton, Warwick, Brisbane, Birdsville and Ipswich, and finishing in Barcaldine. The Big Red Bash Road Trip is the best way to see the very best of the South East Queensland outback.

This scenic Queensland drive is filled with endless rolling hills, horizons that stretch out as far as the eye can see and beautiful quaint towns nestled along the sprawling landscape. Some of the best highlights on this trip that you have to visit is the Birdsville Pub (a local symbol of the spirit and character of the outback), Cooper Creek, Nindigully Pub, the iconic Dig Tree and the Artesian mud baths in Eulo for some much-needed relaxation.

Why you'll love Big Red Bash Road Trip:

• The best way to see the South East Queensland landscape
• Can be done in both 4WD and 2WD
• A huge variety of Aussie wildlife to see

Great Beach Drive Road Trip

Ever wondered what exactly is so special about the Sunshine Coast? Well the Great Beach Drive Road Trip is the perfect way to find out for yourself! Spanning between three to seven days (depending on how much you want to see) and covering a total distance of 419km, the Great Beach Drive Road Trip will begin in Noosa, taking you through Rainbow Beach, Fraser Island and then finishing in Hervey Bay. However, this route is only suitable for a 4WD due to a high amount of sand beach driving, so make sure you have the right 4WD recovery equipment before setting out.

This scenic Queensland drive will take you on an amazing offroad adventure through World Heritage-listed landscapes, stunning coastlines that fade into the horizon and some of the most colourful towns you can visit in Queensland. Some of the highlights on this scene drive include driving through Great Sandy National Park, watching the sun rise along Marcoola Beach, visiting the famous Rainbow Beach and exploring the blend of upper class living and hinterland at Noosa Heads.

Why you'll love Great Beach Drive Road Trip:

• An awesome way to see exactly why the Sunshine Coast is so amazing
• Some of the best beach driving destinations in Australia
• An array of wildlife including pelicans, fairy terns and cormorants

Overlander's Way Road Trip

The Overlander's Way Road Trip is not only another fantastic way to see the scenic side of Queensland but also can be done in any type of vehicle as the roads are fully sealed. This drive stretches out across 1,097km and will take anywhere between five and eight days to fully complete. You will begin in Townsville and will travel through Charters Towers, Hughenden, Richmond, Julia Creek, Cloncurry, Mount Isa and finish up at Camooweal.

The Overlander's Way Road Trip will take you through some of the most iconic sights in Australia such as the Great Barrier Reef, exploring the old gold mining town at Charters Towers, seeing incredible dinosaur discoveries in the Hughenden Flinders Discovery Centre and exploring 500 million year old sinkholes at Camooweal Caves National Park. This is the best way to explore Queensland without having to leave the bitumen!

Why you'll love Overlander's Way Road Trip:

• A fantastic Queensland scenic drive that can be done in any type of vehicle
• A scenic QLD drive that takes you to the Great Barrier Reef
• Fantastic way to discover the ancient past of Australia

Cairns to Cooktown Road Trip

This inland route of the Cairns to Cooktown Road Trip can be completely done in a 2WD along sealed roads (although you will need to take a ferry to get to Cape Tribulation) and can be done in three to five days across 327km of open road. You will begin in Cairns, the city capital of far north Queensland, then travelling to Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation, Mossman and then finally finishing up in Cooktown.

This rural QLD outback adventure will take you through some fantastic sights such as driving through the Cobbold Gorge, exploring the Daintree Rainforest (the world's oldest rainforest estimated to be around 180 million years old!), stopping for a relaxing swim at Mossman Gorge, see some incredible Aboriginal rock art, learn more about Australia's history at the James Cook Museum and explore Australia's first European settlement at Cooktown.

Why you'll love Cairns to Cooktown Road Trip:

• Can be fully completed in a 2WD
• The best way to explore the world's old rainforest, the Daintree Rainforest
• A great way to learn about Australia's past and Aboriginal history

Cairns to Cape York Road

As the longest scenic QLD drive on our list, the Cairns to Cape York Road drive will take around 14 days to complete and stretches out for almost 2,000kms. As this drive will take you through some rough terrain and crossing through some potentially treacherous waters if travelling in the rainy season, it can only be completed in a 4WD. You will start in Cairns and then travel through Cooktown, Laura, Coen, Lockhart River, Bramwell Station, Bamaga and then ending up at The Tip (Cape York Tip).

If you want to see everything that Queensland has to offer, the Carins to Cape York Road drive is the best way to do it. While passing through some of the most interesting communities, you will also see some incredible sights such as driving along the beautiful white sandy beaches at Portland Roads, experience the stunning rock art in Laura and seeing some awesome World War Two-era plane wrecks at Bamaga.

Why you'll love Cairns to Cape York Road:

• One of the longest QLD scenic drives, perfect for long trips
• Lots of National Parks to explore
• The best way to see everything there is to see of Australia's most northern point

Gold Coast Hinterland Road Trip

The Gold Coast Hinterland Road Trip is the shortest QLD scenic drive on our list, coming in at 109kms and taking about two and a half hours to complete in any type of vehicle, making it the perfect day trip. Even though this will be a short drive, you will begin in the iconic Surfers Paradise and travel through Toowoomba, Tambourine Mountain, Lamington National Park, Springbrook National Park and then finish up at the legendary O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat. As you can see, the Gold Coast Hinterland Road Trip is pretty jam-packed with sights and attractions for just a 2 hour trip!

And there are plenty of exciting sights to behold such as gushing waterfalls, pristine lakes, endless stretches of majestic headlands and valleys, volcanic creeks, plus towering mountains that climb their way through the clouds. If you want to stretch your legs, you can go hang gliding at Tamborine Mountain, trek through the Gondwana Rainforests and take a swim at the bottom of the stunning waterfalls and swimming holes of Springbrook National Park.

Why you'll love Gold Coast Hinterland Road Trip:

• An awesome way to see the very best of the Gold Coast Hinterland in under a day
• A wonderland to explore including caves, waterfalls, swimming holes, rainforests and more
• The perfect day trip from the city

Visit The Best Scenic Queensland Drives Today

These are just some of the many incredible Queensland drives you can explore, so we highly encourage you to get out there and explore the great outdoors of Queensland! Make sure you check out our Adventure Centre for more exciting destinations that you can visit with your friends, family and loved ones.

If you liked where to find the best scenic drives in Queensland, then you might also like some of our other articles for fun destinations in QLD such as:

• Ultimate Guide To The Best Brisbane Beaches
• Best Bike Paths In & Around Brisbane
• Our Top Day Trips From Brisbane
• Best Spots For Camping On The Sunshine Coast
• Our Top 10 QLD Camping Spots

Find your local Anaconda store and check out our extensive range of camping for your next outdoor adventure.