Aquila Loop

GPS Tracks

Remote bush camping in the remote middle section of the park, alongside picturesque England Creek at the England Creek bush camp. There are several waterholes along England Creek Road, 10 minutes south of the campsite. Look out for native daisies along the road edge flowering spring to summer. Pink rock orchids and tongue orchids can be seen growing on rock cuttings on Joyners Ridge Road in spring.

This trail can also be done as a day hike (6-10 hours).

720m

Maximum Elevation

1111m

Total Climb

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Getting there

The start of the walk is from Maiala Picnic ground at Mt Glorious. You can either go down Joyners Ridge 4wd track about 13km to the campsite, or follow the Western Window track to Lawnton Rd 4wd track.

Maps

The Brisbane Forest park Information Map was the one used.

Route/Trail notes

The walk started by following the Western Window path from Maiala down the steps to join the footpath to Lawnton Rd 4wd track about 3 km or so. Follow Lawnton Rd track for roughly 2 km where it levels out at a saddle where bees are somtimes kept. (On the map it would be 77.5, 73.5) When you reach this saddle look for a faint track dropping onto the road on the left about 30m from where the bees are kept. Follow this faint trail up the ridge line in a westerly direction about halway up it turns south. The climb up is about 140m vertical and about 400m long. At the top at peak 643 on the map turn left and follow the faint footpath down the south east ridge. This is steep track that folows large rock tors. There are wait-a-whiles and other stinging nettles in sections. Follow this very faint path till you run into the creek roughly one hour down. Once you are in the creek rock hop down the creek always following the path of least resistance from the scrub, tree falls and cascades for about 2km, another hour. Where the creek hits a causeway, there is the camp site. The next morning I turned from the creek in a westerly direction (right) and followed England Creek 4wd drive up to North Brook Mountain bush camp a steep and tiring walk. Near the top are some other 4wd drive tracks that are very steep but give excellent views over Wivenhoe dam and into England Creek valley. From Northbrook campsite I left the 4 wd track and followed a faint trail over Northbrook mountain, a steep, loose, up and down walk to peak 643 and retraced my steps back to Maiala carpark.

Permits/Costs.

Camping cost was $5 for the night.

For more camping info, check https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/daguilar/camping.html#england_creek_bush_camp and/or https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/daguilar/camping.html#northbrook_mountain_bush_camp

Other References

Parts of this walk are covered in the latest edition of John and Lyn Daly's Take A walk in South East Queensland.

GPS Tracks

Comments

Learned I do not like leeches.
Chloe Payne on 25 Mar, 2023

Did this from the Joyner's Ridge side with two mates. Campsite at England Creek was well outfitted with log seats. The walk in was relatively easy but hiking out was steep and tough. We stopped at Northbrook Mountain Campsite for lunch. Walk up to the Northbrook lookout is steep and a bit sketchy with heavy packs. All around a good experience. We built a dam across the causeway at the creek, would be curious to see if it sticks around.
jgrun14 on 4 Feb, 2022

Great spot shared with some great other walkers
Chantelle on Oct, 2021

My first overnight hike backpacking in and out for many years. Ross has done more of this than I have and he cruised it! A bit hard on day 2 hiking out with my very sore muscles letting me know that hiking with a heavier pack is not the same as a day pack. Having said that it is easy to navigate and the campsite was very pleasant with running water at the time we were there. I would recommend it as a beginner overnight option as long as you can pack your pack quite light and are "walking fit".
Julie and Ross on May, 2021

6 hrs, steep for a dirt Rd but not steep for a hike.
Plenty of birds and 3 Goannas. Glad I did it but won’t rush back to do it again.
Bill Pares on 28 Dec, 2020

Perfectly manageable as a day walk for those used to longer distances. Allow between 7 - 11 hours depending on fitness level. Also worth noting that the Westside Track is currently closed between Lawton Road and Western Window, so be prepared to walk a couple of kilometres along Mount Glorious Road to close the circle.

Completed this loop in a clockwise direction and recommend for others to do so - the second half is the more interesting part and personally I prefer saving the best 'til last. As regards pacing, England Creek Bush Camp (situated directly on the trail) is at the lowest point of the walk. So, you're walking downhill all the way to it and uphill all the way back. Be prepared!

The vast majority of this walk is along fire trails which I personally find pretty mundane, however there's enough interesting flora and fauna and a small spattering of views to make it worthwhile. The trail from Northbrook Mountain Bush Camp to Lawton Road (via Northbrook Mountain) is a much more pleasing rugged trail along a ridge line, and from a hiking point of view the highlight of the trip. Some navigation is required there, however, as the path at times is intermittent or confused with animal trails. Westside Track is also a very pleasing trail and worth doing in itself.
MDWL on 11 Dec, 2020

Amazing walk. Pretty dry at the moment. English Creek is dry. Would recomend to wait for the rain to fall.
MAT on 2 Oct, 2020

We completed this walk early in June 2019 as a clockwise, two-day hike. We started just out of Maiala, leaving our car at a picnic/parking area. We started our walk by following the main road downhill for several hundred metres before entering a gateway signed Joyners Creek Road.
We followed this road very happily for several hours, cheered on by hundreds of tinkling Bellbirds the whole way. The luxury of our extended downhill gradient did trigger some misgivings – what goes down must go up again tomorrow – but there was no turning back. Two hours into our descent we met a family of hikers climbing anticlockwise who begged to know, on their uphill way ‘home’ if they were now nearly ‘there’ (back at the main road). We ourselves took four hours of this pleasant descent to arrive at the England Creek Camp. We are about 70 years of age and carried twelve to thirteen Kg in our rucksacks.
The England Creek Bush Camp site is very nice, located adjacent to the creek with its concrete ford and flowing water. Tent spaces are small and few. Although there is a fireplace, the available firewood and kindling leaves were quite damp and resistant to lighting. We were however successful and loved our whiskey, warmth and food. There are several flat benches to sit on and do one’s cooking. Our lightweight chair was welcome nonetheless. There is a geocaching location nearby. We met no leeches on the entire hike.
Our second day’s walking was more memorable than the first. Memorable because of the long, long steep ascent from the campsite to the Northbrook Mountain Bush Camp, and the Lawton Road junction, followed by a concluding further long ascent to the Westside Track.
Westside Track provided a further opportunity for adventure, in the form of a massive treefall obstructing the path. This required a significant scramble and perhaps thirty minutes detour below and around the tangled vegetation and rocks. Finally, an unexpectedly long series of stone stairs led us back up to Mt Glorious Road and before long to our car, six hours after setting off from the campsite at England Creek.
Macz on 9 Jun, 2019

I just completed this walk. I did it clockwise following the directions on the NPSR website but also going to the viewpoint at Northbrook Bush Camp (short but very steep climb). I camped for the night at England Creek which was very nice, water was flowing and very clear. According to my phone it was 28km total, 47,400 steps, 1144m total climb, 9.63km going uphil, 9.58km going downhill and 8.79km on the flat. 6h19m spent walking total. I took a lot of breaks going uphill the second day was very tiring. I would say my fitness level is low-moderate but someone who was fit could easily do this as a day walk.
Paul Spencer on 24 Mar, 2018

This time on My Adventures i head off to England Creek remote bush camp.
All up its about a 27 km round trip.
mostly downhill going in.Which means all up hill out.took me 4.5 hours to walk out with a heavy pack.
Not too difficult,just long.
gizmobazz on 9 Feb, 2018

Hiked this in an anti-clockwise direction and camped in the England Creek Bush Camp. Plenty of flowing water at the camp. A few large trees down on the Westside Track north of the carpark towards Lawton Road which were difficult to traverse. A nice hike but quite a rocky service road so hard on the feet.
Leith on 12 Nov, 2017

Walking on service road the entire time made this a bit average, but nice camp.
Scott on 12 Nov, 2017

Got my new kit and needed somewhere close to try it out. The park has just been burnt in prep for summer however there was still plenty to see. The creek is still running and the water was very clear. I only bumped into a few groups and camped overnight by myself. I grew up at the bottom of Clear Mountain and it was wonderful to hear the bell birds sing again.
James on 26 Aug, 2017

walked clockwise and spent the night at the england creek campsite.
Only saw one person on the trail ( a jogger). The creek has plenty of water.
davidGriffo on 14 May, 2017

Very doable in a day, only about 7.5 hours walking.
mailh8r on 10 May, 2017

12 year old son and I did the loop anti-clockwise which seems to be easier looking at the profile.

Stayed overnight at the bush camp. Drifted off to the sound of the creek bubbling away.
ShavenWalrus on 6 May, 2017

Hard walk!

We completed the Aquila Trail in 7 hours, which included an hour stop at England Creek camp site next to the creek. Great spot for a break.
Leon on 25 Sep, 2016

This is the "Aquila Loop". Overnight hike. Nice camp spot and plenty of nice clean water. My GPS says 26Km car to car doing the loop clockwise, witch appears to be harder due return being longer with some steep sections. Overall an easy walk on fire trails and a pittoresque camp spot.
Anonymous on Aug, 2016

Starting from Maiala Section of D'Aguilar National Park day use area, walked down Mount Glorious Road to the south for about 300 m to the gate at the junction with Joyners Ridge Road. Sign here says Maiala is 1.9 km via the Western Window. Followed Joyners Ridge Road as it descends for about 7 km to a major junction, which has the names of the roads marked. Turn right onto England Creek Road and descend to a creek, then ascend a ridge before descending to England Creek. Follow the road along England Creek to a (new) concrete causeway 5 km from the road junction, and the England Creek Campsite. Continue on England Creek Road and ascend 350 m to near the summit of Northbrook Mountain in about 5km. Turn right onto Lawton Road and follow for about 7km to the Western Window Track, and walk for 3 km back to Maiala. Total distance 27km. Walk duration of 7 hours. Weather - morning fog with very wet ground on the upper slopes. Crystal clear water in England Creek.
GlasshouseBW on 28 Jun, 2015

The cross-country route described in South-East Queensland walks (with a variation on this site) was overgrown with lantana and lawyer vine. Similarly rock-hopping up the creek, it was tricky at the waterfalls and a way out of the creek was very hard to find due to thick undergrowth. It was better to stick to the Joyner's ridge / England creek / Lawton road circuit - a bit tedious but well-maintained.
guy taking his kids on 18 Apr, 2015