Excellent walk for the views, traverses open forests and semi-deciduous vine thickets along the side of the peaks. The summit of Mt Marlow provides superb 360 degree views of the wetlands and coastline. You can complete a circuit by returning via the Lagoon Trail or the Freshwater Trail through the wetlands. These trails provide excellent opportunities for viewing wetland birds.
Only the middle sections of the Many Peaks Track are considered hard. The other sections are medium, and the Lagoon and Freshwater Trails are easy shared bicycle/walking trails. Mosquitoes can be a problem at certain times of the year, so bring some repellent. Winter is the best season. Refer to the track notes below.

Lookouts
Bird Watching
Scrambling or Climbing
Navigation Required
Cycling Permitted
Swamp or Wetland
258m
Maximum Elevation

Getting there:

To the left hand side of Walter Nesbit park there is gate, there are signs just in front of this with details of the tracks

Maps

Maps are avalable at Queensland National Parks and Wanderstories websites.

Route/Trail notes

A detailed description of the walk!

Many Peaks Track circuit returning via the Lagoon or Freshwater Trail.

Commencing at the Pallarenda gate, the first section is a shared bicycle/walking track. After 5 minutes the Many Peaks Track branches off to the right and commences climbing, reaching Tegoora Rock in 15 minutes. Tegoora Rock provides your first views of the wetlands. (The walk to Tegoora Rock and return the same way is an easy half hour walk that is suitable for most). The Many Peaks Track continues past Tegoora Rock lookout point (towards the hill). In about 5 minutes the 'constructed' track morphs into a 'marked route'. Parts of this section are rough and rocky underfoot, and can become overgrown and difficult to follow in the wet season. This section of the walk traverses through some excellent examples of semi-deciduous vine forest, a type of dry rainforest. In about an hour you will reach another (un-named) rocky lookout point providing extensive views over the wetlands. From here you should reach the summit of Mt Marlow in less than half an hour. The summit of Mt Marlow is open and grassy and provides superb 360 degree views of the wetlands, Townsville, Magnetic Island, and the coastline. From Mt Marlow the track descends to Bald Rock. This section is well constructed and in good condition. (Numbers on posts refer to an interpretive geology trail). At the Bald Rock trail junction you can choose to return to Pallarenda via either the Lagoon Trail or the Freshwater Trail. Both are shared bicycle/walking trails, and are a similar distance. The Freshwater Trail takes you through the middle of the wetlands, along the top of an earthen dam wall, and provides outstanding opportunities for viewing wetland birds. The entire circuit will take about 3.5 hours, allowing for breaks and viewing birds and scenery. Winter months is the best time to undertake this walk.

Permits/Costs:

None.

Other References/Comments:

More information can be found on the Queensland National Parks and Wanderstories websites.

GPS Tracks

  • No GPS available for this walk yet.

Comments

Fantastic

Liz on 1 May, 2023

Many Peaks Walk (Mount Marlow)

Daniella Volling on 2 May, 2022

Mt Marlow and Many Peaks sections are overgrown at present. Hopefully the parks staff will clear the track n the next couple weeks.

RDeg on 17 May, 2021

Following recent rainfalls in early January, the landscape has transformed and the lagoons are now at capacity. Lots of water, but the birds are more dispersed.

RDeg on 21 Jan, 2021

Commenced at Pallarenda, walked the many Peaks Track returning via the Freshwater Trail. Not unusual for November, most of the shallow waters of the wetlands have dried up leaving water in the deeper lagoons only. Whilst the Magpie Geese have moved on there was still plenty of birdlife to see. Took about 4 hours including some time spent bird watching.

RDeg on 11 Nov, 2020

Commenced at Pallarenda, walked the Many Peaks Track and returned via the Lagoon Trail. 3.5 hours including view and rest breaks.

RDeg on 12 Jun, 2020

The summit of Mt Marlow is open and grassy, with 360 degree views of the Townsville Town Common wetlands, Townsville, Magnetic Island and the coastline to the north and south. There are a number of options to reach the summit. On this occasion I used the Freshwater Trail (from the Freshwater carpark) and the Many Peaks Track to the summit and returned the same way. The first part of the walk is across the wetlands with superb bird watching/photographing opportunities. I witnessed a pair of Brolgas dancing, and a White-breasted Sea Eagle with prey. One of Townsville's best walks.

RDeg on 28 May, 2020

Where

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