Brisbane Koala Bushlands Loop

The Brisbane Koala Bushlands sit at 137 Alperton Road in Burbank, about 25 minutes south east of the CBD, and the loop through them runs 6.3 km of eucalypt forest and rainforest pockets. The fact that decides your afternoon: the gates lock at 6pm and do not reopen until 8am, so if your car is inside, be out before then.

The walk

AllTrails puts the full loop at 6.3 km, rated moderate, around an hour and a half at a steady pace. It is undulating bush track rather than groomed path, with the roughly 4 km Spotted Gum Trail forming the spine through open eucalypt woodland.

If that is more than the day calls for, the Stockyard Creek Circuit covers 1.4 km on easier ground from the same car park.

Leash status

Dogs on lead at all times, everywhere in the bushland, under Brisbane City Council's reserve rules, and there is no off-leash enclosure here. This is not boilerplate: the whole reserve exists to protect koala habitat, and koalas move across the ground between trees, most visibly through the July to December breeding season. Stay on the formed tracks.

Water and hazards

There is no water on site at all, so bring enough for both of you and more than you think in summer, because the loop is long and the shade is patchy. Horse trails cross the walking tracks, ticks are a given in eucalypt country, and horses have right of way at the junctions.

Max: if your dog has opinions about horses, keep the lead short at the intersections and step aside to let riders through.

Getting there

Drive. There is free gravel parking at the Alperton Road entrance and a second access at the end of Longton Court, and no public transport reaches the reserve. Toilets, shaded picnic tables, electric barbecues and an information hub sit at the main entrance.

Close by with the dogs

The Brisbane Koala Bushlands page covers the wider reserve and its other tracks. For an off-lead run afterwards, Capalaba Regional Park Fenced Dog Park is a short drive north east.

Koala Tavern on Old Cleveland Road East handles the post-walk lunch, and more routes sit on the Queensland dog friendly trails guide and the Burbank destination page.

When to go

Early morning on a weekday gives you cool ground, the best chance of koalas and kookaburras on the move, and the car park to yourself. Skip the middle of a summer day entirely: the loop is long, there is no water and no shortcut back.