Acacia Track

The Acacia Track is a 2.9km walk through the bushland of Whites Hill Reserve at Carina Heights, in Brisbane's inner south east. It is council reserve rather than national park, so dogs are welcome on lead, and there is a fenced off-lead park in the same reserve for afterwards. AllTrails records 2.9km and grades it easy, around 50 minutes.

The track runs on formed bush trail through dry eucalypt forest and pockets of drier rainforest, part of a wider network of connected tracks across the reserve that lets you extend or shorten the walk as you go. Grades are gentle and the surface is firm, which makes it a reasonable option for older dogs and short legs that want bush without a climb.

Leash status

Dogs must be on lead on the bushwalking tracks. Brisbane City Council manages Whites Hill Reserve and requires dogs to be leashed everywhere except inside the signed off-leash area in the reserve's south-west corner. Koalas use the trees through this reserve, which is why the leash rule is enforced rather than suggested. Pick up after your dog and use the bins at the recreation area.

Water and hazards

There is no creek worth the name on this track. Taps and bowls sit at the recreation area near the car park, so water your dog before you start and again when you finish. Brisbane heat is the main hazard: the forest gives good shade, but the bitumen near the car park holds heat well into the evening, so test it with the back of your hand before crossing. Ticks and snakes are both present in the reserve through the warmer months. If your dog fixates on movement in the canopy, walk this one on a short lead, because a koala coming down to cross the ground is a bad surprise for everybody.

Getting there and parking

Park free at the main Whites Hill Reserve recreation area off Boundary Road, where there are toilets and sheltered picnic tables near the trailhead. Council buses run along Boundary Road.

When to go

Early morning or the last hour of light, especially from October through to March. This is a year-round walk in practice, but the summer middle of the day belongs to the wildlife rather than the walkers.

Close by with the dogs

The Whites Hill Reserve Fenced Dog Park is in the same reserve for an off-lead run afterwards, and the wider Whites Hill Reserve network and Moore Hill add distance if 2.9km is not enough. Cafe and Bar on Whites Hill sits at the reserve itself for the post-walk coffee.

Max: Fifty minutes of gentle bush, taps at both ends, and a fenced run a few hundred metres from the car. This is the easy-mode option in a reserve full of harder ones.

More walks are on the Queensland trails guide, and other dog-friendly stops around the suburb are on the Carina Heights destination page.