Chermside Hills Reserves

Chermside Hills Reserves is a 129 hectare block of open eucalypt forest on Brisbane's northside, stitched together from three adjoining reserves and threaded with eleven walking tracks. Dogs are welcome on every one of them, on lead, and the wallabies are the reason the lead is not negotiable. The full circuit linking the three reserves runs about 7.6 km and takes two to two and a half hours at a bushwalking pace, graded moderate; it is a network rather than one path, so you can cut it to whatever your dog has in them.

Leash status

Brisbane City Council manages all three reserves and requires dogs on lead at all times, everywhere inside the bushland. There is no off-lead exception, and the reason lives in the understorey: swamp wallabies, goannas, gliders and more than 115 recorded bird species. This is habitat first and a walking track second, part of the Mountains to Mangroves corridor. Clean up immediately and use the bins provided. The reserves are open around the clock, which is unusual for bushland, though the light rules out most of the night anyway.

The three reserves

Chermside Hills Reserve is entered from Trouts Road, Raven Street Reserve from Rode Road, and Milne Hill Reserve from Hamilton Road. Raven Street is the developed one, with a playground, picnic tables and barbecues, and the Downfall Creek Bushland Centre sits at that entrance if you want to know what you are looking at. The other two entrances are plainer: a track, a sign and bush. Track names make planning easy, with the 2 km Giwadha circuit a good stand-alone loop and the 1.5 km Xanthorrhoea Track running through stands of native grass trees. The northern reserve has its own page here, Milne Hill Reservoir, if you want the shorter version.

Surfaces are natural throughout, so after rain expect mud and after a dry spell loose gravel. The canopy is open eucalypt rather than closed rainforest, so shade is patchy and Brisbane heat gets through. There is no reliable water on the tracks, which matters over seven kilometres; carry enough for the dog and refill at the Raven Street facilities.

Max: Grass trees and low banksia hide a wallaby until it moves, and they move suddenly. Keep the lead short on the narrow tracks, because there is no room to correct once something breaks cover.

Getting there and parking

Free on-street parking sits near the Trouts Road entrance at Chermside West. By bus, route 353 stops on Hamilton Road near Trouts Road, and bikeways run through the southern section of Raven Street Reserve.

Close by with the dogs

For off-lead running afterwards, Chermside Dog Park is the closest dedicated option and Martindale Street Park Fenced Dog Park adds a fully fenced alternative. Routine is a local coffee stop on the way home. More in our guide to dog friendly trails in QLD and around Chermside West.

When to go

Early morning or late afternoon, which doubles as the best window for wallaby sightings on the creek flats. Mosquitoes are the constant hazard, worst in humid weather after rain, and the full circuit is long enough that summer heat becomes a real problem a long way from the car. Tracks close occasionally for maintenance, so read the trailhead signs.