The Maleny Trail

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is a 6.7km walk along the Obi Obi Creek, passing through the Maleny township along green vistas and areas of rainforest where one can be immersed in nature. There are interesting features along the way including scenic and nature views, wildlife and platypus sightings, preserved heritage sites, sculpture and poetry.

was established as part of the Maleny Community Precinct on acreages formerly owned by pioneering dairy farming families. It is an easy walk on mostly flat terrain with signposts to direct you and frequent rest stops. This walk will take about one hour and a half to complete.




begins at the Maleny Showgrounds for the convenience of visitors camping at the showgrounds. It starts with a short stroll along the Obi Obi Boardwalk , a concrete and timber path 900 meters long through rain forest alongside the Obi Obi Creek. This is a lovely habitat for various wildlife including bats, native birds and elusive platypuses in the creek.



Exit the boardwalk and the trail continues onto Tesch Park on Coral St outside the Maleny Library. This small park has picnic tables, drinking water, barbeque facilities and a fenced playground overlooking Obi Obi Creek.

From Tesch Park, the Obi Obi Boardwalk continues at the Riverside Centre on Maple St behind the Woolworths carpark leading to the Peace in the Trees Sculpture Walk. Both Tesch Park and this part of the Obi Obi Boardwalk are convenient locations to begin the trail.



The Peace in the Trees Sculptural Walk is one of two well-curated sculpture walks along the trail inspired by Sunshine Coast artists and artisans. This is where Maleny's shopping hub recedes into the quiet green contours of North Maleny.

This walk invites people to contemplate and reflect on peace prompted by sandstone sculptures under trees engraved with imagery and language conveying meanings of peace. The Obi Obi Boardwalk and Peace in the Trees Sculptural Walk are along flat, concrete and timber paths suitable for wheelchairs and strollers.



Follow the path to the Platypus Lookout past the Beersheba Living Museum . The Platypus Lookout is a high deck over a more expansive part of Obi Obi Creek. This is a good vantage point for spotting platypuses.



From here the trail continues through the golf course along a wide concrete path and then retreats into a haven of rainforest with a broad dirt track. About 54,000 trees have been planted along this trail creating a biodiverse habitat for plant and wildlife. There are areas where you can foray into the bush (off track) treading with care to get a closer glimpse of Obi Obi Creek. Large fig trees have protruding buttress roots so watch your step. Enjoy the tranquility of the early mornings and listen to birdsong and the babbling sound of the creek.





As you venture further into the rainforest you'll pass the Cascades, consisting of flights of concrete stairs lined by lush ornamental plants which are on the alignment of an old bullock track. The Bullock Track, Armstrong's Creek Crossing and Reynolds Crossing recount earlier timber-logging times in Maleny before the 1920's.



At the end of the rainforest trail stands the Mosman Cowbails, the first milking facility used after open paddock milking. This shed is perched on a hill in its slightly dilapadated state next to the entrance to the Poetry Sculpture Trail. It overlooks verdant fields where cattle once grazed and is now the Maleny golf course.



The Poetry Sculpture Trail is a collaboration between Sunshine Coast poets and stonemason Wayne Markwort who also produced the engravings on the epitaphs seen at the Maleny Walk of Remembrance . Along this trail are sandstone sculptures engraved with poetry and imagery alluding to Maleny's distinct natural environment. These sculptures enhance the landscape and are a lovely part of the trail.





The Poetry Sculpture Trail leads up to the Maleny Golf Club and Fairview also known as Pattemore House, a state heritage-listed house built around 1907 formerly owned by the Pattemore family who ran a dairy farm on the land. Walk through the golf course carpark and around the back of Fairview where the trail continues along a grassy short path connecting to Parkland Drive where you will pass the Selectors Green.



The Selectors Green is a relaxing space with shady rustic seating, lawns for picnics, information boards providing insight to the first settlers in the area and camelia and native gardens. At the bottom of Parkland Drive you'll arrive back at the Platypus Lookout and the Peace in the Trees Sculptural Walk.


About Maleny

Maleny is located a ninety-minute drive north of Brisbane and is a popular tourist destination with boutique and specialty shops, cafes, an active arts scene, picturesque scenery and general good vibes. In 2021 and 2022, Maleny won acclaim as the 'most welcoming' town in Australia based on millions of traveller reviews.

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