Mermaid Mountain and Little Mermaid Lookout

Starting from Lake Manchester Road, Kholo, this walk takes you to the summit of Mermaid Mountain and back, visiting Little Mermaid Lookout along the way. The summit rewards you with stunning westerly views of Lake Manchester and the city of Ipswich to the south. Surrounding mountains such as Mt. Barney and Mt. Glorious look beautiful covered in dark green as well. Enjoy the constant birdsong of eastern whipbirds and bellbirds along with other species as you make your way through the woodland. The tracks are wide and partly shaded but the signage is almost non-existent. A GPS or a compass is highly recommended. Hiking poles may come in handy against the slippery surface and relieve your joints on descents. Wear a hat and sunscreen on a sunny day, but bring heaps of water regardless of the weather conditions. You might need to scramble a little bit on the steepest parts. Parts of the track may go through private property, so please ask the landowner for passage. Let us begin by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we travel today, and pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

Downloads GPX PDF

Safer Bushwalks Tips on staying safe on track
Before you start any bushwalk ensure you;
• Tell someone you trust where you are going and what to do if you are overdue
• Have adequate equipment, supplies, skills & knowledge for the whole journey
• Consider the impact of weather forecasts, park/track closures & fire dangers
• Can respond to emergencies & call for help at any point
• Are healthy and fit enough for this journey
If not, change plans and stay safe. It is okay to delay and ask people for help.

Getting There Transport options and directions

Start	From the Lake Manchester Road (-27.5045951,152.808512)
Mode	Car
Directions	From Warrego Highway, M2 Turn on to then drive for 300 m At roundabout, take exit 2 onto Mount Crosby Road, 37 and drive for another 450 m At roundabout, take exit 2 onto Mount Crosby Road, 37 and drive for another 6.1 km Continue onto Lake Manchester Road and drive for another 3 km Turn right and drive for another 4 m

Track Notes Turn by turn instructions & maps

Getting started
From Lake Manchester Road(735 metres northwest of intersection with Swensons Road), head towards the metal gate with a yellow little metal pole next to it. Before heading around/over the gate, see if there’s a way for you to reach the landowner to kindly ask for passage(if it’s labeled as private property). Head around/over the said gate and join the wide dirt track gently uphill as you move away from the road. Follow the said track as it meanders deeper into the woodland to continue along Mermaid and Little Mermaid Lookout Track.....

Turn map	Directions & comments
	From the Lake Manchester Road Start (a service road).
	After another 3.3 km (from the Mill Road) turn left, to head along Mill Road (a vehicle track). After another 550 m pass the "Little Mermaid Lookout" (45 m on your left).
	After another 1.6 km (from the Mill Road) continue straight. Then head up the very steep (10% ~ 5.7°) incline After another 660 m come to "Mermaid Mountain".
	Turn around here and retrace the main route for 6.1 km to get back to the start.

Terrain Know the Hills, grading & facilities

Mermaid Mountain and Little Mermaid Lookout

Grading

	Class 4/6 Hard track
Length	12.1 km
Time	4 h to 6 h 30 min

Quality of track	Formed track, with some branches and other obstacles (3/6)
Gradient	Very steep (4/6)
Signage	Minimal directional signs (4/6)
Infrastructure	Limited facilities, not all cliffs are fenced (3/6)
Experience Required	Moderate level of bushwalking experience recommended (4/6)
Weather	Storms may impact on navigation and safety (3/6)

Weather & Alerts Check forecasts & closures
Weather Forecast
- Kenmore Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu
  
  Thursday 6 March
  
  Showers and wind increasing.
  
  Cloudy. High chance of showers. Rain and showers heavy at times about the coast south of Cape Moreton. The chance of a thunderstorm, possibly severe. Damaging wind gusts exceeding 90 km/h expected due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred, most likely about the exposed coast and islands.
  
  Alert: Large and powerful surf conditions for the rest of the day are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, swimming and surfing.
  
  Friday 7 March
  
  21°C → 25°C
  Cyclone expected.
  100% chance of rain
  20 → 70mm
  
  Cloudy. Very high chance of rain. The chance of a thunderstorm. Heavy rain which may lead to flash flooding possible, mainly in the south and about the coast. Destructive wind gusts exceeding 130 km/h possible depending on movement and development of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Overnight temperatures falling to between 19 and 22 with daytime temperatures reaching the mid to high 20s.
  
  Fire Danger Rating: Moderate
  
  Alert: Large and powerful surf conditions are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, swimming and surfing.
  
  UV Alert: Sun protection 8:10am to 3:40pm, UV Index predicted to reach 12 [Extreme]
  
  Saturday 8 March
  
  22°C → 25°C
  Cyclone expected.
  95% chance of rain
  25 → 200mm
  
  Cloudy. Very high chance of rain. The chance of a thunderstorm. Heavy rain which may lead to flash flooding possible. Damaging wind gusts to 120 km/h possible depending on movement and development of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Overnight temperatures falling to the low 20s with daytime temperatures reaching the low to high 20s.
  
  Alert: Large and powerful surf conditions are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, swimming and surfing.
  
  Sunday 9 March
  
  22°C → 28°C
  Rain. Possible heavy falls.
  95% chance of rain
  9 → 80mm
  
  Cloudy. Very high chance of rain. The chance of a thunderstorm. Heavy falls possible. Winds northeasterly 25 to 35 km/h decreasing to 15 to 20 km/h during the evening. Overnight temperatures falling to the low 20s with daytime temperatures reaching the mid to high 20s.
  
  Monday 10 March
  
  21°C → 28°C
  Showers.
  80% chance of rain
  1 → 20mm
  
  Cloudy. High chance of showers. The chance of a thunderstorm inland. Winds northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h becoming light during the evening. Overnight temperatures falling to the low 20s with daytime temperatures reaching the mid to high 20s.
  
  Tuesday 11 March
  
  21°C → 28°C
  Showers.
  80% chance of rain
  0 → 25mm
  
  Showers.
  
  Wednesday 12 March
  
  20°C → 28°C
  Shower or two.
  60% chance of rain
  0 → 9mm
  
  Shower or two.
  
  Thursday 13 March
  
  19°C → 28°C
  Shower or two.
  60% chance of rain
  0 → 5mm
  
  Shower or two.
  
  Forecast data thanks to © Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Alerts

Weather Forecast

Alerts