Purling Brook Falls Springbrook National Park
Table of Contents
If you’re travelling along the Gold Coast in Australia and looking for an awesome thing to do, then you need to visit the Purling Brook Falls. This epic waterfall is located in the UNESCO heritage site – Gondwana rainforest of Springbrook National Park which is an absolutely stunning place to visit on the Gold Coast. All you need to do is park up in the carpark there and hike down through the rain-forest. There is some amazing National Parks in Australia. We got to see some epic ones on our Sydney to Melbourne drive itinerary. A roadtrip around Australia is one of the best things to do in Australia!
When you’re visiting the Brook Falls, it’s also worth making a trip around the Springbrook National Park to explore some of its awesome things to do such as the natural bridge and the Springbrook lookout. You can wander around this awesome place and take plenty of Instagram worthy photographs. If you’re hungry, you can also check out the Purling Brook cafe to get some tasty home-cooked food. If you like this post you will love the Wentworth Falls travel guide.
Check out this Sydney to Cairns itinerary for some more epic places to visit.
Okay, let’s look at what’s included in this post for you;
- Where is Purling Brook Waterfall
- Springbrook National Park weather
- How long does the Purling Brook Waterfalls take
- Safety
- Swimming in the waterfall
- Warringa Pool
- Bilbrough Falls
- Purling Brook accommodation
- Final thoughts
Where is Purling Brook watefalls?
You will have to travel up high on the Springbrook Plateau and it’s a stunning drive. If you’re travelling to the Gold Coast City, you will have to drive for around 50-minutes to reach the Purling Brook Falls car park, which is on the Park Forestry Road Springbrook.
It’s an easy drive and you will love it when the weather in the falls Springbrook National Park is good.
Check out the Purling Brook Watefall map below from Google:
Also if you’re hungry, there is the Purling Brook cafe which is located at the Purling Brook carpark entrance.
Purling Brook Waterfall Weather
The weather in Springbrook National Park will either make or break a lot of people’s trip to this awesome National Park in Australia.
So, if you’re planning a break here then make sure to check out the weather before you visit. We all love the sun (well most of us) and you won’t the sun to be shinning during your time doing any Springbrook National Park walks.
I have just shared the live weather in the link above so you can plan your awesome trip.
The Falls Springbrook National Park tips
You may have heard about the Purling Brook Falls death in which tourists are putting their lives at risk to take selfies whilst at the top of the Purling Brook waterfall.
Yes, it’s an amazing view but there is no way on earth you should be risking your life to take a photo.
Please don’t fall into this trap of trying to take Instagram worthy photos from dangerous positions. You can take awesome photos without going near the edge of the waterfall.
Another point to remember is swimming at the bottom of the falls. If you have young children that are playing in the pool, then make sure to keep an eye on them at all times. The water levels can change with the weather.
have you thought about checkout out Ebor Falls in NSW?
How long does the purling brook falls walk take?
#Purling Brook Falls walk circuit
The purling Brook hike is roughly a 5km circuit from start to finish and if you take your time it could easily take you over 90-minutes to do the full circuit. We are fast hikers and did it in about 60-minutes with a short break at the waterfall.
When you embark on the hike from the Purling Brook entrance car park, you have two options to either turn left or turn right. If you follow the path right, this will take you directly to the lookout. However, if you turn left you will have to wait till the end of the circuit (this is what we did).
Side Note – You should check out my best things to do in Cairns post.
During the trek you will get to see so many different species and some some cool birds. As you would of expect with a rain-forest, the different species of wild insects make this forest very loud, But, it’s cool to walk through and listen to the noise of the bugs and birds that live here!
The falls of Purling Brook hike is humid walk and you will be walking through the Springbrook Rainforest. So, it’s essential you wear suitable footwear.
The Rainforest is awesome and you can get plenty of cool pics while you are there.
Also, there is no entrance fee to the Purling Brook Waterfall.
Swimming in Purling Brook waterfall
You maybe be wondering if you can swim at the base of Purling Brook Falls, the answer yes you can. After you do the trek through the rainforest, swimming in the falls is an awesome way to cool down.
The weather does get hot and sticky so swimming in Purling falls is a great place to spend a couple of hours swimming and relaxing. Also, we had our dinner here as we took sandwiches and drinks down.
Warringa Pool
Have you thought about visiting Warringa Pool in the National park?
If you’re doing the Purling Brook hike then you might as well checkout this awesome natural pool.
How to get to Warringa Pool?
You will have to complete a 2km return walk. But once you have reached the pool, you will be glad you made the trek through the epic rainforest. Along the way you will have some top photograph opportunities. Then, once you arrive at the Warringa Pool you can have a swim to cool down from the heat.
Don’t forget your swimming shorts!
Bilbrough Falls (Goomoolahra Falls)
If you’re visiting Springbrook National Park, then you should definitely check out the Bilbrough Falls whilst you’re there.
To get to the Bilbrough Falls you will have to embark on a small walking track. This will lead you to the Bilbrough Falls viewing platform.
From the viewing platform you will have amazing views of the Bilbrough Falls as well as views of the Gold Coast in Queensland’s southeast.
There is parking available so you can leave your car or campervan on there while you do the short hike.
Where is the Bilbrough falls?
It’s located in the Springbrook National Park, you can see the exact location on the Google Map below:
Purling Brook Falls Accommodation
If you want to stay overnight or even have a few days break, there is accommodation available in Springbrook National Park. And you can find places to stay near the Purling Brook waterfall like the guesthouse. Some of them have amazing views that overlook the National Park and it’s an amazing place to wake up in the morning.
The prices of the hotels and homestays vary depending on your budget. Let’s have a look at some of the best places to stay in Springbrook national park;
Final Throughts
The Purling Brook waterfall walk and swimming is an awesome thing to do in this Gold Coast National Park. If you’re passing the National Park then I highly recommend making the trip!
We just parked our campervan in the Purling Brook car park and then spent the next 1-2 hours enjoying the views of the UNESCO heritage Rainforest and checking out the awesome waterfall.
If you’re travelling around Australia, check out the best things to do in Byron Bay on your adventures!