About 60km north of Hughenden, is the spectacular Porcupine Gorge National Park. This natural phenomenon features levels of sedimentary rock spanning over hundreds of millions of years. Some even call Porcupine Gorge the “mini Grand Canyon of Australia.”
The walk down isn’t too strenuous, although it is very steep, so coming back up will take a lot more out of you. Be sure to pack lunch, hat, water and swimmers so you can get the most out of your walk down into Porcupine Gorge.
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Porcupine Gorge
We’ve heard this sandstone gorge is sometimes referred to as ‘Queensland’s own mini Grand Canyon.’ We were curious… so we had to check it out.
What is Porcupine Gorge
In essence, Porcupine Gorge is the result of erosion that has removed the hard basalt cap from the flows of lava, revealing a colourful gorge in its wake. Some of the rocks date back to over 600 million years ago!
Porcupine Gorge Lookout
There is a lookout down into Porcupine Gorge, which is the first detour you will find for the National Park after leaving Hughenden.
It’s an easy 200m walk from the car park down a path and well worth the visit. Note that camping is not permitted in this area.
Porcupine Gorge Camping & Gorge Access
If you jump back into your car and drive a further 10km North, you will find the Porcupine Gorge camping area, toilets and access point for getting down into the gorge.
Pyramid Campground Features:
💲 Cost (see table below)
⛺️ Tents, Camper Trailers, Caravans, RVs, Big Rigs
🚻 Toilets
♿️ Wheelchair accessible
🥪 Picnic tables
🔥 Fire pits
🚶🏻 Walking tracks
🌲 National Park
❌ NO pets, drinking water or Telstra reception
| PYRAMID CAMPGROUND FEES | |
|---|---|
| Per Person/ night | $7.25 |
| Per Family/ night – Up to eight people – Children under 5 are FREE | $29.00 |
Book your Porcupine Gorge camping site.
Porcupine Gorge Hike
The walk down from the top of the gorge to the bottom, was only 1.1km. Once you get down there, you’ll find yourself looking around at the towering sandstone cliffs and a cold fresh flowing creek. It’s an absolute oasis in the outback!
Although the walk down is pretty easy, don’t be deceived. It’s a steep track, so coming back up is a lot more work than it looks!
On the face of the massive triangular rock, which you can see from far and wide, is a giant pyramid.
There was an abundance of life down in the gorge, from the plant life growing out of the rocks to the birds, butterflies and lizards. Wallabies and Kangaroos frequent the landscape as well, but you’re more likely to spot them during dusk and dawn.
Remember though, what goes down, must come up! The hot, trek back up the hill felt like about 5km! Mind you, we’d done heaps of exploring down the bottom and were pretty done before we’d even hit the track back up. It was hot and we were all hungry, which didn’t help our energy levels.
When we got back to the car, we checked the workout app on the phone, it turns out we’d done about 8.9km in total for the day (which included the lookout).
So make sure you put your walking shoes on!
Porcupine Gorge Swimming
There is a fair amount of walking around to explore the awesome terrain, rock formations and even a hidden beach at the bottom of the pyramid.
We found plenty of swimming holes along the way, which gave us a nice relief from the heat. Pack a towel, some lunch and plenty of water in your pack so that you can spend a few hours swimming and exploring the various sections.
Porcupine Gorge Location
Porcupine Gorge National Park is in the Flinders Shire of North-West Queensland. It’s about a 60km drive North of Hughenden.
Things to Do Near Porcupine Gorge
Hughenden
The nearest town to Porcupine Gorge National Park is Hughenden. It’s a lovely little town set on the largest river in Queensland, the Flinders River. You will find a FREE RV Camp next to the Showgrounds, where self-contained vehicles can stay for up to a week.
Things to do in Hughenden:
- Dinosaur Trail (Flinders Discovery Centre)
- Water Tank Art
- Historic Coolabah Tree
- Flinders Fossicking Site
- FJ Holden Cafe
- BIG Muttaburrasaurus
Richmond
Richmond is another nearby town with a cheap camp ($5 for 3 nights) within walking distance of the main street. There’s a great lake with fishing, Water Park, BBQs, walking tracks and more. Richmond also forms part of the Dinosaur Triangle.
Things to do in Richmond:
- Kronosaurus Korner
- Lake Fred Tritton
- Cambridge Downs Heritage Display Centre
PORCUPINE GORGE ESSENTIALS
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We’re travelling through Qld in Aug 2023 with our dog… she’s a lazy 12YO black lab and walks on a lead. Are we able to visit Porcupine Gorge when passing through Hughenden (all our stops on the trip are 4 nights/3 days and we’re away from home for 3 months… too long to leave an old dog home. If we have to, we will avoid all National Parks that have the blanket rule: ‘no dogs allowed’. Karla has travelled Australia with us for over 75,000 km and we just avoid places that treat all pet owners as irresponsible. Appreciate if you could advise us of if we can visit your beautiful part of the world (or if there is a workaround like a kennel nearby). Cheers,
It sounds like you’ve got one very well-travelled dog there! Unfortunately, you can’t take dogs to Porcupine Gorge, which I confirmed on the Qld Parks & Forests website. I did a quick google search for “pet sitters Hughenden QLD” and found one available on http://www.pawshake.com.au, so you could go down that route.