Byfield National Park
It’s AWESOME!
Why did I not know about Byfield National Park until now? This place is seriously underrated and I would love to come back and camp here for a week.
Byfield National Park is around one hours drive from North Rockhampton, or 30 minutes drive north of Yeppoon. You will absolutely need a 4WD through the National Park section.
If you are only visiting the State Forest section, although some of the roads are unsealed, it’s still manageable in a standard vehicle.
Why is Byfield National Park Awesome?
Well… you can drive on the beach, slide down sand dunes and do some proper sandy track 4WDing.
When you are sick of sand in your bathers, head on over to the state forest for a dip in an extremely picturesque creek.
There is no charge for driving the tracks here either. This means that unless you decide to camp, a day trip cost nothing but fuel and a pre-packed lunch.
Highlights of Byfield National Park
4WD Action
Driving the Stockyard Point Track through to the beach is a lot of fun. As someone who suffers from motion sickness fairly easily, I felt a bit ill by the time we reached the beach.
Jason had a huge smile on his face and both kids screamed ‘weeeeeeeeeeee’ and ‘boing’ excitedly over every bounce.
A high clearance 4WD and some experience is recommended for this one. Expect one lane sandy tracks with limited visibility and limited pull over bays.
Beach Driving
The beach driving here feels similar to Rainbow Beach/Inskip Point but it’s slightly less picturesque.
We visited in winter school holidays (still warm enough for shorts and shirts during the day) and saw only one other vehicle on the beach.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on the tide!
The Sand Blows
This is where it gets really fun!
There are two well known sand blows, The Orange Bowl and The Queen Mary. Tide times meant that we only visited The Orange Bowl. It’s easy to drive past the walk in entrance so keep your eyes peeled for the small sign announcing it’s existence as you drive along the beach.
Make sure you take something to slide down on and also plenty of water. It’s thirsty work walking up the dunes, especially when carrying a kid with tired legs. The view looking back over towards the ocean is worth the huffing and puffing, as is the slide back down.
Upper Stony Creek
This creek is picture perfect and you can camp right near it! There is a large well maintained grassy area for day visitors as well as a few good walking tracks ranging from 900 metres to four kilometres.
Take a dip or just find a secluded rock and do some turtle spotting.
The Camping
There are six very different camping areas spread over Byfield National Park and State Forest. Check out the Queensland Government Department of National Parks Camping in Byfield page for more details and how to book.
You will need to get in early during school holidays and be self sufficient.
The Walking/Hiking Tracks
The short walk around upper stony creek and into the orange bowl can be managed by young kids with a bit of help. You might need to carry them on your shoulders or in a carrier for longer walks.
Older kids will have no problems here at all with the majority of the longer walks being suitable for beginners with a moderate to good level of fitness.
The Byfield General Store
This seems like an odd highlight. However, this small store has a HUGE personality which includes a cafe capable of serving up the best homestyle burgers in Queensland.
There is a lovely undercover eating area on the verandah as well as picnic tables out on the grass. It’s the perfect place to stop for lunch when switching between the national park and the state forest.
Visiting Byfield National Park and State Forest With Kids
Byfield National Park and State Forest is a fantastic place to visit with kids. It’s particularly awesome if you are craving a camping and outdoors type holiday or day trip.
If visiting the beach, there are sand dunes to slide down, sand to play in and of course, there’s the ocean. If visiting the state forest side, the creek has walking tracks and is perfect for skimming stones into.
Basically, it’s a whole lot of nature!
At the ages of two years and four years, both my kids had a really great time visiting Byfield National Park. According to them, the highlights were sliding down the sand dunes and throwing rocks in the creek.
Where to next?
Resources for booking your family getaway to Central Queensland
Tickets
- Transfers to Great Keppel Island can be booked >>HERE<<
- Get your Capricorn Cave Tour Tickets >>HERE<<
- Jump on board your Keppel Island Sailing Cruise >>HERE<<
- Book your Keppel Island Snorkel Tour >>HERE<<
Accommodation
- The NRMA Yeppoon Holiday Park is amazing, particularly for those with kids as it features an outdoor movies theatre, giant water slide, jumping pillows, other fun stuff. If camping the bathrooms are clean and if not, the bungalows are wonderful!
- If you want to stay right near the Capricorn Caves, I recommend the Capricorn Caves Bungalows.
- For Rockhampton, I recommend the Empire Apartment Hotel or the Rockhampton Discovery Parks.
- If staying on Great Keppel Island, I recommend the Great Keppel Island Holiday Village.
- Byfield National Park camping information can be found here.
Getting to Central Queensland
Car Hire
Compare car prices across major brands >>here<<
Flights
Search for the best deal using I Want That Flight or Trip.com
Public Transport
Public transport to Rockhampton is limited to Trains and Buses from major capital cities. Research and book your options >>HERE<<
Want to discover more awesome places?
For more information on visiting Central Queensland, check out our Central Queensland page for family travel.
For inspiration on more destinations, head on back to the home page!
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