Hiking to Spring Creek Falls

It was pretty soon after my move to Port Douglas, Far North Queensland, that I discovered Spring Creek after a recommendation from a friend. It’s a lovely natural water hole to swim in or chill out on the banks. Shortly after my first visit, me and Conor found out that if you drive on a little further, you can hike up the creek and eventually reach a waterfall. Being serial waterfall-chasers we couldn’t wait to give it a go.

For those of you who may wish to do the hike, you need to drive up spring creek road until you see a dirt track on the left. Follow this track up as far as you can, and you’ll see space to park the car. If you then stand facing the creek, you want to go right. The hike isn’t difficult as such, but it involves a fair bit of rock-hopping, and at the end a bit of climbing. You constantly have to re-assess your route, crossing the creek to get to whichever side has the most viable route. For me this keeps the walk interesting, although I wouldn’t recommend doing it in wet weather as the rocks can get slippery. I’ve done the hike twice now, once with Conor, and the second time with my friend Katrina, and both times it took around 1hr45 to get there and 1hr15 to get back.

When you get close to the falls you’ll come to a series of pools where you can stop for a refreshing dip. Towards the end you’ll find that you’re doing rather more climbing than before. It’s not too difficult, but you should definitely take care. When you reach the final pool before the top, you may be fooled into thinking this is the end, as we were the first time. It’s a fab spot for a swim if you have time before reaching the top, and it’s a beautiful place to stop and take it all in, as you catch your breath and prepare for the final climb. The first time I went we enjoyed a picnic and a beer as we sat on the rocks, overlooking the radiant blue water.

The final climb is the hardest – this is largely why we didn’t realise that there was more when we went the first time – we thought that surely we weren’t expected to climb those rocks. This part requires planning and precision, and it can be a little scary as you approach the top of the falls. However when you do, you’ll be rewarded with a stunning waterfall and large deep blue pool to swim in. The water is pretty cold, but you’ll be hot after the walk up, so it’s lovely and refreshing.

I found both times that the walk back felt a little tedious, but it’s all worth it. If you need to cool off again when you get back to your car, it’s only a short drive to Spring Creek for another swim.

I would definitely recommend this hike (in dry season) for a bit of exercise and beautiful natural scenery.