Glass House Mountains

The Glass House Mountains are a popular tourist site in the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. The mountains were named by Captain Cook, who in 1770 thought they looked like glass houses as he sailed along the eastern coast of Australia. The region consists of a flat plain punctuated by volcanic plugs, the cores of extinct volcanoes that formed between 25 million and 27 million years ago.

Most of the Glass House Mountains is now protected and managed by the Queensland government, as part of the Glass House Mountains National Park.

Understand

The Glass House Mountains are:

• Mount Beerburrum
• Mount Beerwah, 555 m – the largest mountain in the range. However, access to the Mount Beerwah summit route has been closed since 2008 due to the erosion and destabilization of some walking tracks, leading to a high risk of rockfall.
• Mount Coochin, 235 m
• Mount Coonowrin, colloquially known as Crookneck, 377 m
• Mount Elimbah, 129 m
• Mount Miketeebumulgrai, 199 m
• Mount Ngungun, 253 m
• Round Mountain
• Mount Tibberoowuccum, 220 m
• Mount Tibrogargan, appearing to be a giant ape, 364 m
• Mount Tunbubudla or the Twins, 312 and 293 m
• Wild Horse Mountain, 123 m

There are three that are on the base of the Glass House Mountains. The first is Beerwah, which is situated north of Glass House Mountains, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Brisbane, and just south of Landsborough. The second is Glass House Mountains, while the third further south is Beerburrum.

History

The Glasshouse Mountains are located in the traditional lands of the Gubbi Gubbi people. The first Europeans to discover the mountains were led by James Cook in 1770 when he was sailing up the East Coast of Australia.

Flora and fauna

The peaks support a diverse range of habitats, including montane heath and shrubland, open forest and woodlands and small rainforest patches on some peaks. The montane heath is particularly rich in threatened and endemic species, many of which can be found nowhere else.

Visitor information centre

• 1 Glass House Mountains Visitor and Interpretive Centre, Bruce Parade, cnr Reed Street Settler's Rotary Park, Glass House Mountains, ☏ +61 7 5458 8848, visit@visitsunshinecoast.com. Daily 9AM–4PM. This place has maps and brochures, including some detailed maps that are unusually not available online. (updated Oct 2021)

Get in

From Brisbane, follow the Bruce Highway (M1) north, take Exit 163 Steve Irwin Way (Tourist Drive 24) and follow the signs to the Glass House Mountains.

From the Sunshine Coast, follow the Bruce Highway (M1) south, take Exit 179 and follow Roys Rd to Beerwah, then head south along Steve Irwin Way.

By train

There is a train station in the heart of Beerwah and the Glass House Mountains township which offers frequent (usually hourly) services. Timetables can be found at the TransLink website.

See

• 1 Glass House Mountains Lookout, Glass House Woodford Rd, Beerburrum. 24/7. It's a bit of a drive to get here, as this lookout is quite a considerable distance from the park and the three population centers in the region. The views from this lookout perched at a higher altitude makes it an ideal spot to see all of the Glass House Mountains, including the twins. (updated Apr 2022)
• Beerburrum and Beerwah State Forests. Several patches of rainforests and eucalypt forests surrounding the region. Getting in the forests is not easy though, but if you still want to see the forest, the forest scenery can be viewed along the Bruce Highway. (updated May 2022)

Do

• The bushwalks/scrambles to the tops of the mountain vary from an easy 30 min walk along a sealed path to a more intense four-hour return journey.
• Mount Beerburrum summit walk. 3.5km return walk. Should take about 1.5 hours to do. It's a little difficult, but the views are worth it. (updated Oct 2021)
• Yul-yan-man track. (updated Oct 2021)

Other

• Roped sports—abseiling and rockclimbing – A full list of where roped sported can be done can be found here.

Eat

• 1 G'House Pizzeria - Pizza, Pasta & Risotto, Glass House Centre, 5/7 Reed St, Glass House Mountains, ☏ +61 7 5438 7799. 4–7:45PM (closed Mondays). (updated Oct 2021)
• Beerwah Seafood, 48 Simpson Street, ☏ +61 7 5494 6565. 
• Bombay Bliss, 50 Simpson Street, ☏ +61 7 5494 6919. Indian cuisine. 

Drink

• Coofee Devine, Mackay-Eungella Road (Pinnacle). 

Sleep

There are no camping areas within Glass House Mountains National Park. The nearest camping spots are in the nearby Beerwah State Forest and the nearest motels/hotels are in either Beerwah or the Glass House Mountains township.

Lodging and motels

• 1 Blackwattle Farm Bed And Breakfast, 123 Old Peachester Road, ☏ +61 7 549 49205, +61 438 112 083 (mobile), enquiries@blackwattlefarm.com.au. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. 
• 2 Beerwah Glasshouse Mountains Motel, 1116 Steve Irwin Way, ☏ +61 7 5496 9900 (Allan), fax: +61 7 5496 9196, enquiries@beerwahmotel.com.au. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. In the Heart of the Glasshouse Mountains.