We’ve visited this area many times and done this trail at least five times now. It’s nice. Short and sweet.
Long enough to feel like you’ve had time out in nature and short enough for a toddler to enjoy. My little guy is 18 months old now and he loves going here.
Here’s how to get to the Mangrove Boardwalk at Coombabah Lakelands Conservation Area. Just click on the “More Option” link in the map below to open the map in a new page and get directions in Google Maps:
This is the shortest walk of all the walks in the Coombabaha Lakelands Conservation Area.
Let’s cover al the usual questions people have before I share pictures and more in-depth info about the trail.
Mangrove Boardwalk Details:
ADDRESS: Shelter Road, Coombabah, Queensland, 4216
OPEN HOURS: 6 am to 6 pm
DISTANCE: About 1 km to the bird hide and back
DOGS ALLOWED: No
PRAM AND WEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
TOILET FACILITIES: No
PICNIC FACILITIES: No
Mangrove Boardwalk Review
The entrance to the trail is in Shelter Road. Gates are open to Shelter Road between 6 am and 6pm.
I usually stop off at the Animal Welfare League first, as it’s in the same road, to drop off any donations that I have.
There’s a small parking area at the entrance, with space for about six cars. If the car park is full, there is more parking along the side of the road but be sure to pull right off the road as there are a lot of big trucks going up and down that road.
Once you park and get out the car, you’ll see the entrance to the trail in front of you, slightly to the right of the parking area.
There’s a sign board at the entrance with a lot of information about the area, the wildlife in the area, and how the trails work in the area. The photo below shows you what this looks like.
Be sure to stop and see what the area has to offer and get an overview of the trails, along with closed off areas as there’s a water treatment plant in the reserve too and you can’t go down certain paths.
The walk starts off with paved road that’s smooth and easy to walk.
My little guy is 18 months old now. I bring the pram with and push him when he doesn’t feel like walking on the trail.
The entire walk is flat, with no big hills or valleys.
And, if you’re lucky, you might even see a kangaroo. We saw this big kangaroo on our way back on the last walk:
About 250m into the walk, you reach the wooded boardwalk and the mangroves. This is a very pretty walk directly to the bird hide.
The boardwalk takes you to a bird hide, where you can watch birds. The birds are quite far away so I suggest bringing binoculars to see them.
The sides of the bird hide are open, so keep an eye on little ones running around. They can easily fall down into the mucky water.
There are no toilet or picnic facilities on this trail, but there are some chairs by the entrance of the bird hide if you need to sit down and catch your breath before making your way back to the car.
And, if you’re lucky, at some point you might even see a koala.
This is the first koala I’ve ever seen in the wild. We were lucky enough to walk past right when it was on the ground making its way to another tree. It got a fright, made a noise as it ran to a tree to race up, and made it very obvious where to find it.
It was quite an exciting visit!
