Noosa National Park

Barely 1 km from Hastings Street (past Little Cove), Noosa National Park is essentially a theme park for runners. The 4,000 hectares park is one of Australia’s favorites. Runners might want to visit multiple times to take advantage of the combination of fantastic coastal running and inland trails along undulating terrain through the bush on soft turf.  There is a park map at the entrance which is colour coded for different levels of difficulty, and all the routes are well signposted. There’s a car park at the park, or it can be accessed from Noosa, with an option to use our Hasting Streets 200 stairs route!

The ‘Coastal Walk’ is a popular route along the coast, with great views and options for whale, dolphin, and turtle viewing. It’s 2.7 km from the car park to the rocky headland of Hells Gate. You can do a there and back or mix it up with the inland, undulating Tanglewood track, which is a 7.1 km. loop. The route is well signposted and provides plenty of shade to escape the Noosa sun. Note: When tackling the coastal route, be careful of surfers carrying their boards as the trail does get narrow at times.

Add-Ons/Alternative Routes: There are many km of additional inland trails, some more challenging than others. This map from the Queensland Government has helpful information on the various walk options. If you’s like to run on the sand and conquer some steep stairs you can follow the Coastal Trail and head towards Sunshine Beach where there is a steep set of stairs leading down to the sand.