⛰️How to get from Brisbane to the Glass House Mountains
Can you get there without a car?
🟢 Yes, all the way
Yes, the whole way on a flat 50c fare. Train to Glass House Mountains station on the Sunshine Coast line, then Walks and viewpoints start from the township.
The short answer
- 1🚆Train to Glass House Mountains station on the Sunshine Coast line
- 2🥾Walks and viewpoints start from the township
The journey, end to end
2 legs, 1 change. Dashed lines are the parts that aren't public transport.
Thirteen volcanic plugs standing straight out of the plain an hour north, and the best hiking country within reach of the city by train.
What is the Glass House Mountains?
The Glass House Mountains are the eroded cores of volcanoes that stopped erupting around 26 million years ago, left standing when the softer rock around them wore away. Cook named them in 1770; to the Jinibara and Kabi Kabi peoples they are a family group, and Mount Beerwah is the mother.
The township of Glass House Mountains sits on the Sunshine Coast line with the peaks around it. Beerwah, Ngungun and Tibrogargan are the ones people climb, and Ngungun is the one to pick if you want a real summit without technical scrambling.
Why go, and what to see
Mount Ngungun
The most manageable summit, around 90 minutes return, with the best view for the effort
Glass House Mountains Lookout
The postcard view across the whole group, though it is a fair way from the station
Mount Tibrogargan circuit
A base circuit that doesn't require climbing the rock face
Mount Beerwah
The tallest, and a genuine scramble rather than a walk
Every way to get there, compared
Including the ones that aren't public transport, because pretending the car doesn't exist helps nobody.
🚆 Public transport, 1 change
Our pick- 🚆Train to Glass House Mountains station on the Sunshine Coast line
- 🥾Walks and viewpoints start from the township
Time
About 1¼ hr from Central
Cost
50c each way
Best for
Cheapest by a distance, and no parking to find
🚗 Drive
- 🚗69 km from the city centre, about 60 min in normal traffic
Time
about 60 min
Cost
Fuel and parking
Best for
Carrying gear, odd hours, or several people splitting the cost
Usually quicker than the train, and that is worth being honest about. What it costs you is parking, tolls and driving home tired.
When to go
Winter mornings. There is little shade on these tracks and the rock holds heat, so summer afternoons are genuinely unpleasant and occasionally dangerous.
Worth knowing
The station is in the township and the trailheads are several kilometres further on, with no bus between them. Without a car you are looking at a long road walk or a taxi from the station, so this one suits committed walkers rather than casual visitors.
Last service home →
Check your cut-off before you go, not after.
Anything disrupted? →
Live delays and closures across the network.
Live departures →
Times from the station you change at.
See it on the map →
The route drawn across South East Queensland.
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Getting to the Glass House Mountains: quick answers
Can you get to the Glass House Mountains by train?+
You can get to the town by train: the Sunshine Coast line stops at Glass House Mountains station, about an hour from Central for 50 cents. Getting from the station to the actual trailheads and lookout is the hard part, because there is no public transport covering it and the walk is several kilometres on road.
How do you get from Brisbane to the Glass House Mountains without a car?+
Train to Glass House Mountains station on the Sunshine Coast line, then Walks and viewpoints start from the township. Allow about 1¼ hr from Central station. Every leg on the TransLink network is a flat 50 cent fare.
How long does it take to get to the Glass House Mountains from Brisbane?+
About 1¼ hr from Central, door to platform to door, depending on how the connection lands. The planner on this page works it out from where you actually are rather than from the city centre.
How much does it cost to get to the Glass House Mountains?+
A flat 50 cents each way on the TransLink network, however far you travel.
What time is the last service back from the Glass House Mountains?+
It changes by day and by line, and it is the thing that catches people out on a long day trip. Check the last service home tool before you head out so you know your cut-off rather than guessing at the end of the day.