Emerald Creek Falls is a beautiful waterfall and swimming area near Mareeba, easy to reach from Cairns.
Emerald Creek waterfall stands out from other waterfalls in Cairns and the Tablelands. It has wide, cascading levels and deep swimming spots in a dry, eucalypt area.
This makes it a great place to cool down any time of the year.
Where can you find Emerald Creek Falls?
Emerald Creek Falls is a tiered waterfall in the Dinden West Forest Reserve, close to Mareeba, about 30 kilometers from Cairns.
How to Reach Emerald Creek from Cairns?
Driving from Cairns should take about 1 hour and 15 minutes if traffic is normal.
To get here, drive north on the Captain Cook Highway towards Kuranda, then continue onto the Kennedy Highway. You’ll see some signs for Emerald Creek Falls along the way. The turnoff is at Tinaroo Creek Road, about 10 kilometers past the Davies Creek turnoff.
Follow this road for around 5 minutes until you reach Cobra Road, where you turn left. This is a steep, unpaved dirt road that goes down into the valley onto Emerald Falls Rd, which leads to the car park.
From the car park, there is a walk to the falls.
Emerald Creek Falls Walking Track
From the Emerald Creek Falls car park, it’s a short 1-kilometer walk to the waterfall viewpoint and swimming spots.
As you walk, you’ll see that the area is drier than the nearby rainforest, with eucalyptus trees, small bushes, and large ant mounds along the path.
There are several small swimming spots along the way, fed by the creek and waterfall. If you want a quiet place to swim, take a small turn left off the path and follow the creek.
What You’ll Find at Emerald Creek Falls
About 10-15 minutes after you leave the car park, you’ll see a sign where the path splits. The right path goes to a lookout for the upper waterfall, and the left path leads down to the swimming spots.
If you want a nice view of the top part of the waterfall, it’s worth taking the short 10-minute walk to the top.
At the fork, you can go left and head down, crossing some rocks and a creek before arriving at the lower part of the waterfall. Here, the waterfall flows through three close channels and drops into a deep pool.
The water is deep enough to swim in, making it a great spot to relax and cool off.
Directions to the Emerald Creek Falls car park
