7km south of Kenilworth in the hinterland of Queensland Sunshine Coast, quietly sits a national park that has been set up for everybody that loves the outdoors. Camping areas range from easy access through to areas where you need high clearance 4wds, there are a host of bushwalking trails where you can explore an old gold mine, pristine rain forests, climb a active fire tower or do loops within the park.
The Kenilworth - Maleny road runs right beside Conondale NP and that's a great place to start exploring this hidden gem. Little Yabba Park is a perfect spot to stop before heading bush as there are toilets, plenty of grassed areas beside the Mary River and you can stretch the legs by a walk around the Fig Tree loop trail.
Once settled at camp there are a few options available depending on your level of energy. From all of the camping areas you can start a number of walking trails that range from a few hundred metres to the Conondale Range Great Walk, which is an amazing 56 km loop around the park. You can walk to some unique features including the abandoned gold mine that is apparently full of little bats, there is also a trail to a very strange rock cairn with a fig tree growing out of the top and also a 5.5 km walk to Mount Allan fire tower where you can climb to the top for 360' views of the area. The fire tower walk is hit and miss due to weather conditions and the height of the mountain, some days clear but on our day it was terribly misty and foggy.
