Quietly, without much fanfare, one of Australia’s most ambitious trail projects has opened its first stretch on the coast north of Cairns. Stage one of the Wangetti Trail now links Palm Cove to Ellis Beach: 7.8 kilometres of dual-use track for walkers and mountain bikers, threading the country between the beaches and the ranges. It’s the first taste of what’s planned as a roughly 94-kilometre walking and riding route all the way to Port Douglas.
We’ve been watching this one for years. Here’s what’s open, what it’s like, and what’s coming.
The stage one facts
The open section runs between Palm Cove and Ellis Beach, built as a shared trail for hikers and mountain bikes, and it opened to the public in 2024 per the Queensland parks service’s project updates. It’s free, no bookings needed for a day walk or ride, and the trailheads bookend two of the coast’s most pleasant places to start or finish anything (one has day spas, the other has a beach bar; plan accordingly).
Expect genuine tropical trail conditions: heat, humidity and sun exposure on open sections. The local playbook applies: start early, carry more water than feels necessary, and make it a one-way trip with a swim at the end. In stinger season, that swim means the netted enclosures; our stinger season guide has the details.
Why this trail matters
The full Wangetti Trail is planned to run from Palm Cove to Port Douglas along one of the most scenic coastlines in the country, crossing the range country inland of the beaches with eco-camps along the way, positioning it as a genuine multi-day walk and ride experience, the kind that puts regions on international adventure itineraries. The Queensland Government’s project page currently indicates the full trail is expected to be operational around 2028, with construction continuing section by section (dates on projects like this do move, so treat that as a guide).
For now, stage one makes a brilliant half-day: ride it as an out-and-back, or walk it one way with a car at each end. Combine it with Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures at Wangetti and you’ve built a full northern day without touching the highway’s far end.
The facts, from the government sources
Stage one opened on Wednesday 25 September 2024 and runs 7.8 kilometres from the Palm Cove jetty to Ellis Beach. It is a two-way shared track for walkers and mountain bike riders, and the rule is that hikers have right of way. The full project is planned at 94 kilometres at a cost of $47.1 million, which includes $8 million from the Australian Government National Tourism Icons Program.
Where the rest of it is up to
Worth being straight about this. The 2024 opening statement said the full 94 kilometres was on track to be completed in 2026. As at September 2026, the Queensland Parks page still lists the open section as Palm Cove to Ellis Beach. So stage one is what you can walk today, and anything you read promising the whole thing this year has not been updated. We will change this page when the parks page changes.
What it costs
There is no entry fee published for the trail. It is a public track, you park and you walk. Camping is not permitted anywhere along it, so this is a day-use trail rather than an overnight one.
How to actually do it
7.8 kilometres one way means 15.6 kilometres if you walk back, which is a serious day in far north heat and not what most people have in mind when they set out from Palm Cove. The sensible version is to arrange a lift, a second car or a taxi from Ellis Beach, or to walk out as far as you feel like and turn around. Start early. There is very little shade on the exposed sections and the afternoon sun on that coast is relentless. Carry more water than you think you need, because there is nowhere to refill between the two ends.
Safety, straight
Queensland Parks lists three warnings for this trail and they are not decoration. Estuarine crocodiles are present in the waterways and along the coastal margins of this area: do not enter the water, do not walk close to the edge of creeks or the mangrove line, and keep children and dogs away from the water entirely. Cassowaries live in this country: if you meet one, do not approach it, do not feed it, do not run, and put something solid like a tree between you and it while you back away slowly. Water levels can rise rapidly in creeks after rain, and a crossing that looked fine on the way out can be dangerous on the way back. Check the park alerts page before you go. At the time of writing there were no current alerts for this trail.
Mountain biking it
The track is built for both hiking and riding, and the shared-use etiquette matters on a two-way trail with blind corners on a headland. Riders give way to walkers, call early, and slow right down through the pinch points. On a busy Sunday morning out of Palm Cove it can be a lot busier than the photos suggest.
Why it is worth doing anyway
Because it is the first piece of a trail that will eventually run most of the way to Port Douglas, and because the country between Palm Cove and Ellis Beach is the good stuff: headlands, beaches you cannot reach by car, and views down the coast that you otherwise only get from the window of a moving vehicle on the Captain Cook Highway. Do the first few kilometres and you will understand what the other 86 are for.
FAQs
Is the Wangetti Trail open? Stage one is: 7.8 km between Palm Cove and Ellis Beach, open to walkers and mountain bikers. The full route to Port Douglas is under construction, currently expected around 2028.
How hard is the Palm Cove to Ellis Beach section? Moderate by tropical standards: real climbs, real sun, honest distance. Fit walkers take a half day one-way; mountain bikers ride it comfortably as an out-and-back. Water and early starts are non-negotiable.
Do you need to book? Not for a day walk or ride on stage one. Future stages with eco-camps will introduce bookings for overnight use.
Where do you park? At either end: Palm Cove or Ellis Beach. The one-way walk with a car at each end (or the local bus back down the coast road) is the comfortable option.
Header photo: Bahnfrend via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
