Reaching the top of The Pyramid in Girraween National Park is an incredible feeling and it’s one of the best hikes I’ve done in a long time. However, it is also the most nervous I’d been about a hike in a long time. Once you hit the slopes of the Pyramid, you will be following white markers up a sheer granite rockface, which can be unnerving, if (like me) you have a healthy dose of fear that you might slip.
I wasn’t sure I’d make it to the top before I started, but I ended up absolutely loving this hike despite my initial reservations. As long as you go on a dry day the rock is as grippy as it gets, and once you let go and trust your feet it’s so much fun. We headed up for sunset which was a truly beautiful time to be up there and made the hike even more memorable.
In the trail notes below I will take you through exactly what to expect, including what some of the exposed sections are like, from the point of view of someone that was nervous about it.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Pyramid hike in Girraween.
The Pyramid hike, Girraween
The stats
Distance: 4km return (or 4.4km loop with Granite Arch)
Elevation gain: 230m
Difficulty: Moderate - hard, very steep
What to expect and how scary the trail is
The first 2km of the trail up to the Pyramid (less if you don’t want to do the circuit to include Granite Arch) are on a well formed bush track. It does go uphill, including a series of fairly steep stairs, but it’s all on a good path.
The last 400m are spent climbing up the granite rockface, before you reach a small scramble to the top. The trail up the rockface is steep, sometimes exposed and should only be attempted in dry conditions and preferably with low wind.
In dry conditions, the rock on the climb to the top of the pyramid is incredibly grippy. However, if you have a fear of heights it will still be unnerving. It is very steep, though there are places you can stop to rest along the way - beside large rocks or rock walls, which offer a break and help you feel less exposed.
There was one very small (couple of metres) section where you don’t have to use your hands, but you might want to (on the way up, on the way down you can’t really use your hands) and this bit feels a bit more exposed.
This was the only bit of the descent where I felt uncomfortable, though when you trust your feet on the rock you’ll see it’s ok.
Though I normally find ascending steep tracks easier than descending, this one was probably about the same - but only when I fully embraced trusting the rock. Having said that Joe much preferred ascending and didn’t really enjoy the descent, so we had a role reversal on this one!
Make sure you pick a dry day because the rock will be slippery if wet. If you’re really nervous, it’s also worth noting that granite is at its most (exceedingly) grippy when cold, so you could also start early in the day if it will give you that extra confidence boost.
If you’re not sure about the hike and want to get an idea for if you’d like it, try nearby Bald Rock first. This too has a rockface to climb, but it’s much easier.
Bald Rock will give you a taste of what the Pyramid is like without it being too challenging (just be prepared that the Pyramid is a step up in difficulty). It’s also a fab hike in its own right so you won’t regret allocating it some extra time.
It’s also worth noting you don’t have to complete the whole Pyramid walk for some epic views, we saw a lot of people go up the first section to the Pyramid Passage (you can see where this is in the trail notes below) and turn around as they didn’t like the look of the exposure on the next section.
And counter to this, some people will find the whole climb easy as the rock is so grippy, so it’s always hard to say exactly how difficult something is.
Starting the trail
From the car park (details below), you begin on wide gravel path before quickly hitting a flat rocky surface. From here you get a great view of the Pyramid poking out above the tree line in the distance.
You’ll cross over a couple of little stone bridges (200m into the walk) and 30m later reach a junction.
You can either follow the signpost for the Pyramid directly, or make a left turn which allows you to add on the full Granite Arch loop. This adds on 400m and is what we chose to do.
However, you could also see Granite Arch by continuing following the trail leading directly to the Pyramid and then branching left at the sign to see the arch, which is a slightly quicker route - either way you’re only adding on a short distance and it’s well worth seeing.
Granite Arch
The Granite Arch detour
At the 230m mark, at the signpost, we’d recommend turning left so that you can do the full circuit. The well maintained path heads through the bush and it’s mainly flat before you hit a gentle incline and then a few stairs just before you reach the arch.
No one seems to do this little section, so it was very peaceful despite the fact we visited in the Queensland school holidays when the park was very busy.
Just 700m after leaving the car park you’ll reach Granite Arch. Giant boulders have settled into an unusual formation which acts as a doorway, it’s almost like something you might expect to see in Alice in Wonderland.
The way the huge top boulder sits on top of the other two looks like it must have been placed there, but it’s definitely the act of Mother Nature.
Stone steps lead up through the arch before the path winds round to more rock formations. None are quite like Granite Arch, but there are clusters you can climb up if you have time to spare.
After you pass through the arch the track begins heading downhill and reaches the junction with the Pyramid track at the 1km mark.
You’re now just 1.2km from the summit, which feels surprising as you’ve barely gone uphill yet!
Reaching the base of the Pyramid
At the junction you’ll head left and the next 300m along the bush track are all flat. You’ll then have a 100m gentle uphill stretch on a good gravel track.
From here (1.4km in) you hit the stairs. Though there are some small flat bits, for the most part the next 550m is uphill on stone steps.
It’s relatively steep, but the stairs are in great condition and you pass a few cool balancing boulders along the way.
You’ll reach the base of the Pyramid 1.95km from the car park (less if you didn’t turn off to see Granite Arch). There’s a warning sign here indicating the trail conditions are about to change.
If you walk even a little way up the granite you will get some great views, so I would say it’s worth coming up even if you think you won’t climb to the top.
The climb up the rockface begins
From the warning sign just before you hit the rock slab, to a part of the climb that feels very steep is around 100m. From here you will have approximately 70m of steep rock to climb.
After this you have another 20-30m where there is a rock wall running up towards the rock chute (the Pyramid Passage) you are aiming for next.
However, the white paint splashes that mark the best way up the rock don’t follow that line. Whether you follow the markers or prefer to hug the rock wall is up to you.
I do think following the white marks feels more exposed (because it’s not near the rock wall), but is actually grippier and easier than following the rock wall. However, the rock wall can offer that feeling of being less exposed.
You then have a short stretch of steep rock which sits inbetween two rock walls - the Pyramid Passage. The feeling of exposure disappears completely here, but it’s still steep and the path is not that narrow, so it’s not like you’re wedged in.
At the end of the chute you have to climb up a couple of boulders and here you’ll reach one of the natural turnaround points if you’re not loving it and don’t want to go all the way to the top - the view is terrific from here.
Reaching Balancing Rock
Once you’ve climbed the boulders at the end of the Pyramid Passage, you can take one of two routes: left along a traverse beside a drop, or along a back route behind the rocks which is a bit bushy and has no feeling of exposure.
In honesty, it’s just a few metres and the traverse is easy, but if it does in any way make you feel uncomfortable you will probably prefer that slightly set back option.
Once you’ve done the traverse, you will reach what I think is the steepest, most exposed part of the walk. It’s only a very short section, perhaps a couple of metres.
It’s beside some giant rocks and as you reach it, you’ll feel it’s slightly different, requiring a little more of a leg stretch and possibly your hands depending on confidence. The photo below doesn’t really do it justice, but it feels more exposed and steeper than any part of the trail so far.
Honestly, it wasn’t bad on the way up, but this is the only part of the trail I hesitated on when descending - the curve of the rock feels a little more steep here and you can see the drop below.
However, after deciding to trust my feet, I was fine getting down because in reality it’s just as grippy as any other spot.
You have a touch more easy uphill to go before you see Balancing Rock off to your left (just over 2.3km into the trail). This is the most famous feature in Girraween and the one you’ll see on all the promo posters.
It’s not hard to see why, it’s another unlikely phenomenon where giant rocks perch on the edge of an otherwise bare cliff face.
They’re fun to see and photograph and if you walk behind them (there’s a large flat area) you get a great view of the second pyramid.
Some people do walk to this one, but it’s off track and significantly harder, requiring scrambling experience.
The top of the Pyramid
From Balancing Rock, it’s a short but easy scramble up to the top of the Pyramid. It’s a little more climbing, but no exposure.
You’ll then be treated to some of the most spectacular views in the area - my favourite to date, though we have more hikes on our list for Girraween!
The summit is large and tiered, with plenty of room to sit and relax. As we hiked for sunset we had it to ourselves for a while which was incredible.
The sun sets directly behind the main view and offers a gorgeous glow over the boulder studded landscape.
It is absolutely beautiful and a hard spot to leave. We decided to walk down a little earlier than we would have liked to allow us to finish the rockface part of the descent in the twilight.
Happily you get some wonderful views on the way down too so we didn’t feel like we missed any of the sunset in the way that we did on nearby Bald Rock.
The descent
Unlike Bald Rock - where you have a bush track as an alternate descent route to the rockface - you follow the same route down the Pyramid. I thought it was going to be pretty hard, but when you really trust your feet on the rock, it isn’t.
I surprised myself by running down parts of it, which made me feel like a kid again! If you are nervous then I would recommend turning sideways to edge your way down slowly.
Although it’s often a favourite of mine, I don’t actually recommend sliding down on your bum for this one. I did try that early on and it felt really insecure.
I much preferred being up on my feet on this trail.
When you get to the final descent after the rock chute, I would recommend following the white markers. Though the rock wall gives you the feeling of security, the rock underfoot is better where the markers are in my opinion.
If you’re heading down after sunset, watch out for all the kangaroos and wallabies on the second half of the track, they were really cute and surprisingly not shy.
Parking for and getting to the Pyramid track
The closest car park for the Pyramid is the Girraween Day Use car park which has plenty of parking spaces, as well as toilets, BBQs and picnic benches.
It’s 35km and a 30 minute drive from Stanthorpe (QLD) and 38km and a 35 minute drive from Tenterfield (NSW). If you’re coming from Brisbane there are more driving details with two possible routes here.
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