Benarkin State Forest Guide
Open grass beside Emu Creek, down a steep gravel road from Blackbutt.
Unofficial operator’s manual
Independent, unofficial, not QPWS · Content reviewed 25 Sep 2026
Book before you drive. A dog can stay overnight at Clancys, on a leash. Emu Creek camp is no dogs. Look at the gravel before you leave the highway. Alerts are on the QPWS page. Check the visiting-safely page the morning you go. A booking from last week is not a promise the camp is open today.
- Clancys · booked
- Dogs on a leash overnight
- Emu Creek · no dogs
- Cold showers at Emu Creek
- Not Peach Trees
- Not a free rail-trail camp
Plan, camp, maps, town bed
Not the national park
This is the state forest, not the national park
Benarkin State Forest is on the Blackbutt Range, about 150 km or two hours north-west of Brisbane. Turn off the D’Aguilar Highway at the Benarkin day-use area, 3.5 km east of Blackbutt, then follow about 16 km of steep winding gravel down to the flats beside Emu Creek. QPWS looks after the camping. Clancys and Emu Creek are both booked and paid. Clancys is open grass beside the creek, with flush toilets, and a dog can stay overnight on a leash. Emu Creek is about 2 km further, with cold showers, and no dogs in that camping area. A leashed dog may use the Emu Creek day-use area. Dogs are not allowed in the rest of the forest. The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail runs through. For the trail, use its own site. Peach Trees is in Jimna State Forest. This site is an unofficial operator’s manual in the State Forest Guide Australia network.
What kind of forest day?
Camp at Clancys
Open grass · dogs on a leash overnight
Beside Emu Creek and the Bicentennial National Trail. Tents and vans. Flush toilets. No showers. Book before you drive.
Emu Creek, 2 km further
Cold showers · no dogs in camp
A separate booking. Tall trees and a large waterhole. Dogs stay out of this camping area. Leashed dogs may use the day-use area.
The gravel down the range
About 16 km · steep after rain
Turn off at the Benarkin day-use area, 3.5 km east of Blackbutt. Visiting safely asks for a 4WD or high-clearance vehicle, with care.
I typed Jimna or Peach Trees
Different forest
Peach Trees is Jimna. A rail trail through Benarkin is not a free camp. This guide is Clancys and Emu Creek.
Best for
A booked grass camp at Clancys with a dog on a leash; Emu Creek if you want cold showers and no dog in camp; a town bed ready if both camps are full on the booking service.
Skip if
You wanted a free camp you can just turn up to; you wanted Peach Trees or Jimna; you need the dog inside the Emu Creek camping area; you will push a steep gravel road after heavy rain in a low car; you need a cabin or a powered site inside the forest.
Featured
Clancys
Clancys is open grass beside Emu Creek. Tents, vans, caravans and motorhomes, with care. Flush toilets. No showers. Dogs on a leash overnight. Not independently walked.
- QPWS permit required · display your booking tag · check-in 2pm · out by 11am
- Dogs on a leash overnight at Clancys · not in the Emu Creek camping area · leash only in the Emu Creek day-use area · not in the rest of the forest
- Camping card: no showers, no picnic tables, no wheelchair access, no generators
- About 16 km of steep gravel from the Benarkin day-use area. Extra care after rain
How long
How long to allow
Half day
Picnic at the Benarkin day-use area beside the highway, among stringybark and ironbark. There is no short signed walk with a distance.
Full day
The gravel down to Emu Creek day-use, 16 km in, if the vehicle and the weather suit the road. Allow the drive back up.
Overnight
Booked Clancys, or booked Emu Creek. Friday Plan B is a town bed if you did not book.
On foot
On foot
Walk the formed logging and service tracks. Stay on the track that is already there. Vehicles and bikes give way to horses and walkers. Walkers give way to horses. The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail runs through the forest. For the trail, use its own site. A night here is still a camp booking.
Benarkin State Forest Guide
Benarkin State Forest Guide downloads
Printable planner and itineraries with the site name on them. Packing, booked Clancys and Emu Creek, half day / full day / overnight. Official QPWS / QFES links on every file.
- Planner — packing, the gravel, dogs at each camp, fires, Friday Plan B
- Itineraries — half day at the day-use areas, full day to the creek, overnight at a booked camp
- Forest mark + www.benarkinstateforest.com.au on every sheet
Free direct download — no email required. Maps · Itineraries · Privacy.
Part of the State Forest Guide Australia network
This unofficial Benarkin State Forest guide is in that network. Not government. Not QPWS. Not a national-park directory.
Browse state forests → stateforestguide.com.au
Sister state forests
FAQ
Is this Jimna or Peach Trees?
No. This page is Benarkin State Forest, Clancys and Emu Creek. Peach Trees is the camp at Jimna State Forest. A Jimna booking does not cover this forest.
Is camping free? Can I turn up?
No. Both camps are booked and paid. QPWS permit, check-in 2pm, out by 11am. Display your booking tag. We do not sell the permit. Book on the Queensland National Parks Booking Service before you drive.
Can I bring a dog?
At Clancys, yes, on a leash overnight. At the Emu Creek camping area, no. A leashed dog is allowed in the Emu Creek day-use area. Dogs are not permitted in the rest of the forest.
How long do I need?
There is no short signed walk with a distance on the QPWS page. Half a day is the picnic area beside the highway, or a look at the gravel and a turn around. A full day is the drive down to the creek and back, if the car suits the road. Overnight means you already booked. If you did not, Friday Plan B is a bed in Blackbutt, Benarkin, Yarraman, Nanango or Toowoomba.
Is this site official?
No. Independent, unofficial, not QPWS. Unofficial operator’s manual in the State Forest Guide Australia network.
Rules and place names come from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Benarkin pages — the forest page, camping, Clancys, Emu Creek, things to do, visiting safely, about, and nature, culture and history — plus the Queensland National Parks Booking Service. Closures and fire: the visiting-safely page, park alerts and QFES. Peach Trees is in Jimna State Forest. The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail has its own site.
Not independently walked. The gravel, the creek and the bookings change. Check parks.qld.gov.au the morning you go. This page can’t tell you the road is clear or that a camp is open today.