West of Brisbane, the Great Dividing Range rises as a dark wall above the plains, and Gilbert State Forest sits on its western slopes, where the rainforest of the escarpment gives way to drier eucalypt woodland and the farmland of the Darling Downs. To the east lies Main Range National Park, with its high peaks and steep cliffs; to the west, the land opens out towards Warwick and the wide grain fields beyond.
Getting here is a pleasure in itself. The Cunningham Highway climbs over the range at Cunningham's Gap, a well-graded road with sweeping bends and a short, steep section through rainforest at the top, before descending onto the Downs. It is a busy route with trucks and caravans, so the smaller roads around Goomburra, Emu Vale and the foothills are more appealing. These lanes wander through farmland and forest, with some gravel stretches and sharp corners. The weather can be very different on each side of the range: misty and wet on the eastern scarp, sunny and dry on the Downs. Winter mornings can be frosty on the high ground, and kangaroos are a constant hazard around dawn and dusk.
Cunningham's Gap is named after Allan Cunningham, the botanist and explorer who found the pass in 1827, opening up the rich pastures of the Darling Downs to European settlement. Warwick, the main town nearby, grew as a pastoral centre and is known for its handsome sandstone buildings and its long-running rodeo. The traditional owners of this land include the Githabul and other Aboriginal groups, whose connections to the range go back thousands of years.
The forests of the range are part of the Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage site, with ancient plants and animals such as the Albert's lyrebird. In the drier woodlands you might spot wallabies, echidnas and a variety of parrots. The views from the escarpment lookouts stretch across the Fassifern Valley to the coastal ranges on a clear day.
There are no services in the state forest itself. Warwick, about thirty-five kilometres away, is the nearest town of any size, with fuel, food and accommodation. Boonah and Kalbar on the eastern side are smaller but have fuel and cafés. Carry water and plan your fuel stops carefully, especially if you intend to explore the gravel roads.