Goomburra is the northern gateway to Main Range National Park, a section of the Great Dividing Range west of Brisbane where the mountains rise steeply from the Darling Downs and the Fassifern valley. Like its neighbours on the range it belongs to the Gondwana Rainforests, and it is a place of mountain forest, rainforest gullies and dramatic lookouts. Dalrymple Creek flows through the valley, lined with tall eucalypts and rainforest, and the camping area beside it is a favourite of families and walkers.
The road in, Inverramsay Road, leaves the Cunningham Highway near Allora and runs east through farmland into the hills, before climbing on a narrow, winding and partly unsealed road through the forest to the lookouts at Mount Castle and Sylvesters, from where you look down across the escarpment to the Fassifern valley and the distant ranges of the Scenic Rim. The final stretch is steep and narrow, and in wet weather it can be slippery and muddy; check conditions before you go.
Nearby, Cunningham's Gap is the pass through which the Cunningham Highway crosses the range, named after the explorer Allan Cunningham, who found it in 1827 and opened the way for settlers to the Darling Downs. The highway climbs steeply with tight curves through rainforest, and it is popular with riders, though heavy trucks use it too, and accidents are common. Spicers Gap, a little further south, has an old unsealed road used by bullock teams, now a scenic drive through the forest.
The wildlife here is rich: wallabies, possums, many species of birds including satin bowerbirds and the rare eastern bristlebird, and at night, gliders in the trees. Watch for animals on the roads, especially at dawn and dusk. There are no services at Goomburra itself. Allora, about thirty-seven kilometres away, is a small town with fuel and basic shops, and Warwick, further south, is a larger regional town with everything. Kalbar and Boonah, on the eastern side of the range, are also within reach. Summer brings heat and storms; winter nights can be frosty on the Downs, with clear, crisp days that are perfect for riding.