A twenty-metre wall of volcanic rock directly across the river from the CBD, floodlit after dark, with climbing routes on the face and a parkland promenade at the base. One of the few places in an Australian capital where you can abseil within sight of the city towers.
The Kangaroo Point cliffs are the most distinctive piece of landscape in inner Brisbane — a sheer face of volcanic rock rising from the river's edge, quarried in the nineteenth century for the stone that built much of the early city, and now one of its busiest recreational spots. Access to the parkland, the walks and the lookouts costs nothing.
The cliffs are Brisbane tuff — a volcanic rock formed from compacted ash, roughly 230 million years old. The vertical face is not natural: it is the result of quarrying from the 1820s onwards, and the stone went into buildings across the early settlement.
What the quarrying left behind is a clean, near-vertical wall about twenty metres high running several hundred metres along the river. That is why the climbing is here — a purpose-built crag by accident, ten minutes from the middle of a capital city.
The cliffs carry a large number of bolted climbing routes across the full range of difficulty, and they are floodlit at night, which makes evening climbing a genuine Brisbane thing rather than a novelty.
Commercial operators run guided abseiling and climbing sessions with all technical equipment provided, which is how most visitors do it — no experience needed, and the descent is over the edge with the CBD in front of you. Independent climbers use the crag freely, and it is busy on cool evenings.
These are third-party operators working under permit rather than Cooee experiences. Minimum ages and weight limits apply and vary between them, so check at booking.
The riverside promenade at the foot of the cliffs is flat, sealed and one of the better short walks in Brisbane. It runs between the Story Bridge and the Goodwill Bridge, linking Howard Smith Wharves at one end to South Bank at the other.
The whole loop — over one bridge, along the cliffs, back over the other — takes about an hour at a comfortable pace and takes in the CBD skyline, the river and both bridges. It is free, level, and one of the things we most often suggest to visitors with a spare morning.
The clifftop lookouts along River Terrace are the reason photographers come. You are level with the middle of the CBD towers, looking across the water with the Story Bridge to the right.
It is the best accessible view of the city that does not involve driving to Mount Coot-tha — and unlike Mt Coot-tha, it is close enough to walk to from the CBD. Twenty minutes after sunset is the window, when the buildings light up and the sky still holds colour.
The top is reached by road, by stairs from the base, or on foot along River Terrace. The stairs are steep; the road approach is level.
The clifftop parkland runs along River Terrace with barbecues, picnic tables and lawn. It is a popular spot for an evening with a view, and it fills on weekends.
Below, the parkland continues along the river with more picnic areas and the promenade. The Kangaroo Point peninsula behind holds the residential streets, cafes and the Holman Street ferry terminal.
The easiest approach is the CityCat or CityHopper to Holman Street, which lands you at the northern end near the Story Bridge — 50 cents under Queensland's flat fare, and the free CityHopper covers the inner-city stops.
On foot from the CBD, cross the Goodwill Bridge at the southern end or come down from the Story Bridge at the northern. Both take about fifteen minutes from the city centre.
Parking along River Terrace is limited and competitive at sunset.
Cooee Tours acknowledges the Turrbal and Yuggera (Jagera) peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which Brisbane stands. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.
The cliffs and the Story Bridge sit together on our Brisbane city days. Family owned and operating in South-East Queensland since 1974.
Plan a Brisbane dayMore on the area itself in our Kangaroo Point neighbourhood guide.