It’s not often you get an unspoiled natural wonderland in the heart of a city, but Denmark Hill Conservation Reserve in Ipswich Central is an idyllic environmental gem.

This hideaway for nature lovers offers a choice of bush walking loops that range from 200 to 800 metres.

Once you descend the walking tracks amid huge native trees, you completely forget that you’re just a few minutes away from the city’s main streets. It’s a popular place for bird watchers, with owls, kookaburras, wrens, finches, and others making their homes here.

The 11-hectare site was established as a reserve in the 1880s. It features picnic facilities, a nature-based playground, and a totem landscape art feature to recognise the connection and cultural significance to Traditional Owners.

One of the cultural uses was sending communications through smoke signals. The messages would have included arranging meetings, ceremonies, trade and marriage, or seeking permission to enter or traverse through Traditional Lands.

In the 1890s the site gained international fame when Triassic period insect and plant fossils were found. In 1912 a coal seam was found, and the site was mined until about 1950 leading to the reserve now sitting above closed-off mine tunnels. Part of the walking trails follow the former coal-skip tramway.

Please note: public access to the water tower has been closed indefinitely by Queensland Urban Utilities.