The Yul-yan-man track is one of the newest hikes in the Glasshouse Mountains. The hike is often described as challenging and difficult, with rock scrambling on both ends. It can easily make someonbeere wonders how hard the Yul-yan-man track is.
Reading the descriptions and some comments, I wasn’t sure if I’d be fine doing it. I’m scared of heights (but I’ve worked hard to manage it!) and I don’t like rock-climbing – at least without ropes. I had a lovely afternoon hiking the Yul-yan-man track, but it surely isn’t for everybody.
Summary
Distance: 13.4 km
Time: 4-5 hours
Difficulty: moderate
My experience and tips should help you decide if the Yul-yan-man track is a good choice for you.
Disclaimer: The hiking time and difficulty are based on our experience. We are experienced hikers with a good level of fitness, used to hiking long distances and scrambling. We possess good navigation skills and use a Garmin watch* with a GPS navigation map. Always check the park alerts and notes, as trail conditions change over time, which may affect the hike’s level of difficulty.
Who will find the Yul-yan-man track be difficult
People will have different opinions about the Yul-yan-man track. Many experienced hikers will say it’s not particularly difficult. The path is easy to find and the hike isn’t long. It requires efforts to go up and a good balance (don’t do it with a sore knee or ankle!), but you don’t need to be a crazy risk-taker adventurer to finish it.
Still, the Yul-yan-man track can be challenging – and maybe even scary – for those who are not used to scrambling or are scared of heights. You will need your hands to get up there. There’s no climbing involved, but there were a couple of times when I felt the adrenaline (and a bit of vertigo) kicking in! If you don’t feel like going up or down the steep rock face, you can leave from Beerburrum and turn around just before it gets too steep.
The Yul-yan-man track can be dangerous when it’s wet. Make sure you take the weather forecast into consideration before planning this hike (and most hikes in the Glasshouse Mountains). You can check the BOM website to find out if it has rained in the past 24 hours. But heavy rain would make the path slippery for longer than that.
Why you should hike the Yul-yan-man track (or not)
Don’t do it for the views
If you’re only after great views, you may want to consider another hike. Don’t get me wrong: the Yul-yan-man track does provide great views of the Glasshouse Mountains. However, the views are blocked by trees for most of the hike.
If you start from the Mount Tibrogargan car park., you’ll get the best views early when you reach the crest, soon after the steep rock face. You’ll also get excellent views from the Jack Ferris lookout on the Trachyte Circuit – from lower and closer, but with fewer efforts.
Do it if you want a fun hike
We often find walking tracks a bit too easy with too many developments like stairs or an even path, or too hard with not enough navigation signs for instance. Yul-yan-man is perfectly in between (a bit like Mount Maroon) and not too long. You do need to be prepared for this hike, but it’s not a challenging expedition that will take you the full day. It makes it very easy to organise.
How long does it take to hike the Yul-yan-man track
The sign at the Beerburrum start of the Yul-yan-man track indicates a 3-4 hour hike return. From Tibrogargan car park, you’ll have to hike a bit on the Trachyte Circuit so they recommend allowing 4-5 hour return. For other hikes, we usually take the time recommended. So I was very surprised not to match it this time.
In the local indigenous language, Yul-yan-man means « walk slowly ». We followed this name quite literally walking from Beerburrum to Tibrogargan, all the way to Jack Ferris Lookout on the Trachyte Circuit – so a little bit further than the actual Yul-yan-man track. We took many breaks to admire the views, explored every detour possible to the lookouts, stopped for a while for photos and had a long lunch break. With no efforts to speed up, it took us three hours one way to reach the Trachyte Circuit. We returned to the Beerburrum car park in two hours, with a quick pace and short breaks only.
I wouldn’t have enjoyed my first visit if I had to do the return walk in 3-4 hours as the sign indicated.
We hiked on a cool winter day, and we got hot going up. Plus, there isn’t much shade on the ridge, so if you’re planning this hike on a hot day, you may want to reconsider or leave early in the morning and have plenty of water.
Should you start from Beerburrum or Tibrogargan
We started the hike at Beerburrum and I was very happy with this choice.
I prefer when the views keep getting better, and the best lookout is near the Tibrogargan start. It also gave us the option to return before the steep rock face in case it was too challenging for my tastes.
However, I found the hike easier from Tibrogargan to Beerburrum.
If the Yul-yan-man track wasn’t enough for you, you’ll find other hikes at both ends.
If your calves aren’t too tired, you can continue for a bit longer and walk up to the summit of one of the mounts you’d have admired from the Yul-yan-man track.
Local Indigenous people ask not to climb Mt Tibrogargan because of its cultural significance. But there are alternatives. You’ll find a track to reach Mt Tibberoowuccum summit not too far from Mt Tibrogargan car park.
At the other end, you can walk up the steep paved path all the way to Mt Beerburrum summit. I find Mt Tibberoowuccum is a better adventure than Mt Beerburrum.
Should you do a loop or return the same way?
We usually always prefer to do a loop and see something different on our way back. But the Soldiers Track to take us back to Beerburrum didn’t look exciting, so we decided to do a return walk.
If you don’t want to do a return walk, I recommend going as a group and parking a car at each end of the track.
Have you hiked Yul-yan-man track? Share your experience in the comments below!
Where is Yul-yan-man track?
The Yul-yan-man track is located in the Glasshouse Mountains, in Queensland (Australia). It takes about one hour to drive up to the Glasshouse Mountains from Brisbane. We parked near Beerburrum Post Office, where the Mount Beerburrum walk also starts. From there, you’ll be about one kilometre away from the start of the Yul-yan-man track – via an easy walk in the forest. It’s also not far from Beerburrum station – so it’s quite good if you don’t have a car!
If you want to do the hike one-way, you can park the second car at the Tibrogargan car park.
Here’s the official map of the hike (track number 4):
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Thanks for writing this Eloise!
I often try to describe this walk to others but you described it well.I’ll point people here in future.
If there’s anything i could add it would be careful about doing this on a hot day!
For various reasons this track can cook you. Lack of breezes, lots of heat reflecting off the rock,and the general slow pace.
We did it with the temps in the high twenties and blew through our water *really* fast