Townsville to Hughenden road trip: Distance, drive time & stops

The Townsville to Hughenden drive coves a 384km distance in a driving time of 4h13m. Road trip stops to add to the itinerary include Charters Towers and the Burra Range Lookout.

The drive from Townsville to Hughenden takes you from the biggest city in North Queensland to one of the most fun Queensland outback towns. There are also a couple of road trip stops worth considering on this drive along the Flinders Highway.

Townsville is where you can take the ferry to gorgeous Magnetic Island, enjoy sunset cruises and visit the Museum of Underwater Art. For more Townsville experiences, explore here. To ferret out the best Townsville accommodation deals, look here.

Townsville to Hughenden distance and driving time

By car, it’s a distance of 384km from Townsville to Hughenden. This makes for a driving time of around four hours and 13 minutes.

6 Townsville experiences to book in advance

Magnetic Island ferry tickets – head over to one of the most beautiful islands in Australia.
SS Yongala wreck dive – sea how coral and marine life have made the shipwreck home.
Great Barrier Reef and Museum of Underwater Art cruise – witness the extraordinary underwater art project up close.
Helicopter ride along the coast – get amazing views from above.
Sunset sailing cruise – watch the colours over the water, with alcoholic drinks included.
Jetski tour to Cape Pallarenda – whizz past beaches and giant boulders.

The first leg of this drive is from Townsville to Charters Towers, and there is very little to get excited about along the way. You can go for a swim in the Majors Creek swimming hole near Woodstock, or try fishing at the Macrossan Park camping area in Dotswood.

Townsville to Hughenden road trip: Charters Towers

Things to do in Charters Towers include the Ghost Tours Australia after dark tour and experiencing life on the farm with Texas Longhorn Tours.

Top Charters Towers experiences

Delve in to the gold-mining past – on a tour of the Venus Gold Battery. You’ll be wowed by the sheer size of it.
Hear entertaining stories from the golden era – on a Charters Towers walking tour.
Listen to spooky stories – on a Charters Towers ghost tour.

Best Charters Towers accommodation

The best accommodation options in Charters Towers are:

For families: Big4 Outback Aussie Oasis Holiday Park.
For high quality adults-only apartments: Kernow Charters Towers.
For a good value motel with a pool: Charters Towers Motel.

Townsville to Hughenden drive: Pentland and White Mountains National Park

The Charters Towers to Hughenden leg of the journey is longer, with the first two settlements being Homestead and Pentland. Neither’s particularly thrilling, but Pentland has a caravan park, racecourse and food at the three star Pentland Hotel Motel.

The best stop on the Townsville to Hughenden road trip is White Mountains National Park. Realistically, this national park is for those with 4WD vehicles only. However, the rugged tracks to the Sawpit Gorge Lookout and Poison Valley are a great adventure.

For those with a conventional vehicle, the Burra Range Lookout is on the Flinders Highway at the southern end of the park.

Stops between Townsville and Hughenden: Torrens Creek and Prairie

The other two settlements between Townsville and Hughenden are Torrens Creek and Prairie. The Exchange Hotel in Torrens Creek offers accommodation and meals, as does the Prairie Hotel.

Things to do in Hughenden once there include the Flinders Discovery Centre, which takes you through locally-found dinosaur skeletons amongst other outback stories, and the lookouts at Mount Walker.

Hughenden is also where you turn north if you want to visit Porcupine Gorge.