Townsville to Winton road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops

The Townsville to Winton drive along sealed roads covers a distance of 598km, with a driving time of around six hours and 34 minutes. The best stops on this Queensland road trip are Charters Towers and Hughenden.

The drive from Townsville to Winton takes you from the biggest city in North Queensland to one of the most enjoyable Queensland outback towns.

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.

Winton brings sunset tours through the rock channels of the Rangelands, trips to the dinosaur footprints in the Lark Quarry Conservation Park and adventures through the mesa landscapes of Carisbrooke Station.

There are also a couple of road trip stops worth considering for the itinerary.

Townsville to Winton distance and driving time

By car on sealed roads, it’s a distance of 598km from Townsville to Winton. This makes for a driving time of around six hours and 34 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 along the Flinders Highway 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. Perhaps the highlight, however, is the Venus Gold Battery tour.

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 Winton: 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.

Townsville to Winton road trip: Hughenden to Winton leg

The tedious final leg from Hughenden to Winton is 215km long. That makes for a driving time of around two hours and 26 minutes.

The drive is along the Kennedy Developmental Road – also known as State Route 62.

This is one of those road trips, alas, where you just put the foot down and don’t worry about sightseeing along the way.

There are racecourses in Stamford and Corfield, but that’s about it. There are no fuel stops before Winton, so make sure you fuel up in Hughenden.

4 Winton experiences that will make your visit better

Day tour to Carisbrooke Station and the ancient dino footprints of the Dinosaur Stampede.
Sunset tour to the outback rock channels of Rangelands Station.
3/4 day tour to the Dinosaur Stampede and Merton Gorge.
Half day tour to the Age of Dinosaurs Museum – or make your own way and visit the fossil preparation laboratory.