JC Slaughter Falls

Mt Coot-tha Reserve / Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

About JC Slaughter Falls


Hiking Distance: 1.2km round trip
Suggested Time: 30 minutes

Date first visited: 2008-05-11
Date last visited: 2022-07-07

Waterfall Latitude: -27.47586
Waterfall Longitude: 152.96187

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

JC Slaughter Falls is what I consider to be a waterfall that I associate with the city of Brisbane mainly because it’s within its urban sprawl on Mt Coot-tha.

That said, this is a highly seasonal waterfall (perhaps even ephemeral) that maybe only lasts for a few days after the passing of the lastest storm.

JC_Slaughter_Falls_035_07062022 - JC Slaughter Falls
JC Slaughter Falls

We actually witnessed how quickly the flow diminishes ourselves when the East Coast of Australia was getting battered by nearly a week of heavy La Nina rains (producing flooding across the border in New South Wales).

However, barely a day-and-a-half after the end of the storms, the waterfall clung onto what was left of its flow as you can see in the photo above.

Therefore, I contend that you really have to experience JC Slaughter Falls pretty much right in the midst of a rain storm to really see it flow well.

Speaking of experiencing the waterfall, we started from its nearest car park (see directions below), which was amidst of the JC Slaughter Picnic Area at the end of a narrow road.

JC_Slaughter_Falls_020_07062022 - Tahia and Julie rock hopping over East Ithaca Creek just before the departing the Summit Track for the Hoop Pine Track en route to JC Slaughter Falls
Tahia and Julie rock hopping over East Ithaca Creek just before the departing the Summit Track for the Hoop Pine Track en route to JC Slaughter Falls

From there, we walked along the Summit Track, which was a very well-developed (i.e. wide and partially paved) park walk that followed along East Ithaca Creek and made a couple of easy bridged crossings of it.

At about 300m from the start, we went across one unbridged traverse of East Ithaca Creek that involved some easy rock hopping, and shortly after that, we reached a signed trail junction.

At this junction, we kept to the right to leave the Summit Track for the Hoop Pine Track, which gently climbed alongside East Ithaca Creek for another 200m before reaching an unsigned spur on the right.

It was at this spur that we stood on an outcrop with an angled look at JC Slaughter Falls barely flowing while backed by a lookout further upstream of it.

JC_Slaughter_Falls_038_07062022 - Looking downstream along East Ithaca Creek from the lookout above JC Slaughter Falls
Looking downstream along East Ithaca Creek from the lookout above JC Slaughter Falls

This was the best spot to actually see the front of the waterfall though we did get up to the lookout, which was really only there to better examine the flow of East Ithaca Creek if it did have decent flow.

After having our fill of this waterfall, we went back the way we came, and we only took about 30-40 minutes away from the car.

There was an option to extend this walk towards Simpson Falls as well as the Summit Lookout, but each of those have their own car parks.

That said, the Mt Coot-tha Reserve is for all intents and purposes a city park, and thus it wasn’t surprising to see joggers, picnickers, or just people going for strolls.

Authorities

JC Slaughter Falls resides in the Mt Coot-tha Reserve in Brisbane, Queensland. It is administered by the Brisbane City Council. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

JC_Slaughter_Falls_002_07062022 - Looking at some of the picnic tables and shelters at the car park closest to the JC Slaughter Falls as seen during our July 2022 visit
JC_Slaughter_Falls_006_07062022 - The first bridged crossing of East Ithaca Creek, which had water so I figured that was a good sign at seeing JC Slaughter Falls flow during our July 2022 visit (which it didn't when we were first here in May 2008)
JC_Slaughter_Falls_021_07062022 - Julie and Tahia leaving the Summit Track for the Hoop Pine Track on the way to JC Slaughter Falls during our July 2022 visit
JC_Slaughter_Falls_024_07062022 - Going up a gentle incline along a more forested path alongside East Ithaca Creek as we got close to JC Slaughter Falls during our July 2022 visit
JC_Slaughter_Falls_026_07062022 - Our first look at the JC Slaughter Falls during our July 2022 visit
JC_Slaughter_Falls_031_07062022 - Closer examination of the only part of the JC Slaughter Falls that had appreciable flow during our July 2022 visit
JC_Slaughter_Falls_046_07062022 - Returning to the trail junction with Summit Track after having our fill of the JC Slaughter Falls during our July 2022 visit
JC_Slaughter_Falls_049_07062022 - Returning on the straightshot Summit Track on the way back to the JC Slaughter Falls Picnic Area during our July 2022 visit
JC_Slaughter_Falls_052_07062022 - Noticing some grills or picnic infrastructure along the Summit Track near the picnic area of the JC Slaughter Falls as seen during our July 2022 visit
JC_Slaughter_Falls_001_jx_05102008 - The sign at the JC Slaughter Falls Picnic Area at the start of our walk when we first came here in May 2008
JC_Slaughter_Falls_005_jx_05102008 - That's me veering from the paved path and onto a dirt path leading us the final 230m to JC Slaughter Falls during our May 2008 visit
JC_Slaughter_Falls_001_05102008 - The bare rock where Ithaca Creek was supposed to flow as the JC Slaughter Falls as seen during our first time here in May 2008


Since JC Slaughter Falls resides within the Mt Coot-tha Reserve, which itself is within the sprawling city limits of Brisbane, there are many ways of driving to its nearest starting point.

So I’ll just say that the key to getting here from the Brisbane CBD would be to drive west on Milton Road (State Route 32) towards the Mt Coot-tha Road (briefly becoming the Route 5).

JC_Slaughter_Falls_056_07062022 - Looking back at the narrow access road from the nearest car park to the JC Slaughter Falls
Looking back at the narrow access road from the nearest car park to the JC Slaughter Falls

The roundabout where you get onto the Mt Coot-tha Road was near the end of the M3 Motorway.

We then followed the Mt Coot-Tha Road (which became the Sir Samuel Griffith Drive) for about 1.4km to the signed JC Slaughter Falls Picnic Area, where there was a turnoff to the left.

We then followed this turnoff and took this narrow road roughly 700m to the car park at its end.

Note that there were plenty of parking spaces along this drive so if it’s too busy, there’s always fallback options at the expense of walking a little longer to get to the JC Slaughter Falls.

JC_Slaughter_Falls_001_07062022 - The car park for the JC Slaughter Falls Picnic Area at the end of its access road in the Mt Coot-tha Reserve
The car park for the JC Slaughter Falls Picnic Area at the end of its access road in the Mt Coot-tha Reserve

Just to give you some geographical context, Brisbane was 78km (about an hour drive) north of the Gold Coast, 166km (2 hours drive) north of Byron Bay, and 617km (7 hours drive) south of Rockhampton, 911km (about 10 hours drive) north of Sydney, and 1,698km (about 20 hours drive) south of Cairns.

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Brief up and down sweep from an informal outcrop with a frontal look at the falls


Upstream to downstream sweep from the lookout upstream of the brink of the falls

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Tagged with: brisbane, coot-tha, city waterfall, urban waterfall, city park, queensland, australia, waterfall, ithaca creek



Visitor Comments:

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Slaughter Falls April 8, 2012 8:37 am by Sandra Moyden - We first discoved slaughter falls around 5 years ago & loved it at first sight, we have a family bar.b.que there every good friday & our family has grown since the first time we went, we always have a great time & we like to do the walk, but this year we could'nt as it… ...Read More

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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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