I heard the jet a full second before the trees opened up enough to see it. I hadn’t gone looking for a plane-spotting trail. I’d searched for an easy hike in Cairns with good views, and the Red Arrow Track came up as one option among many. What the search results didn’t quite prepare me for was that the trail starts inside the Cairns Botanic Gardens, a short bus ride from the city centre, and ends at a lookout with a runway laid out below like a diagram.
Update since my visit: part of the Red Arrow section had a signposted closure for construction work when I hiked this in January 2026. It was well marked, not a surprise mid-track, and I switched over to the Yellow Arrow Track rather than backtrack. That closure was part of a $1.2 million Cairns Regional Council renewal, new steps, pedestrian bridges, and resurfacing, and the full Red Arrow circuit reopened in March 2026. Worth checking current status before you go regardless, since trail work happens periodically.
Getting there without a car
Most of the well-known things to do around Cairns, Cape Tribulation, the Atherton Tablelands, Kuranda, ask for a full day, a tour booking, or a hire car. The Red Arrow Track doesn’t. The trailhead sits on Collins Avenue in Edge Hill, a few kilometres from the CBD, and Sunbus route 131 stops right at Collins Ave at Cairns Botanic Gardens, the closest stop to the trailhead, running from the Cairns City Bus Station. The fare is a flat 50 cents under Queensland’s TransLink flat-fare scheme, now a permanent fixture across the state’s regional bus networks including Cairns. Check the live journey planner for the departure that suits you rather than relying on a fixed schedule here. No car, no tour, no half-day commitment. It’s the kind of thing you can decide to do on a free morning.
Cairns Botanic Gardens: the easy way in
The gardens themselves are free to enter and worth the visit on their own, tropical plant collections, Centenary Lakes, and a rainforest boardwalk before you’ve even reached the trailhead. The Red Arrow Track starts right behind them. There’s a second trailhead near the Tanks Arts Centre if you’d rather start there, but I went in past the Botanic Gardens sign, which also means you walk past a strangler fig with roots taller than I am before you’ve even reached the trail proper.
Into the bamboo
The first stretch climbs through a rainforest gully, and the bamboo section is the part every photo of this trail seems to feature; it’s dense enough that the path essentially tunnels through it. A ground bird crossed the trail ahead of me here, a brush-turkey by the look of it, black-feathered with a bare red head, more curious than bothered by having company.
The lookout, and the plane
The Red Arrow lookout is the reward for the climb, and it earns the name. Cairns Airport sits directly below, close enough that you can watch the full sequence of an aircraft taxiing out and lifting off. I was lucky enough to catch what looked like a Qantas jet climbing out over the water with the ranges behind it while I had the camera up.
Pro tip: if plane-spotting is the actual goal, give yourself time to wait rather than treating the lookout as a five-minute stop. Cairns Airport has steady daytime traffic, but you’re at the mercy of the schedule, not a guarantee. There’s a hydration point and free toilets at the visitor centre near the start of the hike, but nothing beyond that once you’re on the climb, so use both before you head up.
Crossing to the Yellow Arrow
This is where my visit stopped following the standard loop. With the closure ahead and time tighter than I’d planned for, I crossed over at a signed junction with the Yellow Arrow Track rather than turning back the way I came.
This junction has a lookout with a similar view to the one I’d just left: the airport runway, and beyond it Trinity Bay opening out to the coast, with the ranges running along the far side of the water. The Yellow Arrow’s street-level trailhead is actually on Aeroglen Drive, on the opposite side of the park, but the tracks connect up on the range, which is how I reached it from Red Arrow.
If you’re short on time, this is worth knowing: the Mount Whitfield network isn’t a single there-and-back trail. The Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green Arrow tracks connect, so you have some flexibility to cut a visit shorter or longer than the standard circuit without missing the main lookout views. The Red Arrow is the short, popular option; the Blue Arrow is a much longer, steeper circuit, 6km and around five hours return, Grade 4, for fit walkers with a full day to spare.
Back down through the gardens
The descent brought me back past the Botanic Gardens visitor centre itself, an odd mirrored building that looks more like it belongs on a design blog than beside a rainforest car park. It’s a reasonable spot to sit down before heading back into the city.
Start to finish, gardens gate to the visitor centre café, my visit ran just over an hour, including the wait for that plane. Without a wait for a takeoff and without stopping for a drink, most people cover the Red Arrow loop in 40 minutes to an hour.
I didn’t go looking for a plane-spotting trail, and that’s probably why it stuck with me. The Red Arrow Track was never going to be the headline reason to visit Cairns, but it turned into one of the easier half-days of the whole trip: a bus ride, a walk through bamboo, and a lookout I’d never have found without a search that could have led anywhere. If you’re in Cairns with a spare morning and no car, it’s worth being that search.
Continue exploring Cairns
If this was your first stop in the city, here’s where I’d send you next.
Cairns City Centre Guide 
Skyrail and Kuranda Scenic Railway 
Millaa Millaa Falls and the Atherton Tablelands 
Where to Stay in CairnsFAQ
Where does the Red Arrow Track start?
At the Cairns Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre on Collins Avenue, Edge Hill, or from a second trailhead near the Tanks Arts Centre.
How long is the Red Arrow Circuit?
1.5km, about 1 hour return, according to the Mount Whitfield walking track brochure and the trailhead signage, graded 3. A March 2026 council reopening announcement quotes 1.3km for the same circuit; the two official sources simply don’t agree on the exact figure, so don’t be surprised if you see both.
Can you actually see planes from the trail?
Yes. The lookout sits directly above Cairns Airport’s runway, and it’s a known plane-spotting spot for exactly that reason.
Is the Red Arrow Track suitable for beginners?
The trailhead signage and official brochure say no experience is required, but a general level of fitness is needed for the steep, stepped climb. Queensland Parks goes further, describing all the Mount Whitfield walks as strenuous. Both are worth taking seriously in the heat.
When is the best time to hike the Red Arrow Track?
Early morning or late afternoon. Cairns heat makes the stepped climb harder than the distance suggests, and both ends of the day are cooler for walking. There’s no water on the track, so carry your own regardless of when you go.
Is the Red Arrow Track free?
Yes. Both the track and the Cairns Botanic Gardens are free to enter.
Does the bus go to the Cairns Botanic Gardens?
Yes. Sunbus route 131 runs from the Cairns City Bus Station directly to a stop outside the gardens, seven days a week, for a flat 50-cent single fare under Queensland’s TransLink scheme.
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