Charming Montville in the Sunshine Coast hinterland QLD

Montville is a thriving shopping village with a fantastic selection of cafes, restaurants, gift shops, and boutiques, all on Blackwell Range in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, where spectacular views of the coastline below compliment the European feel and quaint buildings.

History and location of Montville

First settled in 1887 as Razorback, the town was later named ‘Montville’ by Henry Smith, a local landowner and businessman, after his childhood home of Montville in the USA. In the early days, Montville was mainly known for logging, and then the focus shifted to farming until tourism took over during the 1970s.

Montville is on the Queensland’s Sunshine Coast Hinterland, just over one hour from Brisbane (98kms), Making it an easy day trip or weekend getaway for the city.

At about 430m above sea level, Montville is perfectly placed, allowing for beautiful views over the Sunshine Coast and hinterland. 

The village of Montville has a population of approximately 900. 

What to see in Montville

Montville overflows with creativity, which you can find at the art galleries, pottery studios and craft cottages housing the work of talented local artisans. You can find many of the galleries on the main street.

Food 

In Montville, there is something for everyone, from unique cafes to fine dining restaurants and everything in between, like burger bars, tea rooms, confectionery shops, and boutique pubs. Montville is the perfect place to relax and enjoy a meal with spectacular views.

The Edge Cafe, Bar & Restaurant

Montville Gourmet Bistro

Poets Cafe

Montville Cafe, Bar and Grill

Little May Espresso

Shali’s Cafe

Bella Cucina Pizza

Camphor Cottage

Chocolate Country

Edamame Japanese Cafe & Restaurant

Mayfield Patisserie & Chocolates

Mountain Bean

Secrets on the Lake

The Long Apron

Waffle-On Stroopwafels

Wild Rocket @ Misty’s

Shopping

Looking to get your shopping fix? Montville offers something for everyone with boutique shopping, speciality shops, art & craft galleries, and confectionery shops.

Buderim Ginger Shoppe

Almari Leather 

Illume Creations

Montville Antiques

Hill Top Toes

Amazen Puzzles & Games

Bailey Loves

Bedlam

Ben Messina

 Clock Shop Montville

Chocolate Country

Elements at Montville

Expressions of Interest

Flair for Fashion

Fudgyboombahs

Jasmin Cottage

Jellyfish 1770

Laurisha Jewellery

Made to Measure Gold & Silver

Makersville

Mayfield Galleries

Montville Art Gallery

Monty’s Of Montville

Montville Woods Gallery

Mr Hempy / Hempothecary Clinic

Sally Hayes Artis

Sunshine Coast Arts & Crafts

The Candle Shoppe Montville

Tamborine Tea

The Dressing Room of Montville

Sally Hayes Artist

The Montville Jewellery Studio

Venus Calling

The Opal Cutter

Attractions nearby Montville

Kondalilla National Park

A mere 3.9km past Montville, you will come to Kondalilla National Park. This natural wonderland comes from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘rushing waters’, a popular place for those who enjoy crisp mountain air. Take a stroll under the rainforest canopy and eucalypt forests on one of the numerous walking tracks, enjoy the spectacular views of the valley before you cool off with a swim in the rock pools or just soak up the quiet of the forest. With a magnificent 90 metre waterfall, you can’t help but be tempted to visit this beautiful oasis.

Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk

Suppose you have 3 or 4 days to spare. In that case, you could tackle this 58km walk taking in Warm subtropical rainforest, tall open eucalypt forest and picturesque waterfalls in secluded areas of the Blackall Range. A great Walk, with campsites along the way; just be warned, you have to book your spot a long way out. The track is maintained by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, and their map shows you all the info you need, including the three entry points if you only want to do a shorter section of the walk. 

The Barrel at Clouds Winery

The Barrel is a tasting room/restaurant that is shaped like a giant wine barrel and is found on the grounds of Clouds Vineyard Maleny. Tastings at The Barrel showcases wines from South East Queensland, Craft Beers & local produce.

 Flame Hill Vineyard Cellar Door

Flame Hill can be found at the highest point in Montville, on the Blackall Range. They produce 100% estate-grown wines, from vines up to 80 years old. Flame Hill is an authentic paddock-to-plate experience where food, wine, and hospitality are in harmony, with truly magical scenery. All this is just 3kms from Montville. Visit their website here.

Baroon Pocket Dam

A picturesque lake between Montville and Maleny. The dam offers a range of recreational facilities: picnic tables, free barbecues, and playgrounds. Why not take a dip in the calm waters, kayak the lake and its tributaries or fish for Australian Bass. Explore the shoreline for wildlife, including koalas and kangaroos, proving is a paradise for bushwalkers and nature lovers. Hike to Baroon Lookout and take in the stunning views of the Obi Obi Gorge and Baroon Pocket Dam after hiking through open forest ridges, crossing bridges and boardwalks over tree-lined streams.

Maleny Dairy circuit

Looking to get in touch with the area’s farming history, why not drop by the Maleny Dairies and Maleny cheese. At the dairies, not only taste some of the best milk in Australia, get in touch with farm life before heading to Maleny cheese to stock up on cheddar, white mould and feta-style cheeses, all made with local milk.

Gardners Falls

Gardners Falls is a hidden gem. Park your car in the car park on the banks of the Obi Obi Creek and enjoy the short, level walk downstream to the falls. An ideal spot for a hinterland picnic or a post-swim snooze under a giant water gum, on grassy banks and backed by native forest.

Accommodation 

Enjoy a selection of charming bed and breakfasts, friendly farm stays, eco-lodges, cottages and boutique retreats as you let go of the hustle and bustle of the big smoke below.

Here is our booking.com link to help you book your getaway. If you use this link, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, and your support helps us continue to inspire you to travel brilliantly.

 

Our Visit

Our visit to Montville was a day out with Phil’s extended family, and it was a time for them to show us a little bit of their backyard. We headed out in a convoy of 4 cars, and this in itself was a fun adventure; it gave Phil, and I time to hang out with different members as we made our way to our first stop.

The Barrel @ Clouds

Our first stop was at The Barrel @ Clouds Winery, a beautiful tasting room in the shape of a wine barrel, sitting the scene for a lovely relaxed time to chat. We enjoy tasting flights and charcuterie board for morning tea.

There were a few flights to choose from, including a beer flight, and I am pretty sure our group had at least one of each.

Walking through Montville

Arriving in Montville, our first stop was the Clock Shop, found in a building that looks like it would be right at home in the Bavarian countryside. This shop has hundreds of German cuckoo clocks and other clocks to satisfy anyone’s clock needs or taste. This little shop near the parking area set the tone for a wonderful visit to this little village.

Visiting on a Monday, we enjoyed a relaxed, almost sleepy vibe. Whether it was the day of the week or if Covid was still a thing we did not mind, it meant it was not busy, and our group could take our time to enjoy the places we chose to visit. Being a weekday and early February also meant many businesses were closed, but enough to dampen our spirits.

Walking further up the street, we found the public loos, just follow the path next to the Camphor Gallery and find them behind the building with Buderim Ginger shop.

There are some great speciality shops, and some we enjoyed were the fudge shop and the Montville Marketplace. When visiting the Marketplace, check out the view from the rear verandah. You can see down to the coast. We are so glad we checked out the view from here as we ran out of time to visit other lookout points.

Making our way to lunch

Meandering up the hill, we decided to enjoy lunch in the beer garden of the  Montville cafe, bar and Grill. It was a lovely spot with loads of shade and a great atmosphere with fantastic staff.

With lunch sorted, we made our way back to the cars and headed back down to sea level in time to get the school pick-ups done.

Our visit to Montville was short, and what we saw left us wanting more. We would do it all again.

Here is the video of our time in Montville

Exploring MONTVILLE – Queensland 2022

Looking for more to do in Queensland?

Check out these blog posts from our Queensland trip.

Things to Do on Bribie Island

Visiting Tamborine Mountain – Things to do

 

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