Scenic Rim Farm Gates: Where to Buy Direct From the Land

The Scenic Rim's farm gates aren't a curated market with matching tents and a barista van. They're a region-wide spread of small growers, family shops, a sheep dairy, and a couple of distilleries, most of them open on their own ordinary hours rather than hours built for visitors.

This guide is built around Destination Scenic Rim's own Farm Gate Trail, the regional body that runs the region's twice-yearly open day and the annual Eat Local Month held in June. Six pockets of the region are covered below, starting with the one nearest Wander's Scenic Rim property and working outward. Twice a year, most of it opens together on the same day. The rest of the year, you're visiting one at a time, on each business's own terms.

10 sections

The short version

Fresh produce that isn't curated for Instagram.
It's just what grew, sold as it comes.

Choosing how to see it

The six pockets below spread right across the region, from Wander's own road out to Tamborine Mountain, the better part of an hour further on. Wyaralong and Peak Crossing sit closest; Kalbar, Boonah and the Fassifern Valley come next; Mount Alford, Kerry and Rathdowney stretch south toward Lake Moogerah; Harrisville and Beaudesert lie east; Tamborine Mountain's distilleries and cellar doors sit furthest out, closer to the Gold Coast side of the region than to Wander.

Most of the producers below keep ordinary hours, several close two or three days a week, one opens to the public once a month, and the honesty-box stalls run to no fixed hours at all. Check a business's own page or social media before you drive out, particularly midweek.

01

Wyaralong and Peak Crossing: right at the door

Roastbeef and The Frog at The Overflow Estate 1895

This is the one on Wander's own road. The Overflow Estate 1895, at Wyaralong on Beaudesert-Boonah Road, is a working vineyard with a restaurant, Roastbeef and The Frog, serving a French and English menu alongside its own wine. Lunch runs Thursday to Sunday, restaurant only; the lawn bar opens Saturday and Sunday for walk-ins, weather permitting. Dinner runs Friday to Sunday, and bookings are essential. It's pet-friendly, and worth knowing the restaurant isn't set up for children under 12.

Towri Sheep Cheeses

Towri, at Allenview, is a working sheep dairy of 350 Awassi ewes, milked and turned into cheese and yoghurt on-site by Carolyn Davidson, who started it as a hobby in 2005. It's worth the trip, but it isn't a casual drop-in: the shop opens to the public on the first Saturday of each month, alongside weekly bus tours and monthly cheese-making classes, with takeaway cheese platters and lunch options on open days. Check its site for the next open date before you plan around it.

02

Kalbar: the farm shop cluster

Scenic Rim Farm Shop & Cafe

Set on Kents Lagoon Road a few minutes out of Kalbar, Scenic Rim Farm Shop & Cafe is the easiest place to start. It runs Thursday to Sunday, breakfast from 8:30am and lunch from 11am, with coffee and cake across the whole day and the kitchen closing at 2pm. The shop end sells local produce and specialty groceries alongside the cafe, and it shares its grounds with two smaller operators worth knowing about.

Bookings are recommended for a table, less so for the shop itself.

Fifth Acre

Fifth Acre runs a produce stall from an old shed in the same car park, dog-friendly. Saturdays and Sundays it's a full, staffed stand; Thursdays and Fridays it switches to self-serve, so bring cash in case a card reader isn't out that day.

Elderflower Farm

Elderflower Farm shares the same address, run by Fred and Rachel Watkins out of a tin-shed shop selling cut heirloom flowers, garden-style bunches and a few homewares. The shop keeps the same Thursday to Sunday hours as the farm shop next door; the flower fields open for walk-in picking Friday to Sunday, 10am to 2pm, when the season and the weather allow it.

03

Boonah, Charlwood and the Fassifern Valley

Oppy's Fruit & Veg

Oppy's Fruit & Veg trades out of the old Boonah Butter Factory on Railway Street, a proper grocer rather than a farm-gate stall: fruit and vegetables sourced locally where they can manage it, plus cheeses, cured meats, chutneys and jams. Opening hours vary across the sources we could find, so check Oppy's own Facebook page for the day you're planning to go.

Valley Pride Produce

A fifth-generation, family-owned vegetable farm at Charlwood. Fresh produce direct from the farm stall, and pick-your-own vegetables when it's running (a ticket is sometimes needed for picking specifically, so check ahead if that's the plan rather than just the stall).

Olive View Estate

A working olive farm at Boonah, dog-friendly, selling olives, olive oil and dehydrated cocktail citrus straight from the property, with an old-fashioned soda and food trucks on site.

04

Mount Alford, Kerry and Rathdowney

Tommerup's Dairy Farm

Tommerup's, a sixth-generation dairy on Kerry Road, doesn't keep casual retail hours. Its farm larder opens on scheduled open days and events, and otherwise by appointment, selling artisan dairy, ethically raised meat, eggs and preserves.

Kooroomba Vineyard & Lavender Farm

Kooroomba, on FM Bells Road at Mount Alford, is the closest thing on this list to a destination in its own right: a cellar door, a well-regarded restaurant, and lavender fields that flower for most of the year and peak through winter, June to August. It runs Wednesday to Friday, 10am to 3pm, and weekends 10am to 4pm, closed Monday and Tuesday.

White's Farm and Scenic Rim Organics

Two honesty-box stalls worth knowing on this side of the region. White's Farm, on Duck Creek Road at Kerry, sells seasonal pumpkins, watermelons, avocados and its own honey. Scenic Rim Organics, on Moogerah Road near Kalbar, sells greens, vegetables and homemade chutneys and jams. Both run on trust rather than trading hours.

Also on this side of the region

Also on this side of the region: Waterfall Creek Farm at Maroon, a roadside stall with pick-your-own root vegetables and seasonal workshops; The Shed Cafe at Rathdowney (part of Olive & Stone Farm, formerly Rathlogan Grove), a country cafe and gift shop among olive groves, closing at 2pm; and Christmas Creek Garlic at Laravale, dog-friendly, selling organically grown and cold-smoked garlic.

05

Harrisville and Beaudesert

Summer Land Camels

Summer Land Camels, on Charles Chauvel Drive at Harrisville, is the one stop on this list built with visitors properly in mind: free entry, open every day from 9am to 3pm (closed some public holidays), with camel-milk cheese, gelato and skincare in the farm shop, camel rides and tours, and a cafe serving breakfast and brunch until 2pm.

Scenic Rim Mushrooms

A family-run boutique and medicinal mushroom farm on Church Street, growing fresh eating varieties alongside medicinal species such as Lion's Mane, sold farmgate, online, or through growing workshops on how to cultivate your own. It's a genuine working farm rather than a shopfront: the business asks that you reach out before visiting rather than dropping in on spec.

Scenic Rim Farmers Market

Despite the name, this one's a shop rather than a market: a fruit and vegetable grocer inside the Beaudesert Fair shopping centre, open seven days, Monday to Friday 7am to 7pm, Saturday 7am to 5pm and Sunday 8am to 5pm. Don't confuse it with Beaudesert Marketfest, the actual monthly community market at Dick Westerman Park.

Also on this side of the region

Also on this side of the region: Heritage Poultry at Harrisville, a working poultry farm with pony rides and animal encounters for kids alongside award-winning pastured poultry to buy; and Ellia's Garden at Moorang, a farm with a maze, hay bale play and animals to feed, tickets required.

06

Tamborine Mountain: the distilleries and cellar doors

Loborn Distillery

Loborn is a small-batch Australian amaro and aperitif distillery inside the North Stores precinct on Main Street, founded by Tom Drewett and distilled with local botanicals and onsite spring water. Walk-in tastings, bottle sales and a cocktail bar. Current opening hours vary across sources we checked, so confirm on the day via loborn.com rather than a printed time here.

Cauldron Distillery

An 18-acre property on Hartley Road making gin, whisky and Australian agave spirits, with a cocktail bar, live music and distillery tours. Hours shift by season and by day of the week, so check its own site before you go rather than relying on a fixed time here.

Mt Tamborine Distillery

Queensland's oldest craft distillery, running for over three decades and carrying more than 300 international awards. The tasting room opens seven days, 10am to 5pm, with the cocktail bar running Friday to Sunday in the same hours. Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday.

Also on this side of the region

Also on this side of the region, all further out than anywhere else on this list: Witches Falls Winery and Boxer Brewing Co, both on Main Western Road; Bee All Natural Honey at nearby Jimboomba; and further afield again, O'Reilly's Canungra Valley Vineyards with Mountview Alpacas next door.

Before you go

Bring cash. Most of the honesty-box stalls on this list have nowhere to tap a card, and even some of the staffed shops run more smoothly with coins for the small stuff. A cooler bag in the car matters more here than on a swimming trip. Dairy, cheese and camel-milk gelato don't do well sitting in a hot boot on the drive home.

Check trading days before you leave. Several stops here are closed two or three days a week, Towri only opens to the public one Saturday a month, and Tommerup's Dairy Farm opens on scheduled days and by appointment only. A wasted drive is the most common way a farm-gate day goes wrong.

Twice a year, most of the region's growers open together for the Farm Gate Trail, a one-day event run by Destination Scenic Rim with a published map and free registration. Eat Local Month is the other annual event in June that gets booked out well ahead. 

Common questions

Which stop is closest to Wander?

Roastbeef and The Frog at The Overflow Estate 1895, on Beaudesert-Boonah Road at Wyaralong. It's a proper restaurant and cellar door that also runs its own provedore, so plan a lunch or dinner booking around it rather than a quick browse.

Which farm gate is best for a first visit?

Scenic Rim Farm Shop & Cafe, if you want a sit-down breakfast or lunch alongside the shopping. Elderflower Farm and Fifth Acre share the same car park, so it's an easy three-stop morning without much extra driving.

Are any of these good for kids?

Summer Land Camels and Naughty Little Kids are both built for it. Heritage Poultry and Ellia's Garden add pony rides and a maze into the mix. Roastbeef and The Frog's restaurant, by contrast, isn't really set up for children under 12.

Do I need to book ahead?

Not for most of the shops and stalls, though Kooroomba's restaurant and Roastbeef and The Frog both take bookings and dinner at the latter is essential. Towri Sheep Cheeses and Tommerup's Dairy Farm are the exceptions worth planning around specifically: Towri opens to the public one Saturday a month, and Tommerup's only opens on scheduled days or by appointment.

What's the Farm Gate Trail, and is it different from just visiting a farm gate?

The Trail is a twice-yearly event, run by Destination Scenic Rim, where growers across the region open together on the same day with a published map and suggested itineraries. The rest of the year, the stops on this list are open on their own separate, ordinary hours, one at a time rather than all at once.

Can I do all six areas in one day?

You can drive it, but you won't get much time at any one stop, and Tamborine Mountain alone is close to an hour from the others. Two pockets make a comfortable day. Save the rest for a second visit, or for the Farm Gate Trail, when more of the region is open on the same day.

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