Springbrook sits at the northern end of an exceptional concentration of national parks and rainforest country. The nearby areas are close enough to visit in a day and varied enough to feel quite different from the Springbrook plateau itself.
Lamington National Park is the most significant day-trip destination: a vast World Heritage rainforest covering the McPherson Range, about an hour's drive south. The two sections — Green Mountains (O'Reilly's) and Binna Burra — each have their own character and trail networks. Lamington shares the same Gondwana World Heritage listing as Springbrook, and the forests are connected across the ridge. The famous tree-top canopy walk at O'Reilly's is a highlight, and the bird feeding at O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat draws some extraordinary species.
Tamborine Mountain is Springbrook's neighbour to the north, another plateau village about 40 minutes away. It has a more developed tourist economy — gallery walks, cheese factories, distilleries, and the popular Glow Worm Caves — and makes a pleasant contrast to Springbrook's wilder feel.
The Gold Coast is 45 minutes back down the escarpment and offers the full range of beach, theme park, and urban-resort activity. The contrast between a morning at Springbrook's waterfalls and an afternoon at the beach is one of the Gold Coast region's genuine pleasures.
Mount Warning (Wollumbin) in New South Wales, about an hour south of Springbrook, is visible from Best of All Lookout on clear days. The summit walk is steep but rewarding, and it was traditionally the first place on the Australian mainland to receive the morning sun.