Gympie is a convenient base for the southern end of the Fraser Coast — Rainbow Beach, with its multi-coloured sand cliffs and the access point to the ferry across to K'gari (Fraser Island), is about an hour east on a sealed road. The Cooloola section of Great Sandy National Park stretches between Rainbow Beach and Noosa and offers good 4WD beach driving and walking.
Closer to town, the Mary Valley villages of Kandanga, Imbil, and Amamoor are pretty rural stops along the Mary Valley Heritage Railway route — Amamoor has a lookout over the valley and is the venue for the Muster country music festival.
The Sunshine Coast hinterland towns of Maleny and Montville, with their cooler climate and farmers' markets, are about an hour and a quarter south.