Rural living near Cairns
Gordonvale and Goldsborough Valley offer more of a country or rural lifestyle than Cairns. Both locations are less than 30 minutes from the CBD, with much larger properties, farming facilities available, and shopping or services nearby.
Beautiful rural locations for country living near Cairns include:
- Gordonvale: A country town nestled beneath Walsh’s Pyramid (Djarragun), one of the world’s tallest freestanding natural pyramids. It has several schools.
- Babinda: Known to be a very rainy town, famous for the Boulders swimming hole and the Babinda Bakery.
- Goldsborough Valley: Tranquil and friendly 30 minutes from Cairns.
- Deeral and Bellenden Ker: Ideal for fishing, with nearby rivers and access to the Frankland Islands National Park.
- Bartle Frere & Mirriwinni: Quiet, remote towns near Innisfail, with Bartle Frere sitting at Queensland’s highest peak.
Some towns have country schools, where students study in multi-age classrooms and total student numbers are below 100.
Mirriwinni and Aloomba both have primary schools.
Median house prices in Cairns rural and semi-rural suburbs
| Suburb | Approx. driving time to city* |
|---|---|
| Gordonvale | 30 minutes |
| Goldsborough | 35 minutes |
| Babinda | 51 minutes from Cairns and 23 minutes from Innisfail |
* source: Google Maps, January 2025 ** source: realestate.com.au, January 2025
What locals love about living in Gordonvale
It's the peace and quiet we like. The people are friendly and there is great community spirit. It's more like a country town, but only 20 minutes from Cairns. The Atherton Tablelands are a short drive up the range and you can smell the molasses in the air when the mill is crushing cane.
Dave, Gordonvale
Rural centres near Cairns
Cairns is part of northern Australia's food bowl with rich agricultural lands of Mareeba, Innisfail, and Atherton around an hour's drive.
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