North-west of Townsville, Mt. Spec National Park straddles the summit, escarpment and lower eastern slopes of the Paluma Range.

Two roads provide access to the park. A narrow-winding bitumen road turns west off the Bruce Highway 65Km north from Townsville. This passes through open woodland before ascending 1000 metres to the dense tropical rainforest at Paluma atop the range, 18km from the turnoff.

Halfway up the range is Little Crystal Creek, where picnic facilities are provided next to excellent swimming holes. More picnic facilities, lookouts and walking tracks are at Paluma. A second road leaves the highway 2km north of the Paluma Range turn-off and leads to the Paradise Waterhole camping area 4km along Big Crystal Creek.

The Crystal Creek Bridge was built between 1931 and 1933. The stone for the bridge was quarried in the area when part of the bluff was blasted away to make way for the Paluma road.