A maze of gorges, sandstone outcrops and striking rock formations, this park protects many rare and threatened plant species. Gorge Creek, a tributary of the Dawson River, flows through the park.

Isla Gorge National Park is a complex maze of gorges and isolated sandstone monoliths. Soft precipice sandstone has eroded into a breathtaking panorama of cliffs, peaks, overhangs, tunnels and arches. The rock changes from yellow to orange and pink with the angle of the sun.

Outstanding scenery and rich plant life were the main reasons for gazetting this area as national park in 1964. Brilliant displays of flowering wattles appear from mid-winter and boronias, red grevilleas and grasstrees blossom in August and September.

At the picnic shelter, look north out over large areas of botanically-rich semi-evergreen vine thicket, to the distant rugged rock formations locally known as 'Devils Nest'. Eucalyptus beaniana—an ironbark tree found near the carpark—is one of the 10 rare and threatened plants growing in the park.

Isla Gorge National Park was extended in 1990 to include the remains of a hand-paved road at the north-western tip of the park near Flagstaff Hill. This historically significant road was constructed in the early 1860s by hand, using large rock slabs. It was built less than 15 years after white settlement of the area and was used to carry wool from Roma to the port of Rockhampton. Drains on the side carried stormwater downslope and, even to this day, have prevented erosion.

Many kinds of birds live in the park. Look for spiny-cheeked, brown, white-eared and blue-faced honeyeaters when the eucalypts, wattles, grevilleas and boronias are in flower from mid-winter to summer. Wedge-tailed eagles soar high above the gorges and peregrine falcons leave secluded roosts on cliff faces to hunt.