The Cabbage Tree Creek catchment is located on Brisbane's northern outskirts and has an area of approximately 45km˛. The catchment encompasses the suburbs of Shorncliffe, Deagon, Sandgate, Taigum, Zillmere, Fitzgibbon, Boondall, Aspley, Carseldine, Bracken Ridge, Bridgeman Downs and McDowall within Brisbane City, and Everton Hills, Arana Hills and Ferny Hills within the Pine Rivers Shire. Approximately 60,000 people live in this catchment and land use varies between residential, rural residential, natural bushland and wetlands, open space, residential, commercial and industrial areas.

Cabbage Tree Creek has one major sub-catchment/tributary, that being Little Cabbage Tree Creek. The catchment consists of three areas of particular vegetation significance, namely Brisbane Forest Park, Deagon Wetlands and Boondall wetlands. This catchment forms part of the Mountains to Mangroves corridor along with the Nundah Creek catchment. A biennial festival event is held in July of odd years to celebrate the connectivity of the waterway corridors from Brisbane Forest Park to Boondall Wetlands.

Habitat loss and bushland modification due to development has drastically reduced the distribution of fauna across the catchment. The topography of Cabbage Tree Creek varies from steep hills to gentle slopes in the upper catchment. The waterway generally has a low capacity and overland flow occurs when the catchment experiences minor to major flood events.

Cabbage Tree Creek joins with Little Cabbage Tree Creek in an area of remnant bushland, located in the area bordered by the QUT campus, Aspley High and Aspley Primary schools. The creek joins briefly into an estuary shared with Nundah Creek before emptying into Moreton Bay. Little Cabbage Tree Creek originates in the vicinity of Hoffman and DeMille Streets, McDowall. The waterways continue north- east to flow through the southeastern corner of the Chermside Hills Reserve and a residential development in Chermside Hills. The creek then follows the length of Stringybark Drive to the Horn Road footbridge. On the northern side of Horn Road parkland areas abut the creek line incorporating a wetland area in the vicinity of Railton Street. After passing through the Albany Creek Road culverts, the highly modified creek line flows under the Aspley Hypermarket to emerge again along Gayford Street and Gympie Road. Downstream the weed infested creek flows through Fred Campbell Park.