The Carrington hotel offers a public bar, bottleshop, hotel accommodation and has 36 Electronic Gaming machines (EGMS). It is one of only four hotels in Atherton.

Atherton is joined by the Gillies Highway to Yungaburra, the Kennedy Highway north to Mareeba and south to Ravenshoe and Mount Garnet, the Malanda Road to Malanda and the Herberton Road to Herberton. Average temperatures in the area for Summer  are 17–35 °C  and Winter 5–22 °C

Public Transport

    Trans North offers a number of return services during a seven day week between Atherton, Tolga, Walkamin, Mareeba, Kuranda, and Cairns including drop-offs to airport, railway station, hospitals and bus depots. There are connections available between Ravenshoe and Herberton and along the Wheelbarrow Way to Chillagoe.
    There is an Atherton taxi service.

Economy

The land around Atherton is used to grow a variety of crops, including sugar cane, peanuts, mangoes, maize (corn), potatoes, avocados and macadamia nuts. Dairy and beef cattle are also reared in the area.

Culture

Each year towards the end of August, Atherton celebrates the Maize festival, which features a parade with decorated floats, the Maize Queen pageant, some children's amusement rides and some activities such as tug of war and wood chopping. There are also shop window display and artwork competitions as well as a prize given to the best float.
Education

Atherton has two primary schools, one secondary school, one independent Prep - Grade 12 school and a TAFE campus. There are also several day care centres in the town.

    * Atherton State High School
    * Atherton State School
    * Jubilee Christian College
    * St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
    * Tropical North Institute of TAFE

Health

Atherton Hospital is in the Tablelands Health District. The hospital provides obstetric, medical, surgical, operating theatre, accident and emergency services.

Notable people from Atherton

    * Alexander Prokhorov, Soviet/Russian physicist and Nobel Prize winner, born to a family of Russian immigrants which subsequently relocated back to the Soviet Union.
    * Peter Beattie, Former Premier of Queensland
    * Ron Grainer, composer
    * Dallas Johnson, Les Catalans lock forward and former Melbourne Storm player and Queensland State of Origin representative.
    * Rod Jensen, former North Queensland Cowboys and Huddersfield Giants player