Ralfes Creek rises within the Great Dividing Range, about 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) northeast of the Oxley Trigonometrical Station, within the Doyles River State Forest. The river flows generally southeast, northeast, southeast, and then north northeast before reaching its confluence with the Hastings River[1] west of the locality of Ellenborough. The river descends 754 metres (2,474 ft) over its 28 kilometres (17 mi) course.[2]
The Oxley Highway transverses the river near its confluence with the Hastings River.[2]