A SEARCH for three hikers who lost their way in the Sunshine Coast hinterland continued late into the night.

Emergency services joined forces with Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers to find the trio, who called for help about 6.45pm on Monday.

The call came about the time a thunderstorm was passing over the Sunshine Coast, dropping 4.4mm of rain on Nambour, about 9km from where the hikers were lost. 

They had been hiking in the Kureelpa Falls area, and advised emergency services they had been heading south west for a couple of hours, and thought they were north west of where they had parked their car on Kureelpa Falls Rd. 

At the time they were in a paddock with a creek running at the bottom. 

State Emergency Service volunteers and Queensland Fire and Emergency Service personnel, searched for the trio until they were found safe and well about 10pm. 

Paramedics assessed the hikers, who were not injured.