The river flows generally west past Mount Bridget where the river veers south and crosses the Marlborough-Sarina Road and then forms a series of braided channels and continues generally south by southwest.

From source to mouth, the river passes through a series of lagoons and waterholes including the Boat Hole, Main Camp Lagoon, Lotus Creek, Lake Plattaway and Knobbys Waterhole.

[2] In February 2015 the Queensland Government approved a proposal to dam the river near Mount Bridgett, approximately 110 kilometres (68 mi) east of Moranbah.

When complete, the dam will create a reservoir with an expected capacity of a 373,662 megalitres (8.22×1010 imp gal; 9.87×1010 US gal) to provide water for coal mines and communities in the area.

[3] The river was named in honour of Daniel Conner, a pastoralist, by Augustus Gregory in 1856.