A man clung to a single tuft of grass for more than an hour after rolling off a cliff and dangling above a 20 metre drop in Central Queensland yesterday.

The man, a 38 year-old retailer, was at Wreck Lookout at Yeppoon about 1.50pm when he slipped and fell near a walking track which was not fenced off.

By chance, local State Emergency Services volunteers had just finished vertical rescue training on a nearby cliff face and quickly arrived on the scene.

Yeppoon SES group leader Eddie Cowie said crews arrived to find the man just seconds away from losing his grip.

"He was basically teetering over the edge; both his arms were extended over his head and he was slipping," Mr Cowie said.

"Our immediate concern was that his only point of contact was the tuft of grass."

Scaling the steep drop, Mr Cowie and his colleagues - including 14 SES volunteers, 10 fire fighters, six ambulance officers and eight police - tied a rope around the man's body and checked him for injuries before he was winched to safety on a stretcher about 3.30pm.

"He didn't panic. The only time he seemed concerned was when he started to lose grip."

He suffered a lower back injury sustained when  he slammed against a rock, but was otherwise unhurt, emergency workers said.

Mr Cowie said it was not clear what he had been doing before tumbling down the cliff face, however there was speculation he may have been urinating at the time.

"He just basically told police he got too close to the edge.

"There is no fencing at all in that area and it is quite a popular walking track.

"As a result of that, we've actually had vehicles go over the side and people as well.

"It's a dangerous spot."