Why this ride
It goes by way of Cronan Creek State Forest, Mount Clunie Flora Reserve, Mount Barney National Park and 'Palen Creek' State Forest.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Burnett Creek State Forest and 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 411 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 04
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Burnett Creek State Forest
In the Scenic Rim, southwest of Brisbane, Burnett Creek runs down from the slopes of the Main Range toward the farmland around Boonah, and the state forest that bears its name covers a stretch of steep, wooded hills where eucalypt forest gives way, in the moister gullies, to subtropical rainforest. This is the edge of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a UNESCO-listed collection of rainforest reserves along the Great Dividing Range in Queensland and New South Wales, including the Border Ranges and the Main Range national parks. The rainforests here are remnants of the forests that covered the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, and they shelter plants and animals with lineages going back tens of millions of years.
Read the complete Burnett Creek State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Burnett Creek State Forest is where the day begins. Next is Cronan Creek State Forest.
2. Cronan Creek State Forest
Cronan Creek runs off the slopes of Mount Barney, one of the great peaks of the Scenic Rim, the arc of mountains along the Queensland and New South Wales border southwest of Brisbane. Mount Barney rises to over thirteen hundred metres, a rugged mass of volcanic rock covered in eucalyptus forest, with rainforest in the gullies and heathland near the summit, and it is the most challenging climb in southeast Queensland. The creek valley below is quiet and lovely, with clear water running over rocks, tall gums and grassy flats where wallabies graze at dusk.
Read the complete Cronan Creek State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cronan Creek State Forest comes up about 44 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mount Clunie Flora Reserve.
3. Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
On the border between New South Wales and Queensland, the McPherson Range rises steeply from the farmland, its forested slopes and cliffs marking the rim of an ancient volcanic landscape. Mount Clunie Flora Reserve protects a patch of rainforest on these slopes near Woodenbong, part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a UNESCO site that preserves some of the oldest rainforests on earth. Here, in the cool upland forest, hoop pines and towering eucalypts mix with rainforest trees, and the forest floor is dense with ferns and mosses.
Read the complete Mount Clunie Flora Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 103 km into the recorded legs you reach Mount Clunie Flora Reserve. Next is Mount Barney National Park.
4. Mount Barney National Park
Mount Barney looks like it was put there to be argued about. The rugged double summit rises to around 1,350 metres, the second-highest peak in south-east Queensland, and its bare rhyolite crags stand out above the softer farmland of the Scenic Rim like a fortress somebody forgot to finish. Geologists will tell you it is the eroded core of an ancient volcanic system; locals will tell you it has humbled plenty of overconfident walkers. Either way, it is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area, which stretches along the border ranges between Queensland and New South Wales.
Read the complete Mount Barney National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mount Barney National Park, about halfway. Next is 'Palen Creek' State Forest.
5. 'Palen Creek' State Forest
State forests in Queensland do not always sound romantic, but Palen Creek earns a second look. It sits in the hills south of Rathdowney in the Scenic Rim, between the Logan River country and the border ranges, a mix of eucalypt forest, old timber land and gullies of rainforest that run up toward the New South Wales border. The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, which are listed by UNESCO, begin a few ridges away, and the wildlife does not care much about the boundary.
Read the complete 'Palen Creek' State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
'Palen Creek' State Forest sits at 207 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mount Barney National Park.
6. back through Mount Barney National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mount Barney National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mount Barney National Park comes up about 256 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve.
7. back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mount Clunie Flora Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 305 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve. Next is back through Cronan Creek State Forest.
8. back through Cronan Creek State Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cronan Creek State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cronan Creek State Forest, late in the day. Next is Burnett Creek State Forest.
9. Burnett Creek State Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Burnett Creek State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 411 km.
Leg by leg
Burnett Creek State Forest to Cronan Creek State Forest
Burnett Creek State Forest → Cronan Creek State Forest is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cronan Creek State Forest to Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
Cronan Creek State Forest → Mount Clunie Flora Reserve is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mount Clunie Flora Reserve to Mount Barney National Park
Mount Clunie Flora Reserve → Mount Barney National Park is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mount Barney National Park to 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Mount Barney National Park → 'Palen Creek' State Forest is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
'Palen Creek' State Forest to back through Mount Barney National Park
'Palen Creek' State Forest → back through Mount Barney National Park is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mount Barney National Park to back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
back through Mount Barney National Park → back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve to back through Cronan Creek State Forest
back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve → back through Cronan Creek State Forest is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cronan Creek State Forest to Burnett Creek State Forest
back through Cronan Creek State Forest → Burnett Creek State Forest is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.