Why this ride
It goes by way of Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve, Cronan Creek State Forest, Border Ranges National Park and back through Cronan Creek State Forest. Much of it runs through woodland.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gilbert State Forest and Border Ranges National Park
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 408 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 03
- 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. Gilbert State Forest
West of Brisbane, the Great Dividing Range rises as a dark wall above the plains, and Gilbert State Forest sits on its western slopes, where the rainforest of the escarpment gives way to drier eucalypt woodland and the farmland of the Darling Downs. To the east lies Main Range National Park, with its high peaks and steep cliffs; to the west, the land opens out towards Warwick and the wide grain fields beyond.
Read the complete Gilbert State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gilbert State Forest is where the day begins. Next is Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve.
2. Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve
The Border Ranges are where Queensland leans against New South Wales, and Wilsons Peak, a rocky summit on the line between the two states, is part of that tumbled wall. The flora reserve around it protects a patch of high, cool forest on the old volcanic ranges, and it is one of those places that the wider world mostly forgets. The land here was shaped by the huge Tweed volcano, which erupted for millions of years, leaving behind a circle of mountains and deep valleys.
Read the complete Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve comes up about 64 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cronan Creek State Forest.
3. 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
about 138 km into the recorded legs you reach Cronan Creek State Forest. Next is Border Ranges National Park.
4. Border Ranges National Park
Twenty three million years ago a huge shield volcano stood over what is now the border between New South Wales and Queensland, and the Border Ranges are the remains of its northern and western rim. The volcano has long since eroded, leaving a vast caldera with the steep central plug of Wollumbin, also known as Mount Warning, rising in the middle, and a ring of cliffs and ridges around it covered in dense subtropical rainforest. The Border Ranges National Park protects a large part of that rim, and it is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a World Heritage Site that preserves forests whose ancestry goes back to the time when Australia was part of the supercontinent Gondwana.
Read the complete Border Ranges National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Border Ranges National Park, about halfway. Next is back through Cronan Creek State Forest.
5. 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 sits at 273 km, about halfway. Next is back through Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve.
6. back through Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve comes up about 344 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gilbert State Forest.
7. Gilbert State Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gilbert State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gilbert State Forest closes the day.
Leg by leg
Gilbert State Forest to Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve
Gilbert State Forest → Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve to Cronan Creek State Forest
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve → Cronan Creek State Forest is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cronan Creek State Forest to Border Ranges National Park
Cronan Creek State Forest → Border Ranges National Park is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Border Ranges National Park to back through Cronan Creek State Forest
Border Ranges National Park → back through Cronan Creek State Forest is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cronan Creek State Forest to back through Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve
back through Cronan Creek State Forest → back through Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve to Gilbert State Forest
back through Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve → Gilbert State Forest is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.