Why this ride
It goes by way of Spicers Gap State Forest, Teviot State Forest, Gilbert State Forest and Gambubal State Forest.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Goomburra State Forest and Gambubal State Forest
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 663 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 11 h 24
- 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. Goomburra State Forest
Goomburra is the northern gateway to Main Range National Park, a section of the Great Dividing Range west of Brisbane where the mountains rise steeply from the Darling Downs and the Fassifern valley. Like its neighbours on the range it belongs to the Gondwana Rainforests, and it is a place of mountain forest, rainforest gullies and dramatic lookouts. Dalrymple Creek flows through the valley, lined with tall eucalypts and rainforest, and the camping area beside it is a favourite of families and walkers.
Read the complete Goomburra State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Goomburra State Forest is where the day begins. Next is Spicers Gap State Forest.
2. Spicers Gap State Forest
Allan Cunningham, the botanist and explorer, found a way through the Main Range in 1827, and the gap that bears his name now carries the busy highway from Brisbane to the Darling Downs. A few kilometres to the south, Spicers Gap was the route that early drays and coaches used instead, because it offered an easier climb up the escarpment. The old road, built in the mid nineteenth century with stone retaining walls and drains that can still be seen, is now part of the Main Range National Park and the neighbouring state forest, and it is a fascinating relic of the pioneer days, with a historic cemetery and the remains of an old camping ground for teamsters.
Read the complete Spicers Gap State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Spicers Gap State Forest comes up about 72 km into the recorded legs. Next is Teviot State Forest.
3. Teviot State Forest
The Scenic Rim is the name given to the arc of rugged mountains that curves around the south-east corner of Queensland, along the New South Wales border, and Teviot State Forest sits on its western side. It is dry eucalypt country of ironbark and spotted gum, quite different from the rainforest on the wetter slopes nearby, with open woodland, grassy slopes and rocky creek beds. The area is part of the wider Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a World Heritage area that preserves the largest subtropical rainforest in the world and the remnants of the ancient forests that once covered the supercontinent Gondwana.
Read the complete Teviot State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 170 km into the recorded legs you reach Teviot State Forest. Next is Gilbert State Forest.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Gambubal State Forest.
5. Gambubal State Forest
Gambubal State Forest clings to the western side of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, close to the New South Wales border, in country that drops from rainforest-clad ridges down to the grazing land around Killarney and Warwick. The forest adjoins Main Range National Park and belongs to the wider belt of subtropical and temperate rainforest protected as part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. Hoop pine, ancient Antarctic beech on the highest ridges, tree ferns and strangler figs give it a feel of deep time, and it is one of the cooler corners of Queensland in summer.
Read the complete Gambubal State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gambubal State Forest sits at 332 km, about halfway. Next is back through Gilbert State Forest.
6. back through 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
back through Gilbert State Forest comes up about 412 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Teviot State Forest.
7. back through Teviot State Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Teviot State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 502 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Teviot State Forest. Next is back through Spicers Gap State Forest.
8. back through Spicers Gap State Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Spicers Gap 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 Spicers Gap State Forest, late in the day. Next is Goomburra State Forest.
9. Goomburra State Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Goomburra 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 663 km.
Leg by leg
Goomburra State Forest to Spicers Gap State Forest
Goomburra State Forest → Spicers Gap State Forest is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Spicers Gap State Forest to Teviot State Forest
Spicers Gap State Forest → Teviot State Forest is 98 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Teviot State Forest to Gilbert State Forest
Teviot State Forest → Gilbert State Forest is 89 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gilbert State Forest to Gambubal State Forest
Gilbert State Forest → Gambubal State Forest is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gambubal State Forest to back through Gilbert State Forest
Gambubal State Forest → back through Gilbert State Forest is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gilbert State Forest to back through Teviot State Forest
back through Gilbert State Forest → back through Teviot State Forest is 89 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Teviot State Forest to back through Spicers Gap State Forest
back through Teviot State Forest → back through Spicers Gap State Forest is 98 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Spicers Gap State Forest to Goomburra State Forest
back through Spicers Gap State Forest → Goomburra State Forest is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.