Why this ride
585 km from Canungra to Canungra, about 10 h 05 of riding. The stops in between: Limpinwood Nature Reserve, Mount Chinghee National Park, Cronan Creek State Forest and back through Mount Chinghee National Park.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Lamington National Park and Cronan Creek State Forest
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 585 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 10 h 05
- 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. Lamington National Park
Ask anyone in Brisbane about Lamington and they will probably mention one of two roads, and both of them will make you work. The national park covers the high plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland side of the border, a huge expanse of rainforest, waterfalls and cliff-edged lookouts at the heart of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area. It was named after Lord Lamington, a governor of Queensland at the end of the nineteenth century, who is said to have been less than thrilled to have a park, and later a cake, named after him.
Read the complete Lamington National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lamington National Park is where the day begins. Next is Limpinwood Nature Reserve.
2. Limpinwood Nature Reserve
Twenty-odd million years ago, a huge shield volcano stood where the Tweed valley is now, on what became the border between New South Wales and Queensland. Erosion has since carved out its centre, leaving one of the largest erosion calderas in the world, a vast bowl of green farmland ringed by cliffs and ridges, with the volcano's old central plug, Wollumbin, also known as Mount Warning, standing in the middle. Limpinwood Nature Reserve, on the northern rim of the caldera, protects a stretch of subtropical rainforest that is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site preserving forests whose lineage goes back to the ancient supercontinent.
Read the complete Limpinwood Nature Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Limpinwood Nature Reserve comes up about 79 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mount Chinghee National Park.
3. Mount Chinghee National Park
Mount Chinghee is one of those small national parks that most people drive past without noticing, which is a shame, because it guards a beautiful pocket of the border ranges. It lies near the head of the Albert River valley south of Beaudesert, close to the Queensland and New South Wales border, and like its neighbours it forms part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area. The trees here are the same subtropical rainforest types that once covered much of the old southern supercontinent, hanging on in the wetter folds of the ranges.
Read the complete Mount Chinghee National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 182 km into the recorded legs you reach Mount Chinghee National Park. Next is Cronan Creek State Forest.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Mount Chinghee National Park.
5. back through Mount Chinghee National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mount Chinghee 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 Chinghee National Park sits at 390 km, about halfway. Next is back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve.
6. back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Limpinwood Nature Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve comes up about 502 km into the recorded legs. Next is Lamington National Park.
7. Lamington National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lamington National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lamington National Park closes the day.
Leg by leg
Lamington National Park to Limpinwood Nature Reserve
Lamington National Park → Limpinwood Nature Reserve is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Limpinwood Nature Reserve to Mount Chinghee National Park
Limpinwood Nature Reserve → Mount Chinghee National Park is 102 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mount Chinghee National Park to Cronan Creek State Forest
Mount Chinghee National Park → Cronan Creek State Forest is 109 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cronan Creek State Forest to back through Mount Chinghee National Park
Cronan Creek State Forest → back through Mount Chinghee National Park is 109 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mount Chinghee National Park to back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve
back through Mount Chinghee National Park → back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve is 102 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve to Lamington National Park
back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve → Lamington National Park is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.