Why this ride
On the way it passes Gambubal State Forest, Goomburra State Forest, Teviot State Forest and 'Palen Creek' State Forest. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Main Range National Park and 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 955 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 16 h 28
- 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. Main Range National Park
The Main Range is the wall behind the Scenic Rim, a long line of old volcanic cliffs and ridges that runs along the border between south-east Queensland and New South Wales. It is what remains of a huge volcano that erupted more than twenty million years ago, and the rocks have been eroded into steep escarpments, gorges and waterfalls, with the high points, such as Mount Superbus, reaching nearly fourteen hundred metres. The national park protects dry eucalypt forest on the lower slopes and cool, damp rainforest higher up, with ancient Antarctic beech trees and giant tree ferns that belong to the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, listed by UNESCO in 1986.
Read the complete Main Range National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Main Range National Park is where the day begins. Next is Gambubal State Forest.
2. 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 comes up about 138 km into the recorded legs. Next is Goomburra State Forest.
3. 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
about 242 km into the recorded legs you reach Goomburra State Forest. Next is Teviot State Forest.
4. 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
Teviot State Forest, 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 479 km, about halfway. Next is back through Teviot State Forest.
6. 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
back through Teviot State Forest comes up about 600 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Goomburra State Forest.
7. back through 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
about 710 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Goomburra State Forest. Next is back through Gambubal State Forest.
8. back through Gambubal State Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Gambubal State Forest, late in the day. Next is Main Range National Park.
9. Main Range National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Main Range National Park 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 955 km.
Leg by leg
Main Range National Park to Gambubal State Forest
Main Range National Park → Gambubal State Forest is 138 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gambubal State Forest to Goomburra State Forest
Gambubal State Forest → Goomburra State Forest is 105 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Goomburra State Forest to Teviot State Forest
Goomburra State Forest → Teviot State Forest is 110 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Teviot State Forest to 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Teviot State Forest → 'Palen Creek' State Forest is 124 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
'Palen Creek' State Forest to back through Teviot State Forest
'Palen Creek' State Forest → back through Teviot State Forest is 124 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Teviot State Forest to back through Goomburra State Forest
back through Teviot State Forest → back through Goomburra State Forest is 110 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Goomburra State Forest to back through Gambubal State Forest
back through Goomburra State Forest → back through Gambubal State Forest is 105 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gambubal State Forest to Main Range National Park
back through Gambubal State Forest → Main Range National Park is 138 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.