Why this ride
The stops in between: Gilbert State Forest, Burnett Creek State Forest, Spicers Gap State Forest and Mount Clunie Flora Reserve. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mount Mistake National Park and Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 660 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 13 h 53
- 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: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Mount Mistake National Park
Mount Mistake has a name that sounds like an apology. It stands in the Great Dividing Range in south-east Queensland, in rugged country west of Brisbane, and the national park around it protects steep slopes of dry eucalypt forest and a handful of rocky ridgelines. The mountain is not a famous summit, and the park is not set up for casual visitors: this is the kind of bush where the main facilities are the road, the sky and your own sense of direction.
Read the complete Mount Mistake National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mount Mistake National Park is where the day begins. Next is Gilbert State Forest.
2. 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 comes up about 135 km into the recorded legs. Next is Burnett Creek State Forest.
3. 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
about 222 km into the recorded legs you reach Burnett Creek State Forest. Next is Spicers Gap State Forest.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Mount Clunie Flora Reserve.
5. 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
Mount Clunie Flora Reserve sits at 143 km, about halfway. Next is back through Spicers Gap State Forest.
6. 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 comes up about 388 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Burnett Creek State Forest.
7. back through 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
about 447 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Burnett Creek State Forest. Next is back through Gilbert State Forest.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is Mount Mistake National Park.
9. Mount Mistake National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mount Mistake 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 660 km.
Leg by leg
Mount Mistake National Park to Gilbert State Forest
Mount Mistake National Park → Gilbert State Forest is 135 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gilbert State Forest to Burnett Creek State Forest
Gilbert State Forest → Burnett Creek State Forest is 87 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Burnett Creek State Forest to Spicers Gap State Forest
Burnett Creek State Forest → Spicers Gap State Forest is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Spicers Gap State Forest to Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
Spicers Gap State Forest → Mount Clunie Flora Reserve is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mount Clunie Flora Reserve to back through Spicers Gap State Forest
Mount Clunie Flora Reserve → back through Spicers Gap State Forest is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Spicers Gap State Forest to back through Burnett Creek State Forest
back through Spicers Gap State Forest → back through Burnett Creek State Forest is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Burnett Creek State Forest to back through Gilbert State Forest
back through Burnett Creek State Forest → back through Gilbert State Forest is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gilbert State Forest to Mount Mistake National Park
back through Gilbert State Forest → Mount Mistake National Park is 133 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.