Why this ride
On the way it passes Mount Clunie Flora Reserve, Spicers Gap State Forest and back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve. Much of it runs through woodland.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
'Palen Creek' State Forest and Spicers Gap State Forest starting at Kooralbyn
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 257 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 19
- 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. '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 is where the day begins. Next is Mount Clunie Flora Reserve.
2. 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 comes up about 70 km into the recorded legs. Next is Spicers Gap State Forest.
3. 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
about 127 km into the recorded legs you reach Spicers Gap State Forest. Next is back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve.
4. back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve, late in the day. Next is 'Palen Creek' State Forest.
5. 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Back at 'Palen Creek' State Forest. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
'Palen Creek' State Forest to Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
'Palen Creek' State Forest → Mount Clunie Flora Reserve is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mount Clunie Flora Reserve to Spicers Gap State Forest
Mount Clunie Flora Reserve → Spicers Gap State Forest is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Spicers Gap State Forest to back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
Spicers Gap State Forest → back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve to 'Palen Creek' State Forest
back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve → 'Palen Creek' State Forest is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.