Why this ride
The stops in between: Gilbert State Forest, Main Range National Park and back through Gilbert State Forest. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve and Main Range National Park
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 449 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 44
- 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. Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve
The Border Ranges are where Queensland leans against New South Wales, and Wilsons Peak, a rocky summit on the line between the two states, is part of that tumbled wall. The flora reserve around it protects a patch of high, cool forest on the old volcanic ranges, and it is one of those places that the wider world mostly forgets. The land here was shaped by the huge Tweed volcano, which erupted for millions of years, leaving behind a circle of mountains and deep valleys.
Read the complete Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve 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 97 km into the recorded legs. Next is Main Range National Park.
3. 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
about 225 km into the recorded legs you reach Main Range National Park. Next is back through Gilbert State Forest.
4. 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 Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve.
5. Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve to Gilbert State Forest
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve → Gilbert State Forest is 97 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gilbert State Forest to Main Range National Park
Gilbert State Forest → Main Range National Park is 128 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Main Range National Park to back through Gilbert State Forest
Main Range National Park → back through Gilbert State Forest is 128 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gilbert State Forest to Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve
back through Gilbert State Forest → Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve is 97 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.