Why this ride
It goes by way of Gilbert State Forest, Main Range National Park, Spicers Gap State Forest and back through Main Range National Park.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve and Spicers Gap State Forest
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 697 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 12 h 01
- 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 101 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 234 km into the recorded legs you reach Main Range National Park. 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 back through Main Range National Park.
5. back through 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
back through Main Range National Park sits at 463 km, about halfway. Next is back through Gilbert State Forest.
6. 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 comes up about 600 km into the recorded legs. Next is Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve.
7. 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
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve closes the day.
Leg by leg
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve to Gilbert State Forest
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve → Gilbert State Forest is 101 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 133 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Main Range National Park to Spicers Gap State Forest
Main Range National Park → Spicers Gap State Forest is 117 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Spicers Gap State Forest to back through Main Range National Park
Spicers Gap State Forest → back through Main Range National Park is 117 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Main Range National Park to back through Gilbert State Forest
back through Main Range National Park → back through Gilbert State Forest is 133 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 101 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.