The route: Canberra – Wee Jasper – Jugiong – Harden – Young – Boorowa – Yass – Canberra
A back-road cycle to Jugiong has been a long-term aspiration of CyclingGravel. So too a mate, it turned out, so that was all the motivation required. The key question was how best to make it a return trip? The opening of Wee Jasper Distillery has made for a great mid-ride break to Jugiong, but Bulla Creek Brewing has now definitively answered the question of where to ride Day 2, which can be followed by Murrumbateman options on Day 3. So, if you have a three day weekend, here is CyclingGravel’s Canberra-based exploration of the Hilltops region of NSW.
Day 1: Canberra – Wee Jasper – Jugiong
CyclingGravel regularly rides Mountain Creek Road as it provides a great route to Yass (on-road). It is one of the best Canberra day rides – out to Yass for coffee and then back on Dog Trap Road, or potentially other gravel routes east of the Barton Highway (e.g. Day 1 of this route).
When heading to Wee Jasper, as discovered when heading back from Tumut, my recommendation is to stick to Mountain Creek Road rather than what seems to be a short-cut on Sawyers Gully Road. Connecting to Wee Jasper Road you are rewarded with great views, as well as some nice descents. Although to clarify, these descents follow quite a reasonable amount of climbing – you cover well over 1000m of climbing between Canberra and Wee Jasper.
Slightly unusually for a sealed road, this route also passes through grazing property. Nothing wrong with that, but look out for on-road livestock! The descent after the stock grid is definitely one of the best parts of the trip, before heading over the river into Wee Jasper.
After a break in Wee Jasper and passing the camping grounds a few kilometres south, the road turns west and also becomes a gravel road. This leads to a lovely climb – just over 500m in elevation over 11km so nothing too strenuous. I’ve cycled the road a few times and it seems well maintained – graded regularly.
Once at the top the road undulates through farmland and forest before becoming sealed prior to the turn into Threeways Road – about 30km out of Wee Jasper. This turn is clearly sign-posted as a route to Coolac.
You can indeed head to Coolac, and you may be tempted to given the nice quiet sealed roads that are on offer. Super scenic, particularly the 9km descent on Adjungbilly Road to the Murrumbidgee. Here, instead of heading left to Coolac, Jugiong is to the right on Hopewood Road.
Hopewood Road is champagne gravel – albeit somewhat exposed. On a still and mild day it is lovely – I imagine on a windy and/or hot day it could be a bit brutal. Another part of the route to look out for the sheep!
Be prepared for the final climb as you head to Jugiong. After passing a stockyard there is a brutal little pinch (sealed) up to Bundarbo Road. Not nice after a long day. You will be very glad for a beer at the Sir George on arrival!
Day 2: Jugiong – Harden – Young – Boorowa
There isn’t much in the way of breakfast options in Jugiong before 0800, so the first order of cycling is either to come prepared, wait, or head to Harden! This takes advantage of a great back road with limited traffic, although don’t be fooled by being in “Hilltops” – what is actually means is there are lots of hill tops to go up and down.
After a fuel-up in Harden, next stop was Young. There are a few different route options – we chose a combo of Back Creek and Scenic roads – both of which had sporadic traffic (based upon limited sampling, I would definitely recommend avoiding Wombat Road, as this seems to be the main thoroughfare for traffic between Harden and Young). Coincidentally we arrived in Young with the cherry festival in full swing, so grabbed a coffee and cherry pie!
Lunch was organised around Bulla Creek Brewing (see below), which offered a great gravel diversion – Jerrybang Lane to the brewery and then Rosewood Lane on the way out. Based upon advice from the head brewer, we headed on to Wirrimah Road – and did not regret the great views.
After a thankfully short stint on the Olympic Highway, Chews Lane and Murringo Road provided the route on to Boorowa. After being absolutely slammed by a summer storm, we were pleased to be able to ultimately arrive and dry out!
Day 3: Boorowa – Yass – Canberra
There are some epic roads north of Yass, and we selected a combination (Rye Park, Dalton and Cooks Hill) as our close to traffic-free route. Lovely.
I’ve previously cycled and written about routes back from Yass – see for example, Yass on-road and the Binalong weekender for some other options. This trip we took Dog Trap Road, and were blessed with beautiful views. Epic.
Tips, recommendations and things I’d change
Whilst having a G&T at 1030 in the morning might not be your style (it is possible, maybe, that I had one at 1100), the beautiful and scenic Wee Jasper Distillery is great. Offering coffee and toasties (including gluten free options), this place is one that is worth visiting – even if just a day trip from Canberra.
Bulla Creek Brewing was an absolute delight. After a good chat to the co-founder (Mike) about the story behind the brewery and how things were going, we enjoyed some fantastic brews and Banh Mi from that day’s food truck. Offering lovely views over farmland, it is an experience not to miss.
In addition to these highlights, we did:
- Drink and eat at the Sir George in Jugiong, but certainly did not pay the price of staying there. The motel down the road is not brilliant, but not horrible either.
- Have a great breakfast at Jacksons Bakery in Harden. It has a lovely garden on the side – make sure you say hello to Esmay the macaw.
- Stay at the ‘Courty‘ – Court House Hotel in Boorowa. This is a welcoming hotel with renovated rooms and great value meals. Nice, but be aware that it can be quite loud on Saturday night – good luck getting to sleep prior to midnight…..
CyclingGravel 