The route: Canberra – Brindabella National Park – Wee Jasper – Canberra
Yes, the title does not lie: CyclingGravel has actually started some bikepacking without the “flash” part. This was CyclingGravel’s first trip with all that’s needed for an overnighter, albeit one that included a campground with toilets and a shower (pretty useful after a long hot ride). This also provided a great opportunity to check out a back road adventure – heading to Wee Jasper via Brindabella National Park.
Canberra – Wee Jasper
Travelling out of Canberra this ride started with the usual Murrumbidgee crossing – something that is required one way or another if you are heading west. I do like the Cotter Road / Brindabella Road combination – pretty nice. Unfortunately no water coming over Cotter Dam – unusual for the last few years.
Shortly after passing Uriarra Village, Mountain Creek Road is the start of the gravel adventure. Whether you head out of town via Uriarra Crossing and then on to Fairlight Road, or do as I did and travel via the Cotter, when you get to Mountain Creek Road the section between Fairlight and Uriarra Roads is gravel. You need to take the gravel part of Mountain Creek Road to connect to Two Sticks Road: the route to get to Brindabella National Park.
Initially Two Sticks Road is a similar gravel road to Mountain Creek – well maintained and clearly used as a way to get to a number of properties in the area. After a few kilometres, however, the road is poorly maintained. I initially had a misadventure into someone’s drive – so unlikely looking was the “road” (“Surely this well maintained route is the road, not that hike-a-bike track?” Wrong….). Thankfully, you just need to press on for 2.5km to the boundary with the Brindabella National Park where things improve a lot. I suspect that this has to do with this short section of the road being a bit of an orphan between the ACT border and the National Park – the council is not that motivated to maintain the route.
Because the road is well maintained in the National Park the cycling is fun: you can spend quite a bit of time admiring the scenery, rather than worrying too much about where you are placing your bike wheels. This was quite a warm day, so I appreciated one of the creek crossings as a place to filter some additional water.
After the intersection with Blue Range Trail, Two Sticks Road clearly gets a bit more traffic, presumably on the way to Coree campground and Piccadilly Circus (Brindabella Road). After a few more kilometres it is time to turn onto the well sign-posted Baldy Range Trail. Here, things start to get difficult. This is not because the trail is poorly maintained – it is the steepness of parts of the track that make it necessary to hike-a-bike. I reckon in total there was at least 1km of very steep track where there was little option but to dismount and push when travelling on a loaded bike. I suspect that on an unloaded mountain bike I might have been able to cycle up, but even this would require careful choice of line to ensure good traction.
At the top of the range there are spectacular views. The track does have some loose shale, but gosh the high country views to ranges and valleys are fantastic. Totally worth the push through.
After some fun descent (at times requiring some caution, but nothing too sketchy) the track connects to Doctors Flat Road. This provides a resumption of travel on maintained gravel road, and it even had some occasional truck traffic due to some road works on a side road. Passing through forest, rural properties and up and down a few hills, it made for hot work on this particular day. Prior to joining the sealed road that takes you through to Wee Jasper, however, there are some fantastic views.
Talking of Wee Jasper Road, this final stretch that descends down to the Goodradigbee River crossing is one of my favourite descents near Canberra. It is beautiful, and made all the more fun by the fact that the last few kilometres are inside a rural property – meaning that you may need to dodge a sheep or three! After passing through town, there are a few more kilometres to cover to the campground. If you arrive when it is open, a G&T at the Distillery is a worthwhile stop in town before heading to camp.
Wee Jasper – Canberra
There are a few choices for heading back to Canberra, but I chose to stick to a direct route as the temperature was predicted to be at least 35 celsius. I have previously tried Sawyers Gully Road (I’ve written about it as part of a trip back from Tumut) and was a little tempted to see if it was as bad as I remembered. The temperature got the better of me…
Not that sticking to the tarmac is bad. There is not a heap of traffic on Wee Jasper Road, and even once you connect to Mountain Creek Road cars are infrequent: I think I almost passed more cyclists (5) than vehicles.
Don’t be fooled by these roads, though. There are some pretty steep bits as you go up and down. All of which are topped off by the grind up the three sisters on Uriarra Road, delivering you back to Canberra via Denman Prospect.
Making it all work
I stayed at one of the Wee Jasper Reserves camp grounds, in this case Billy Grace Reserve. In addition to providing decent facilities for $19/night, there are plenty of well-grassed options for camping and the store offers basic supplies (I confess to murdering a Coca-Cola after the ride). The real highlight was the ability to cool off in the Goodradigbee River, and listening to the flock of cockatoos as dusk settled. As with any campground the serenity is dependent upon the other campers. If you want to be a bit more “on your own”, the best option to consider is to camp away from the river (closer to the entrance and kiosk) – the river sites seemed to be the most popular – particularly with caravans and campervans setting up near the river itself.
CyclingGravel 