General Information
Distance: 11.2 kilometers
Total climb: 445 meters
Time taken: 4 hours
Maps: Canberra 8627-3N 1:25 000; Bungendore 8727-2N 1:25 000
Guide: link
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO: 19 kilometers
Start point map grid reference: 55H GA 04479 88164 [Canberra]
Destination map grid reference: 55H GA 05428 90559 [Bungendore]
End point: same as start
Route
Commentary
This walk started at the Molonglo Gorge picnic area, which is off the Sutton Road approximately 5 kilometers north of Queanbeyan. The 3 kilometer walking trail trough Molonglo Gorge begins here. It is well-marked at the start and very clear along its entire length.
We proceeded east along the walking trail on the north side of the Gorge, with the Canberra-Goulburn railway line across on the other side of the river. The trail starts close to river level, but climbs up the side of the Gorge, giving some good views of the river down below.
At the end of the Molonglo Gorge walking trail is Blue Tiles picnic area, where we stopped for a snack. Apparently there is good swimming here in warmer weather. From Blue Tiles we headed north into the Kowen Pine Forest along wide and clear management trails.
Veering northwest, we picked our way through the 5 kilometers to Mount Reedy (763 meters) on the edge of Kowen Forest. There were some views towards Canberra and Queanbeyan both from the higher management trails and the summit of Mount Reedy.
Leaving the summit we headed southwest along a management trail, but after about 1 kilometer the trail ended unexpectedly - not as it is marked on the map. We were then obliged to cut through the bush into a gully with a creek at the bottom. This was a bit of a scramble and quite a climb back out of the gully, but turned out to be quite picturesque.
At the top of the gully we met up with Kowen Road which we followed to the west before turning south into the road back to the Molonglo Gorge picnic area.
Molonglo Gorge is a great short walk in its own right, but it was even better to go on to Mount Reedy than to just backtrack the way we had come. Navigating through the pine forest requires a map with the management trails marked, or wrong turns could easily be taken.
We proceeded east along the walking trail on the north side of the Gorge, with the Canberra-Goulburn railway line across on the other side of the river. The trail starts close to river level, but climbs up the side of the Gorge, giving some good views of the river down below.
At the end of the Molonglo Gorge walking trail is Blue Tiles picnic area, where we stopped for a snack. Apparently there is good swimming here in warmer weather. From Blue Tiles we headed north into the Kowen Pine Forest along wide and clear management trails.
Veering northwest, we picked our way through the 5 kilometers to Mount Reedy (763 meters) on the edge of Kowen Forest. There were some views towards Canberra and Queanbeyan both from the higher management trails and the summit of Mount Reedy.
Leaving the summit we headed southwest along a management trail, but after about 1 kilometer the trail ended unexpectedly - not as it is marked on the map. We were then obliged to cut through the bush into a gully with a creek at the bottom. This was a bit of a scramble and quite a climb back out of the gully, but turned out to be quite picturesque.
At the top of the gully we met up with Kowen Road which we followed to the west before turning south into the road back to the Molonglo Gorge picnic area.
Assessment
Molonglo Gorge is a great short walk in its own right, but it was even better to go on to Mount Reedy than to just backtrack the way we had come. Navigating through the pine forest requires a map with the management trails marked, or wrong turns could easily be taken.
Tried the Gorge trail today (Jun 29) and was even better than the photos - probably due to the recent wet weather and flowing water. Very mossy and a few muddy spots, but not too slippery, and quite cool and shady :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed Molonglo Gorge. I've found that, no matter how good the photograph, it's a poor substitute for actually being there.
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