General Information
Grading: Medium
Distance: 17.6 kilometers
Total climb: 517 meters
Time taken: 4 hours 25 minutes
Map: Colinton 8726-3N 1:25 000
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO: 80 kilometers
Start point map grid reference: 55H FA 81464 29033
Destination map grid reference: 55H FA 86626 33637
End point: Same as start point
Total climb: 517 meters
Time taken: 4 hours 25 minutes
Map: Colinton 8726-3N 1:25 000
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO: 80 kilometers
Start point map grid reference: 55H FA 81464 29033
Destination map grid reference: 55H FA 86626 33637
End point: Same as start point
Dates walked: 2 September 2015, 24 October 2025
Route
Description
This walk starts at the Mount Clear Campground, just off Boboyan Road in the far south of the Australian Capital Territory. The walking trail follows management trails through the Naas Valley which are part of the Bicentennial National Trail. There are a number of points of interest along the track that are marked with numbered posts (there is a published guide that provides information on these points of interest, so it's a good idea to take it with you).
Leaving the campground the track passes through fairly open terrain, past the Mount Clear horse yards and with occasional glimpses of Naas Creek.
About 2 kilometers into the trail there is a bow in Naas Creek which means that it has to be crossed twice, or walked around. The first time I did this walk the water level was quite high so we decided to walk around the bow rather than try to ford the creek twice. This was quite heavy going through thick grass, and was a bit swampy in places, and we were probably lucky not to encounter any snakes. The second time I did this walk I was able to cross the creek with some deft rock-hopping.
The trail continues through more wooded terrain with a lot of climbing up and down.
About 7 kilometers into the walk the trail goes noticeably downhill with some moderately steep sections down to a grassy clearing and Horse Gully Hut.
The hut itself is a comfortable place to have lunch, with amenities including a table and chairs.
I returned to the Mount Clear camping ground the way I'd come, but on my second walk (October 2025) took a short side-trip along the way to the Demandering Hut ruins. This hut was destroyed in the 2020 bushfires and sadly I never got to see it.
