Kowen Forest: Glenburn Heritage Precinct

General Information

Grading:  easy

Distance:   11.9 kilometers

Total climb:   236 meters

Time taken:   2 hours 30 minutes

Maps:   Bungendore 8727-2N 1:25 000

Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:   24.7 kilometers

Start point map grid reference: 55H GA 11271 87328

Destination map grid reference:  none

End point:  same as start

 

Route

  

Description

This walk started at a small car parking area before the gate on Charcoal Kiln Road, just off the Kings Highway about 200 meters past the ACT border. There is a map just inside the gate showing a number of walking options in the historic precinct, but I chose the Precinct Loop Trail and decided to do it counter-clockwise, although I have since done it in the other direction as well. The walk is pretty well signposted.

I started walking up Charcoal Kiln Road and after a bit over 3 kilometers came to the Glenburn Homestead area. There is a mown path off to the right which loops around the homestead passing by the shearing quarters and shearing shed, the Colverwell grave site and the homestead itself.

After getting back to Charcoal Kiln Road I continued past the Kowen school and the charcoal kiln sites. After the gate I turned south and followed River Road, which follows Glen Burn Creek to its junction with the Molonglo River. I continued along River Road until map reference 55H GA 08684 88952 where I turned to the right to view the Coppins Homestead ruins.

I then backtracked to map reference 55H GA 09133 89181where I turned off River Road and crossed Glen Burn Creek. At the top of the next rise I had a great view of Colliers Homestead ruins in the distance, and soon came to the ruin itself.

I continued to follow the signs to Mt Atkinson, and from there back to Charcoal Kiln Road and the car park.

Kowen Pine Forest: Mount Cohen, Amungula and Glen Burn Homestead

General Information

Distance:  19.5 kilometers
Total climb:  570 meters
Time taken:  5 hours 10 minutes
Map:  Bungendore 8727-2N, 1:25 000
Guide:  none available
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  26 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H GA 13682 88573
Destination map grid references:  Mount Cohen - 55H GA 12899 91821
                                                      Amungula - 55HGA 11129 9261
                                                      Glen Burn Homestead - 55H GA 10374 90389
End point: same as start

Route

http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/

Description

The starting point for the hike was the gate at the end of Sparrow Hill Road, which comes off the Kings Highway just after Burbong. From here we entered the Kowen Pine Forest and followed management trails in a general northerly direction until we reached Mount Cohen, a peak at 918 meters elevation which is thick with tall pine trees and did not offer any views.

After a coffee break, we followed fire trails in a general westerly direction to the top of Amungula at 915 meters elevation. There were some views north towards Wamboin just before we reached the summit.

From Amungula we followed management trails south through the pine forest until we came to Glen Burn Homestead, where we took the opportunity to look at the homestead and nearby pioneer graves.

From the gravesite we headed east through very boggy ground to get back into the pine forest with the intention of following management trails east to out starting point. Unfortunately we were blocked by a large area of recent logging activity which we were prohibited from entering. As a result, we ended up on Charcoal Kiln Road, which we followed down to Sparrow Hill Road. We started slogging our way up Sparrow Hill Road to get back to the car, but luckily my hiking companion started up a conversation with a passing motorist who kindly drove us the remaining way.

This is an easy and quite pleasant walk through pine forest, but without any particularly interesting views. The Kowen Pine Forest itself, however, is quiet and not without its nice spots, although obviously the areas that have been logged (and we passed by or through a few of these) are pretty awful. The highlight of the hike for me was Glen Burn Homestead, which can be visited also by driving up Charcoal Kiln Road (gravel). Navigating through pine forest requires a good map and compass to make the right route choices.

Kowen Pine Forest: Mount Reedy

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.

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.