Sunday 12km Walk

Your Journey Begins at the National Film and Sound Archive.

Meet your fellow walkers at this Canberra landmark, where you’ll board a bus to your starting point. It’s a great chance to chat with others taking on the challenge alongside you.

Your walk begins at the Molonglo River near the National Arboretum’s southern boundary.

A brief 500m walk leads you across a causeway and into the pine forest, where the trail climbs, offering spectacular views across Canberra and Lake Burley Griffin to the National Arboretum Conservatory at the 5km mark—an ideal place to pause for refreshments.

Then continue through the conservatory grounds and through the National Rock Garden, an open-air showcase of Australia’s geological story featuring impressive rock specimens sourced from throughout the nation. Interactive signage with QR codes provides access to detailed geological narratives and scientific information.

From there, continue onto a straight dirt track with a short uphill section followed by an easy downhill to the Cork Oak forest.

The Cork Oak Forest is one of the Arboretum’s three heritage forests that pre‑date the Arboretum itself. It was planted in 1917 and 1920.

The plantation was originally established for cork production, and the bark has been harvested periodically over the decades. Cork Oak Forest survived the 2003 Canberra bushfires, thanks largely to the fire‑retardant bark of the trees. It is now one of the Arboretum’s most historically significant living collections.

Exit the cork forest and continue on the bike path through tunnels under three main roads to the lake’s edge. From here, follow the path along the edge of the lake for 3km and then veer off for the last 1km back up to the finish at the National Film and Sound Archive.