My top 3 Canberra walking tracks
1 - Oxley Hill
Oxley hill, my old stomping ground.
There has been many a time I’ve found myself on this hill as a kid but even now as a little nostalgic trip down memory lane.
This little spot doesn’t seem like much, but for those that know, the location actually is quite nice and is situated with a view point that overlooks Tuggeranong lake and the hyper dome area.
There are multiple starting points where you can start this walk and most of them are just off various streets which you can find on the map.
I’d say its a light 10 minute walk from the bottom to the top if you come from McKibbin Place that goes on the path straight up from the car park / playground area.
It’s also a really nice Mt Bike track from top to bottom but also all around the whole hill.
Definitely worth a visit, but during summer be careful of the snakes because there’s plenty.
2 - The Pinnacle
The Pinnacle is situated in Hawker and is very subtle but a very nice walk with a great view point (especially for a photographer like myself)
This was one of those lockdown finds when we were all looking for fresh air.
The walk from the car park situated off Springvale dr is approximately 20 minute walk from the bottom to the top and there’s a couple of other options that don’t include the pinnacle (more of just around the block type walks).
It’s an underrated walk in my opinion - there’s been a couple of times where we’ve seen the endangered Gang Gangs and plenty of grey kangaroos which love to just lay and chill and observe as you walk around.
This walk would also be great for the family as there’s plenty of rocks and tree stumps to jump off (of course being careful of the path and what not.)
As a photographer, there’s plenty of textures and colours and “golden hour” spots that are great for family photos or just hitting that golden glow on our city landscape.
Highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t already!
3 - Cotter Caves
Now this one is one of my personal favourites and admittedly I haven’t been able to do it in a long time, but a light walk to the cotter caves is seriously a fantastic and not well known spot I think anyone in Canberra should seriously check out.
Here’s a Parks ACT information link to get a better idea of the overall walk (as it can be hard to find if you aren’t using the offical tracks”.
It’s so memorable to me because of the sounds and visuals such as the cotter river flowing, the wind flowing through the branches and the shade covering most of the track.
There’s a very well built set up stairs up to the caves (Which has been sealed off for obvious reasons) however when I lasted visited there’s a small
little cavern you can go in if you dare (heavily graffitied and creepy)
There’s a great vantage point from the top and makes for some great photos, this would take probably about 30-45 minutes tops from the car park.
A lot of people are surprised to know that there’s caves just around the cotter bend so if you haven’t seen this or looked at the map, take this as a sign to go on an adventure to find this spot.
Sadly I’ve lost all my photos of this wonderful location which means I’m due for another visit soon.!
These are just my top 3 and aren’t overly special but to me they are because of certain photos and moments spent here.
Let us know if you checked out any of these spots :)