Skip to main content

Exploring The Highlands: Top 5 Local Rides Of Bowral & The Southern Highlands

By 14 October 20192019 News
Getting down to the Southern Highlands a few days before the ride?
To get the low down on all things cycling in the region we spoke with event ambassador Harry Kooros, a local cycling legend and store manager of bike shop The Fixed Wheel Bowral.
Here are Harry’s Top 5 local rides.

Fozwat

Quite possibly the most ridden cycling route in the Southern Highlands, this is a 40km loop with approximately 400m of elevation. With a few rolling hills, it is not an overly difficult loop and will take the average rider between 1hr 15min to 1hr 45min to complete.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1227432770

Greenhills

Another common route ridden dozens of times per day by local riders, this loop traces the first quarter of the Bowral Classic Maxi Classic and is a challenging yet rewarding ride. It features several tough hills, but the breathtaking scenery makes it all worth while.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1061831593#26120343128

Macquarrie Pass return

This 75km loop is not an easy one, but is definitely a spectacular one. This route takes you from the height of Bowral (at 690m above sea level) to Albion park (at only 21m above sea level). You will descend the awesome Macquarrie Pass (a 9km climb) and the challenging return climb. With a fair bit of elevation, this ride is a tough one and usually takes between 3 and 4 hours (including breaks).

https://www.strava.com/activities/1515154853

The Bowral and Southern Highlands region offers a wide variety of road and mountain biking options as Harry Kooros explains here.

Tallong Return

A relatively flat 100-120km out-and-back ride that takes you along some of the course of this years Classic. A few dead roads will test your patience but otherwise it’s a very cruisy ride.

https://www.strava.com/activities/219258474

Avon Dam

This ride takes you up north to Avon Dam, where you will climb 3 short (3km) hills. You descend all the way to Avon and climb your way out. It is a very scenic ride.

https://www.strava.com/activities/221738508