Top 5 adventure day rides out of Sydney for beginner to intermediate riders.
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Wisemans to Laguna
230kms - 4 hours
Up Old Northern Road to Wisemans, cross the ferry and turn left onto Settlers Road. Pass through St Albans unless you have a later start; the pub is an excellent spot for lunch. Then head north along Wollombi Road, a nice, easy run through bushland along the river. At the Bucketty Wall, you’ll turn left onto the Great North Road and follow the well-paced sealed road to Laguna to the Great Northern Trading Post.
After lunch, head back south and turn onto Murrays Run Road, a great little historic dirt run that has existed since the early 1800s. Join back onto George Downes Drive, which will turn into the old freeway, Peats Ridge Road. Take the Old Pacific Highway back south, either back into Sydney or via Galston Gorge, to finish back on Old Northern Road to complete the loop. You can also shorten this one by returning via Wisemans Ferry Road.
Colo Loop
150kms - 3 hours
If you’re up for something shorter but still have a good mix of dirt and sealed roads, this one loops from Wiseman's west to Colo and back down via Windsor.
Start up Old Northern Road again, drop into Adventure Moto on the way past, but this time turn left at the Wisemans Pub and take the Webbs Creek Ferry over to Webb Creek Road, cross the bridge and head into the dirt on the right along Bicentenary Road. It’s a nice climb up the rock side, but keep an eye out for the next turn, or you’ll miss it. 6.5 km in, you’ll find Wheelbarrow Ridge Trail. Don’t be discouraged by the name; it may not be a road, but it is okay for beginners.
You’ll eventually find your way onto Putty Road, but this will last about 15 seconds before you turn left onto Colo Heights Road. Take the new bridge to Upper Colo Road and quickly turn left onto Comleroy Road, which will take you through the Wheeny Creek campground.
You can follow this to Bells Line of Road, or if you’re not ready to go home yet, you can cut through to Tractor 828 in Ebenezer.
The Watagans
300kms - 5 hours
If you want to stretch a few more km out, one more heading north before we go south and west.
We’ll start by heading north up the Old Pacific Highway and snake our way through Wyong. Jilliby Road will take us to the south entrance of Watagans on the appropriately named Watagan Forest Drive.
This entrance is a slightly steeper and rockier way in from the popular tracks, but keep that momentum going, and you’ll be up on the ridge in no time. It’s a pleasant run through to the central campsites. Head West onto Wollombi Forest Road to get to The Letter A. Yes, you heard that correctly, but I can’t find any origins for the name, so if you know, let us know.
Then, we will reverse the first option to St Albans and join the Colo loop. We will stretch it out a little more and avoid ego-saturated Windsor Road by passing through my old stomping grounds of Kenthurst on Old Pit Town Road.
Loop the lake - Kanangra-Boyd National Park
400kms - 8 hours
Blast down the freeway to Mittagong to knock out some early km and top up the tanks, then head along Wombeyan Caves Road. It’s a nice run down to Goodman Ford that decreases speed but increases in incline as you travel. The other side of the river gets a little more exciting, but there is nothing you can’t handle if you’ve done the previous rides.
Then we join Langs Road, where you start to feel like you’re away from everything, heading into the dense bush. Eventually, you’ll turn right onto Range Fire Trail. One of my favourite tracks. It's a dynamic bit of dirt in both surface and geometry that continues until you reach Mount Werong Road. If you’re not keen on steepness, you can head towards Oberon, but if you want something more challenging, head to Dingo Dell via Banshes Hill Trail. It’s a steep drop down to a couple of creek crossings, then climb back along Boyd River Trail to Kanangra Walls Road. Chuck left and headed back to Oberon for much-needed fuel. Check your range before heading on this one, as it’s 180 km from Mittagong to Oberon and the closest fuel station is shut on Sundays.
From here, you can take a casual but fun way back on the sealed roads and down Bells Line of Road to Windsor. If you want to stay dirty, detour along Glen Chee Road.
You can easily turn this ride into a 2-day trip with plenty of camping options or places to stay, including Yerranderie Ghost Town.
Bridle and Turon River
480kms -10 hours
So, if you really want to knock out some km and you like an early start, this one will take you along some of the best roads and tracks near Sydney.
Head up the Bells Line of Road to the Zig Zag railway and follow the Old Bells Line of Road and check out the Lost City, then follow Blackfellows Hand Trail to the Cave site. Another optional detour is the Bicentennial National Trail, a well-known but challenging track, and if you’re doing this in a day, it might be a stretch. So head down to Castlereagh Highway and north to Capertee for a fuel top-up.
Just north of Capertee, you’ll find Turon Gates Road, which takes you along the river to Sofala—an absolutely stunning road. If you still have plenty of time in the day, head west to Hill End and drop down the Bridle Track. We did this in the opposite direction because we turned it into a two-day ride and stayed in Hill End.
At the end of Bridle, turn east along Turondale and across to Peel, then north along Sofala Road. You can top up fuel at Wattle Flat, then head back down Limekilns Road and then left onto Mount Horrible Road, which is not appropriately named because it is also exquisite.
If you still want more challenging dirt tracks, take Eskdale Road; otherwise, stay on Mount Horrible. They’ll both end up at Dark Corner Road. The easy way goes via Palmers Oaky; while more accessible, it is a nice ride. The sun will come up tomorrow when you get to Sunny Corner. Make a final pitstop at Portland before returning to Bells Line of Road for a casual roll back into Sydney.
Don’t forget to share your ride photos, videos and GPXs by going to motorides.com.au/sharemyride
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