Bruce Ridge Nature Reserve

For after hours urgent public health matters including environmental health, radiation safety, food poisoning and communicable disease management phone:

1800 022 222

ACT State Emergency Service

Emergency help
during flood or storms

13 25 00

Bruce Ridge Nature Reserve is a gently-sloping, 98-hectare protected area providing a natural bushland setting for suburbs in central and northern Canberra.

Bruce Ridge Nature Reserve is part of an extensive area of wooded vegetation that includes Aranda Bushland, Black Mountain, O'Connor Ridge, Mount Painter and The Pinnacle nature reserves.. It provides a wildlife movement corridor through to the Molonglo and Murrumbidgee rivers.

Bruce Ridge is popular for walking, trail running, mountain biking, orienteering, dog-walking and nature appreciation. It is the only reserve in Canberra Nature Park that provides bike riders, walkers and runners with a network of shared single tracks. Please respect all users of these tracks.

Mountain bike riding is only permitted on management trails, cycle paths and multi-use trails.

Dogs are permitted on-leash on a track or trail only.

Natural values

Bruce Ridge Nature Reserve protects:

part of the dry forest vegetation complex also found in Black Mountain Nature Reserve that has high plant diversity including many orchids
open forest–woodland that is part of a wider landscape occupied by woodland animals, including threatened or regionally declining bird species
a small area of critically endangered Yellow Box–Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland on its lower slopes

Friends of Bruce Ridge has been active since 2010 and works to support reserve management.

Bruce Ridge Nature Reserve is protected under the Nature Conservation Act 2014. Thank you for taking care of the natural environment.

Add a sighting to the NatureMapr or visit the Canberra Birds website.

Things to do

Activities

Features

Dogs on-leash
NO BINS – take your rubbish with you
Walking track/s

Restricted or prohibited

Aircraft landing/take-off prohibited
Camping prohibited
Chainsaw use prohibited
Domestic animals (other than dogs) prohibited
Off-road driving prohibited
Driving on management trails prohibited
Drone use prohibited
Fires prohibited
Wood and timber collection prohibited
Horses prohibited
Metal detector use prohibited
Trailbikes prohibited except on public roads

Dogs are permitted on-leash on a track or trail only
Mountain bike riding is only permitted on management trails, cycle paths and multi-use trails.

Ngunnawal Country and People

Bruce Ridge Nature Reserve is located on Ngunnawal Country, an ancient and diverse landscape managed and cared for by Ngunnawal people for tens of thousands of years.

For time immemorial Ngunnawal people have maintained a tangible and intangible cultural, social, environmental, spiritual, and economic connection to these lands and waters.

The reserve protects 8 known Aboriginal heritage sites listed on the ACT Heritage Register, including stone artefacts (occurring individually and in scatters on the surface). The reserve is likely to contain further, as-yet-unrecorded, Aboriginal heritage sites.

All Aboriginal places and objects in the ACT are protected under the Heritage Act 2004 and must not be disturbed. Aboriginal places and objects within reserves are additionally protected under the Nature Conservation Act 2014. Anyone finding an (unregistered) Aboriginal object or place has an obligation to report it to the Heritage Council.

European heritage

Land in the Belconnen area was first taken up by European settlers in the early 19th century. The Old Weetangera Road, first referenced in 1830, is 11 km long and is accessed on foot or by bike from the Dryandra Street entrance. Until the urban expansion of Canberra in the 1970s, the land was mostly used for grazing stock.

Bruce was one of the last suburbs of Belconnen to be developed, and the land that now forms the reserve was set aside in 1993.

Before you go/How to get there

Before you go

Explore Bruce Ridge Nature Reserve with Google Trekker.

Prepare by understanding safety and checking alerts.

Respect Canberra Nature Park reserves by:

staying on the tracks to minimise your impact
taking your rubbish home with you
leaving what you find, including plants, animals, rocks and timber (dead and alive)
respecting our heritage - leave cultural sites undisturbed
riding safely and following trail etiquette as a bicycle rider
collecting and responsibly disposing of your dog's droppings (where dogs are permitted)
cleaning your outdoor gear, including bicycles, to avoid spreading weeds and disease

Remember:

bring your own drinking water
carry a mobile phone, especially if you are on your own
let someone know where you are going and when you'll return
be bushfire alert - on total fire ban days some reserves may be closed

How to get there

Bruce Ridge Nature Reserve is accessible from Belconnen Way in the south, Dryandra Street in the east, and from the underpasses off Purdie Street to the north-west.

Boundary mapping is indicative only.

More information

If you notice any issues during your visit:

report maintenance issues to Access Canberra
report vandalism or other illegal activities to the police on 131 444
in an emergency, call 000

Find out about:

In a life threatening emergency dial Triple Zero (000)

triple zero 000

5124 0000

6201 6111

1800 629 354

6205 1065

13 11 26

5124 9977

(02) 6205 1700