Cooleman 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

Cooleman Ridge Nature Reserve is a 187-hectare protected area on the southern edge of Weston Creek. It is popular for walking, cycling, dog walking and horse riding.

The reserve is part of a connected expanse of woodland across northern Tuggeranong that includes Mount Taylor, Farrer Ridge and Wanniassa Hills nature reserves to the east, and McQuoids Hill Nature Reserve and the Murrumbidgee River Corridor to the west.

Horse riding is permitted only on the National Trail, which traverses the western side of the reserve.

Cycling is permitted only on the Centenary Trail and on management trails.

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

Natural values

Cooleman Ridge Nature Reserve protects:

rocky areas supporting a large population of the vulnerable Pink-tailed Worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella)
several small patches of critically endangered Yellow Box–Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland, with regionally rare plants present in the understorey
remnant and regenerating woodland that connects multiple natural areas, providing important habitat for woodland birds

Cooleman Ridge ParkCare Group undertakes activities that include control of invasive weeds, woodland restoration, distribution of nature-trail pamphlets and mapping of rabbit burrows.

Cooleman 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
Metal detector use prohibited
Trailbikes prohibited except on public roads

Dogs are permitted on-leash on a track or trail only
Cycling is permitted only on the Centenary Trail and on management trails
Horse riding is permitted only on the National Trail, which traverses the western side of the reserve

Ngunnawal Country and People

Cooleman 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 2 known Aboriginal heritage stone artefact sites listed on the ACT Heritage Register and 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

Pastoral settlers arrived in the Canberra region from the 1820s. The Cooleman Ridge area was grazed as part of 'Yarralumla', one of the earliest and largest of Canberra's 19th century pastoral estates. The property of 'Cooleman' was subdivided from Yarralumla and leased by the Champion family as a grazing enterprise from 1937 to 1996.

Over the last few decades, the reserve has been restored from a mixture of exotic and low-diversity native pasture with high weed density, to an area of regenerating woodland.

The reserve was established in 1993.

Before you go/How to get there

Before you go

Explore Cooleman 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 horse rider
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

Cooleman Ridge Nature Reserve is accessible from various points in Chapman.

Boundary mapping is indicative only.

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