Tuggeranong Hill 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

Tuggeranong Hill Nature Reserve is a 365-hectare protected area in southern Canberra featuring significant areas of woodland. A steep track to the hill's summit offers scenic views of the Tuggeranong Valley and the Bullen Range just west of the Murrumbidgee River.

Tuggeranong Hill Nature Reserve has important habitat connectivity with Rob Roy Range Nature Reserve, Gigerline Nature Reserve on the Murrumbidgee River and Namadgi National Park, all to the south, as well as with Melrose Nature Reserve directly to the east, and Googong Foreshores and Tinderry Nature Reserve in NSW. Interconnection such as this enables wildlife movement across the landscape.

A section of the reserve near its south-eastern boundary, as well as a large adjoining section of Rob Roy Range Nature Reserve, are on leased land and closed to the public. Access to these areas is restricted to the lessee and people authorised by the lessee.

Cycling is permitted on management trails only.

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

No horses allowed.

Natural values

Tuggeranong Hill Nature Reserve protects:

critically endangered Yellow Box–Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland
important habitat for woodland birds
a large area of Drooping She-oak (Allocasuarina verticillata) open forest (including old-growth patches), a food source for the vulnerable Glossy Black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami)
a large population of the vulnerable plant, Pale Pomaderris (Pomaderris pallida)
a large population of the vulnerable Pink-tailed Worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella)

Friends of Tuggeranong Hill ParkCare group carries out weeding in the reserve, targeting mostly woody weeds, and also undertakes Vegwatch surveys. Canberra Ornithologists Group has monitored birds in the reserve since 2000.

Tuggeranong Hill 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
Cycling is permitted on management trails only

Ngunnawal Country and People

Tuggeranong Hill 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.

Aboriginal grinding grooves within the reserve are listed on the ACT Heritage Register and an interpretive sign near the site provides information. If you wish to visit this place, please take a couple of minutes to read the sign before proceeding to the site itself. The site is a delightful cultural treasure – please do not walk on it or interfere with it in any way.

Stone artefact scatters have also been recorded in Tuggeranong Hill Nature Reserve.

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

Tuggeranong Hill lies on the boundary between the 2 historic, heritage-listed farming estates, Lanyon and Tuggeranong. Lanyon remains a grazing property. Being steeper and rockier, the land in Tuggeranong Hill Nature Reserve was not ploughed and, though some trees were cleared, much of the native vegetation has survived.

Tuggeranong Hill Nature Reserve was established in 1993.

Two areas, totalling 22 hectares, on the lower slopes of Tuggeranong Hill above Conder, were to be developed into residential blocks. However, surveys revealed a high diversity of plants and the 2 areas were instead added to the reserve in 2004 and 2006.

Before you go/How to get there

Before you go

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

There are several pedestrian access points from the suburbs of Theodore and Conder.

The Aboriginal grinding grooves site can be visited from Christmas Street, Theodore.

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