Bendora Arboretum is like a little piece of North America right here in the ACT, and it has immediately become one of my new favourite places in Canberra.
The air is perfumed with the scent of hundreds of pine trees and walking the quiet paths just feels good for the soul. The forest is home to a healthy wallaby population and they are endlessly curious without being afraid.
We’ve never been approached by wild wallabies on a walk before and with the late afternoon light shining between the tall trees it gave the feeling of being in an enchanted forest.
The arboretum would be spectacular at any time of year but come autumn the larches and small leaved lime trees are ablaze with colour. It’s definitely the most magical time to visit.
The Bendora Arboretum Walk
The stats
Distance: 4km partial circuit
Elevation gain: 100m
Difficulty: Easy
Trailhead: Mount Franklin / Chalet Road Junction
Summary: The walk to the arboretum is on a wide well maintained fire trail that heads gently uphill. The walk around it is almost entirely flat and again on a good path.
It’s suitable for anyone that can manage a 4km walk with a gentle incline.
The walk to the arboretum: along the fire trail
The walk to reach the arboretum takes you along a wide well maintained fire trail for the first 1.4km. It’s either flat or ever so gently uphill.
It’s much prettier than your average fire trail with plenty of gorgeous gum trees and the odd peek out to the rugged mountains of the Brindabella ranges.
As you get closer to the arboretum the air becomes perfumed with the scent of the pine trees. It’s a strong menthol-like aroma and with the crisp autumn air really made you feel alive.
Just under 1.4km from the parking area you’ll come to a junction and either path will take you to the start of the arboretum.
Bendora Hut
Before or after your walk it’s well worth stopping into the Bendora Hut which you’ll see on the right as you reach the junction.
Built as a kitchen hut for the Forestry and Timber Bureau in 1940, the hut is now for emergency use only, but you are very welcome to take a look inside.
It’s in immaculate shape with a large fireplace and table and chair at one end where you’ll find the visitors book. There are also a couple of ginormous pine cones which you’ll see more of as you wander the arboretum.
Before you leave take a look at the wooden panels on the right side of the hut and you can see faint markings saying they are from NASA and the Honeysuckle Creek Telegraph Station!
Please remember to leave the hut exactly as you found it and don’t add to the graffiti along the mantel - it’s honestly wild to me that anyone would do this, especially as we saw one was marked as ‘xx family’.
Graffitiing public historical sites (or anywhere for that matter) is not a good thing to be teaching children to do.
Walking around the arboretum
The walk around the arboretum is roughly 1km long. From the hut, you follow the path downhill and you’ll come to a signpost for the arboretum 150m later.
Keep following the fire trail and you will come to a right turn into the pine forest 10m later.
You now follow the signposted circuit through a vast array of different pine plantations ranging from ones we’d heard of such as sugar pines and larches, to many we hadn’t including the big cone pine and Western yellow pines.
All are fabulous and very tall, some block out almost all light making them especially atmospheric.
The path is easy to walk on and has very little in the way of elevation change so it’s a really relaxing stroll. We visited on a sunny Saturday in May and I couldn’t believe there was no one else around.
It was quite incredible to get this whole beautiful forest to ourselves, especially as there was still a little autumn colour around.
The other thing that added to the magic were the wallabies. The majority were around the European larches and they are not shy!
One even chose to come very close and sit with us for a while, it wasn’t looking for food and was happily munching on the grass, so it felt like a very special wild encounter.
The most special I have ever had with a wild wallaby, they’re normally very skittish when you see them out on the trails.
The loop track will pass through all the plantations and then bring you back out to the fire trail leading up to the hut. You then retrace your steps back along the fire trail to the car park.
The Bendora Arboretum in autumn
Although the majority of trees at the arboretum are evergreen, there are a large number of European larches and a few small-leaved lime trees which have wonderful autumn foliage.
We came, I would estimate, around 1-2 weeks too late for the best colour, but what we did see was still stunning. Our visit was at the end of the first week in May and many of the trees had already lost their leaves. Coming a bit earlier would be much preferable.
I wouldn’t say there’s enough colour to make this your sole reason for visiting, but it does add another layer of beauty if you’re coming anyway. I loved it so much and we’ll definitely be back again, but a few weeks earlier next time.
Getting to Bendora Arboretum
Bendora Arboretum is located in Namadgi National Park, you can see the parking location on Google maps here. Access is via a 17km gravel road. As long as it’s not winter conditions the road is well maintained and suitable for any car at time of writing (and in dry conditions).
There are a few lumps, bumps and stones but nothing challenging. The area does receive snow in winter so if you’re planning a winter visit it’s worth contacting the Namadgi Visitor Centre and getting an update on current conditions.
The drive from Canberra takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes. There are no facilities at the car park or anywhere else along the trail.
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