The You Yangs & Brisbane Ranges NP

A fantastic route that takes in all that is good around Little River, Brisbane Ranges National Park, The You Yangs, Anakie and surrounding areas.

Starting from Little River Train Station, for the first 30kms, there’s a feeling of being on the outskirts of some small American desert town. The harsh landscape outside of Little River, looking onto the You Yangs is pretty incredible and the roads are pretty quiet leading into the Brisbane Ranges National Park.

The route loops through and around the Brisbane Ranges National Park with most of the significant climbing of the day confined to this area. The gravel tracks can at times be loose and lumpy and there might be a few occasions where you are inclined to jump off and take your bike for a walk. Each climb in this section gets well over 10% and at times up to 17%. Thankfully the climbs are short, the roads – quiet and the scenery – amazing.
At about the halfway point through the Brisbane Ranges you’ll come across the historic gold town of Steiglitz which has some interesting little things in and around.

Pretty much immediately after The Brisbane Ranges National Park you’ll find yourself at the very small town of Anakie.
A tiny bit off route, but if you take a left at Ballan Rd, you’ll find yourself at the Anakie General Store. If you take a right, there’s a cafe called “The Workshop Cafe”, although check the hours as it’s regularly closed over school holidays etc.

After lunch the route steers towards Mount Anakie and then descends into You Yangs Regional Park which is probably my favourites part of the ride.
You’ll find yourself riding through a young forest of thousands of trees on some-wwhat of a single track but more of an access track.
The You Yangs has two designated Mountain Bike areas and you’ll see the mountain bikers weaving around you as you descend or climb through the park. The mountain biking actually looks really amazing and the park was really busy at the time. You can read more about the mountain bike park at the “You Yangs Mountain bike club“.

One more steep gravel pinch and you’re finished with climbing for the day as you head back along You Yangs Rd into Little River.