Good news! Green ways and bike ways go hand in hand and are woven all through the urban tapestry of The Gap.
Safe, clean and generally fully paved, they’re a great way for bicycles, tricycles and tandems to explore the area, get the family outside for some fresh air and sunshine, have fun and there’s the added bonus of finding heaps to do for the kids.
We’ll cover them all from right inside The Gap plus the surrounding areas through to exploring the city and how to get there.
Links to Route planners are included as well as clubs and meet-ups with other cyclers so you can meet like-minded people in the area. Oh, and let’s not forget the awesome initiatives on their way over the next few years building even more bikeways for us to enjoy.
Many of the areas local parks have bikeways through or following along green corridors and creeks where you can take a picnic or have a BBQ and make a day of it. There’s toilets, free parking and other fun stuff like BMX tracks or skateboard parks to zoom around in while others have small courts for basketball, netball and cricket
Enoggera Creek Bikeway
This is great for a local ride. Fully paved, flat and winding through Walton Bridge Reserve where you can stop and the kids can have a play in the playground, explore the creek or have a picnic.
It mainly follows green ways and goes through parks making it an ideal choice to explore the area or just take the family for a nice morning ride. It’s clearly marked signage shows you how far you’ve gone and also marks your favourite spots to come back to later.
Pet friendly Paten Park
With a big off-leash dog area it’s a great place if you want Fido to come along as well and get some exercise. There’s basketball, the local Scouts and Girls Guides are there to check out and also a great playground.
It’s very popular to take the kids to explore the world of bush tucker and how to bring butterflies into your backyard along with other local wildlife. When you stop at Paten Park’s Native Nursery take home some cheap natives to plant and grow together.
Where you’ll find it: 45 Paten Rd, The Gap.
Open: The park: always.
The nursery: 6 days a week, open all weekend and only closes Mondays.
Alfred and Lucinda Best Park
This has BMX tracks and bikeways to keep you entertained. It’s a sporty park with basketball, netball and places for a quick game of cricket. You might want to take some snacks because chances are you’ll end up spending more time than expected there because time flies when you’re having fun.
Where you’ll find it: 89 Payne Rd, The Gap
Open: always
Easy Access from The Gap
Kedron Brook Cycleway
This is about a 10 minute drive and well worth it for a safe place to cycle with the entire family.
It runs from Mitchelton all the way to Toombul, following Kedron Brook with nice wide paths, plenty of green spaces and a creek for the kids to stop and explore. See turtles, an abundance of birdlife or try to catch guppies with the kids.
Go for an ice-cream or pick up your weekly groceries afterward as there are major shopping centres at either end and it’s a fun way to get the chores done.
Where to find it: accessible through many streets along the route or either end at Toombul or Brookside Shopping Centres.
Jim Soorely Bikeway
A track that has wide flat paths taking you through the Boondall wetlands which is great for bird spotting so you might want to take a small set of binoculars and the camera in your backpack. You’ll also go past creeks and some beautiful bushland. Great for all fitness levels from beginners to old hats at cycling.
There are public toilets at either end and it’s an easy ride for the whole family. It connects from Kedron Brook Cycleway as well if you want to make a day of cycling and continue on.
Where you’ll find it: enter from Toombul Shopping Centre or Nudgee Road.
City Cycling
If you don’t want to stop at The Gap and are thinking of grabbing the bikes and making the change to cycling everywhere with the kids, then Cycling Brisbane Route Planner takes you all over the city through bikeways along the river, under cliffs, through parks and there’s a ton of stuff to see and do on the weekends.
Go to the farmers market, do some rock climbing at Kangaroo Point cliffs or just mosey along the river exploring as you go.
There are loads of cafés and places to stop for lunch or you can take a picnic to have in one of the many parks as you explore the city’s urban landscape.
How to get there: The Gap to Brisbane route is level, safe, an easy ride of about 16km’s so doable by the whole family.
Plan a Route
Bikecitizens is a handy app that will help you plan a route for your next adventure to figure out where to take the kids this weekend in The Gap or outside.
Clubs, Meet Ups and Making New Cycle Buddies
There are loads of clubs to join or gain experience from and meet like-minded people and families who want to meet up on weekends to get out and about.
You can find a group to suit you at Cycling Meet Ups Brisbane.
There are clubs for everyone, from adventure addicts to social cyclists and cover the whole of South East Queensland as well as The Gap.
Initiatives
The Queensland Government has an initiative to make cycling safer, easier and a more comfortable and convenient way to get around. The aim is safety and they’re actively improving bikeways, building new ones, connecting existing ones and the plan is in place for us to enjoy the most of our local area.
Check out the Qld Govt’s Cycling Strategy document for the government’s vision to 2027 to encourage cycling in our city.
Road rules for cyclists can also be found on page 14 of this document.
Find your copy by clicking on the picture below.
Now you know the wealth of cycling and bikeways around, get out there and have some fun this weekend.