National Arboretum: Canberra Travel Guide (4.7★)

A Hillside Planted in Rows

From the top of the ridge, the slopes below are divided into neat blocks of trees. Each block is a separate forest. One holds cork oaks, another Himalayan cedars, and the next is a species you have probably never heard of. The effect is closer to a living atlas than a park.

Lake Burley Griffin lies beyond the slopes, with Black Mountain Tower rising on the next hill. Most of Canberra’s layout can be read from up here. That view is the reason many people come, and it costs you nothing but the walk up.

Forests That Grew Out of Fire

This land was pine plantation until the bushfires of 2001 and 2003 burned it out. The ACT then decided to replant it as something new: around 100 forests of rare, endangered and symbolic trees from around the world. The arboretum opened in 2013, the year Canberra marked its centenary.

The young forests still look young, with plenty of sky between the trunks. Two stands are much older:

• The cork oak forest, planted in the early twentieth century, which survived the fires
• The Himalayan cedar forest, from the same era, dark and fully grown

Walk into either one and the light drops straight away. Compared with the open slopes around them, they show you what the newer blocks will become in a few decades.

Pods, Bonsai and a Timber Roof

The Village Centre is the hub. Its curving timber roof is designed to look like a leaf, and its glass walls face the forests and the lake. Inside are a café, a gift shop and the toilets, which makes it the natural place to start and finish.

These are worth finding nearby:

• The Pod Playground, where giant acorn cups and banksia pods have been turned into treehouses joined by rope bridges and nets
• The National Bonsai and Penjing Collection, miniature trees displayed on plinths along a covered walkway
• Wide Brown Land, a large sculpture spelling out Dorothea Mackellar’s famous phrase in rust-coloured steel letters
• Nest III on Dairy Farmers Hill, an eagle’s nest sculpture that sits at a lookout facing the city

Plan on two to three hours if you want to walk up the hill and through a couple of the forests. An hour covers the Village Centre, the playground and the bonsai.

Getting Up Forest Drive

The arboretum is off the Tuggeranong Parkway, close to the Glenloch Interchange where Parkes Way and the Parkway meet. Forest Drive loops up from the entrance to the Village Centre car park. You can drive to Civic in a few minutes.

Driving or a rideshare is the simplest way to get there. Cyclists can reach it on Canberra’s path network around the lake’s western end, but the final climb is steep. Car park signs show the current parking arrangements, so check them when you arrive.

Within the grounds, sealed paths and service roads link the forests. Some walkers stick to the paths, while others cut straight across the slopes. Either way, the hills are steeper than they look from the car park.

Beating the Weekend Rush on the Hill

The arboretum is busy, especially at weekends. The crowd data is simple: weekdays stay quiet from 9am to 4pm, so any weekday slot works. On weekends it gets busy from 10am to 4pm. If you arrive after 10am on a Saturday, the café and the playground will already be full.

These habits make a visit go more smoothly:

• Arrive at 9am on weekends. The Village Centre opens then, and you get an hour before the rush
• Walk the hill first, eat later. Weekday locals usually head up Dairy Farmers Hill in the cool of the morning, then come back for coffee
• Picnic on the lawns. Families spread rugs on the grass below the Village Centre, which takes pressure off the café
• Pay by tap. Cards and phone payments are standard across Canberra, and nobody expects a tip at the counter
• Pack sun and wind protection. The young forests give little shade, and the ridge catches whatever wind is blowing

Leave yourself time before 4pm. That is when the listed hours end every day of the week, and the café and shop close with them.

Choosing Your Season

Autumn gives you the most colour. Canberra’s deciduous trees turn in April and May, and the deciduous forests on the slopes do too. Spring brings blossom and new growth. Winter mornings can be frosty and very clear, which suits the lookout views.

Summer is when the lack of shade matters most. Go at 9am, carry water and spend your midday in the Village Centre. Whatever the season, the cork oaks and cedars stay green.