Due to repairs resulting from damage caused by the September 2016 floods, the Heysen and Yurebilla trails in Giles Conservation Park will be closed from Tuesday June 27th until Sunday July 9th 2017.
A temporary re-route will be marked shortly, but is also shown on the map below. Walkers can avoid the closed trail by following Ridge Road and Woods Hill Road.
The affected section of the Heysen Trail appears on Mapsheet 2B, Bridgewater Oval to Stone Hut Road.
New toilet constructed at Curnows Hut
The temporary re-route put in place following the January 2013 Bundaleer Forest fire has been removed, and the Heysen Trail is now back on its original alignment. The trail has been re-marked.
In October 2015 Curnows Hut was reopened to walkers. Last week some of our volunteers installed a new toilet at the hut, as the original toilet was destroyed in the fire.
The “new” route returns to that shown on Map 1.4 of the Heysen Trail Northern Guidebook (May 2010 & April 2014 editions) and the Heysen Trail Mapsheet 5 – Spalding to Wirrabara Forest (August 2015).
The Australian Wildlife Conservancy will be undertaking feral animal control in Buckaringa Sanctuary during coming months.
The cull program is somewhat opportunistic depending on numbers of goats present and availability of shooters so we cannot provide a set of dates when access to the sanctuary may be closed.
The next planned closures are:
The Heysen Trail passes through the sancuary between Quorn and Hawker, on map 6, chapter 4, of the Northern Guidebook.
Signs will be placed at points where the Heysen Trail enters the Sanctuary during all times of closure.
We remind hikers to obey these signs, and also to not camp within the sanctuary (a campsite that was located there was closed in 2006).
The sanctuary is home to many Yellow-footed Rock-wallabies.
Wirrabara Forest Trail OpenFollowing on from our earlier update, we’ve been negotiating with stakeholders and can now announce that the Heysen Trail has been restored and re-marked to the original route through Wirrabara Forest. This removes the 44km temporary re-route which went around the entire forest and via the town of Wirrabara.
There are two small re-routes in the northern section of the forest.
Following the January 2015 Sampson Flat Bushfire the Heysen Trail has been re-marked through the fireground, from Nugget Road to near Kersbrook.
A temporary re-route is in place from Chain of Ponds to Kersbook.
View re-routes:
The Australian Wildlife Conservancy will be undertaking feral animal control in Buckaringa Sanctuary during coming months.
The cull program is somewhat opportunistic depending on numbers of goats present and availability of shooters so we cannot provide a set of dates when access to the sanctuary may be closed. The next planned closure is evening of 19th June through to the morning of 22nd June 2015.
The Heysen Trail passes through the sancuary between Quorn and Hawker, on map 6, chapter 4, of the Northern Guidebook.
Signs will be placed at points where the Heysen Trail enters the Sanctuary during all times of closure.
We remind hikers to obey these signs, and also to not camp within the sanctuary (a campsite that was located there was closed in 2006).
The sanctuary is home to many Yellow-footed Rock-wallabies.
A new series of Heysen Trail maps have been released.
Over the next 12-18 months the Southern and Northern Guidebooks are being gradually replaced with fold-out map sheets.
The first two map sheets are available for purchase now via our online store, for $15 with postage from $1.45.
The maps are double sided and printed on water resistant paper. The maps include elevation profiles with kilometre markers and crossing point names. The new map style allows walkers to gain a “big picture” understanding of where they are on the trail, with a continuous trail line and a constant 3-5km of mapping around the trail.
Remember, you can sign up to receive re-route notifications for your guidebook or map sheet editions. All guidebooks and map sheets published since 2008 are available for notification.
There will be 8 maps in this series:
A major re-route of the Heysen Trail is in place around Wirrabara Forest, the site of the January/February 2014 Bangor Bushfire.
The temporary 44km re-route replaces a 41km section of the Heysen Trail and affects the Northern Guidebook from Map 2.3 through to Map 2.8.
The re-route trail is marked, and takes the trail along roads through Laura. The re-route continues along the shared-use railtrail, and along backroads to rejoin the original trail alignment south of Murraytown.
Wirrabara Forest remains closed indefinitely to the public due to the risk of falling trees and to allow salvage harvest operations. Forest access is limited.
Beetaloo Tank Camp Site is still accessible. It has suffered some damage but is functional.
DOWNLOAD MAPS
BUNDALEER REMINDER
The Heysen Trail through Bundaleer Forest remains closed following the January 2013 Bundaleer Bushfire. A marked temporary re-route is in place.
The entire length of the Heysen Trail re-opens tommorrow following the conclusion of the Fire Danger Season in the Mount Lofty Ranges and Mid North Fire Ban Districts.
The northern half of the trail, from Wirrabara, reopened on April 15 following the conclusion of the Fire Ban Season in the Flinders Ranges Fire Ban District. Tomorrow the entire length of the trail will re-open, and will remain so until November 2014 when the 2014/15 summer Fire Danger Season begins.
View more information about how the Fire Danger Season affects the Heysen Trail.
View the CFS media release confirming the conclusion of the Fire Danger Season.
The Trail remains closed through Wirrabara Forest following January/February’s Bangor bushfire. The trail from the Northern Guide Map 2.2 through to Map 2.9 is closed indefinitely due to infrastructure damage, the risk of falling trees and forestry clean-up operations. We will post information about a temporary re-route shortly. View map of affected area.
The Trail remains closed through Bundaleer Forest following the January 2013 bushfire. A temporary re-route is in place.
The re-print of the Southern Guidebook has been released. Stocks of the 2010 edition ran out mid this year.
The new guidebook has the same cover as the 2010 edition, but includes re-routes from the previous two years like the new spur trail into Victor Harbor. A few recent re-routes have not been included, these re-routes can be viewed on our website.
With the release of this edition, support for three older guidebooks has been suspended. Re-route notifications for the original 2004 Southern Guidebook, 2005 Northern Guidebook and 2007 Southern Guidebook will no longer be posted on the website.
The Heysen Trail near The Bluff, Northern Guide maps 2.5 & 2.6, has been re-routed and the main track no longer descends into Wirrabara Forest. A spur trail still extends from the ridgeline down to Ippinitchie Campsite and the forest. See full details, including a map, on the re-routes page.