Samford, just north-west of Brisbane, is such a delightful area with a bustling country village feel to it. There’s lots for families to see and do there, including taking a leisurely weekend cycle around the village. The track, which begins and ends at the Samford Parklands sporting complex, weaves its way through country lanes, new housing estates, the village centre and sprawling parklands. Here’s everything you need to know before you go:
Samford Village Cycle Trail – begin at Samford Parklands
The Samford Parklands sporting complex is located on Mount Samson Road, Samford. There are tennis, lawn bowls and netball facilities here, as well as a small playground. There’s plenty of off-street parking, and this is where the cycle path begins. You can head in either direction, as the track is a loop, but in this post we begin by heading uphill towards the village. Initially the path is concrete, but it soon becomes a gravel track as it passes by some local farms.
Samford Village Cycle Trail – continue to follow the signs
The track’s surface changes a number of times as you cycle along, but it is easy to find your way as the path to the village is signposted. You will sometimes find yourself sharing the track with horse riders and walkers, but this just adds to the fun. There are some hills, so younger riders may find this track challenging, depending on their ability level.
Samford Village Cycle Trail – take a rest stop in the town centre
When you reach the town centre, after approximately 2 km of riding, this is the perfect spot to stop for a rest and to refuel. Samford Village has lots of restaurants and cafes, and all of them are welcoming of families. You can read our review of The Samford Valley Hotel, which has a children’s playground. While you are in town, you may also like to check out the Samford Museum or the John Scott Playground. For a comprehensive list of things to do in Samford with kids, you can read our review here. As short drive from Samford are the beautiful Cedar Creek rock pools and the Mount Glorious rainforest walks. There is certainly a lot to do in this beautiful part of the world.
Samford Village Cycle Trail – cross Main Street and head back towards Samford Parklands
Cross the road carefully and then continue along the track, back towards the direction of the Samford Parklands sporting complex. The track heads out of the village, through parkland, and then along the Avenue of Honour war memorial. Next you’ll pass through the football fields and continue along the track under Mount Samson Road (there is no need to cross the road). The track will then return you to where you began at the Samford Parklands sporting complex. All up, the cycle path loop is almost five kilometres long. Combined with another activity in Samford, it makes the perfect day trip for families.
For more cycle paths that are suitable for kids, check out our top 5 must-do kid friendly cycle paths post.
Samford Valley QLD 4520, Australia
Dee
We struggled to figure out where the path started. We didn’t want to follow the memorial walkway to SAMFORD, we wanted to follow the longer to the there. Once parked in the sporting complex there were heaps of paths leading in all directions and no signs for this particular bike link. After following a path for about 500m we realised we’d followed a bogus path that lead around a playing field. Then saw some people following g the path the opposite direction to SAMFORD. We followed them and discovered this was the correct path. It was as described above except for signage. There was only one sign as pictured above and that was 2/3’s of the way along to town.
Ngaire Stirling
Hi Dee. Tricky by the sounds of it. Any advice on us updating the post to make it easier for future adventures?