Hornsby · New South Wales

Gus’s Backyard Ultra

A rugged 17.94 km trail loop from Hornsby Aquatic Centre. Descend the Heritage Steps into Old Mans Valley, follow the bush trails south towards Thornleigh, then return through the Blue Gum trails.

View turn-by-turn directions Download the GPX file

Distance17.94 km

Elevation gainApprox. 752 m

Start / finishHornsby Aquatic Centre

Route typeTechnical trail loop

Explore the route

Zoom in to inspect trail junctions, creek crossings and the Thornleigh turnaround.

Interactive WP‑GPX map

Navigation: Carry the GPX on your phone or watch and use it as the primary route reference. Recorded distance can vary slightly between devices.

Turn-by-turn directions

Distances are cumulative from Hornsby Aquatic Centre and rounded to the nearest 10 metres.

1
0.00 kmStart
Start at Hornsby Aquatic Centre. Follow the park access paths towards Higgins Hill.
2
0.17 km170 m
Bear right onto the Higgins Hill path and follow the main descending trail.
3
0.32 km150 m
Bear right and descend the Heritage Steps. Take care on steep or slippery sections.
4
0.50 km180 m
Continue downhill as the path becomes the Old Mans Valley Trail. Ignore mountain-bike side trails.
5
0.70 km200 m
Bear right onto the wider Quarry Road fire-trail alignment.
6
0.88 km180 m
Continue onto the signed Great North Walk connector. Stay on the main walking track.
7
1.08 km200 m
Bear right and descend the Hornsby Heritage Steps.
8
1.48 km400 m
Emerge at the Rosemead Road picnic area and continue straight onto Rosemead Road.
9
1.69 km210 m
Bear right and continue along Valley Road.
10
2.01 km320 m
Bear right off Valley Road into the Ginger Meggs Park trail entrance.
11
2.12 km110 m
Bear left onto the Valley Sewage Line South Firetrail and follow the main fire trail downhill.
12
2.54 km420 m
Continue onto the Ginger Meggs Trail, staying on the main formed track.
13
2.68 km140 m
Turn right onto the signed Blue Gum Walk.
14
3.49 km810 m
At the major junction, turn sharply left onto the Great North Walk, following signs towards Thornleigh.
15
7.41 km3.92 km
Bear right onto the short Schofield Firetrail link.
16
7.54 km130 m
Turn left and continue on the Great North Walk towards Thornleigh and Zig Zag Creek.
17
9.01 km1.47 km
At the Zig Zag Creek Bridge turnaround, do not continue towards Thornleigh. Turn around and retrace the trail.
18
10.42 km1.41 km
After retracing the Great North Walk, bear left onto Schofield Firetrail.
19
10.53 km110 m
Turn sharply right onto the northbound Great North Walk and begin following it back towards Hornsby.
20
13.22 km2.69 km
At the Western Firetrail junction, bear left across the short link, then immediately continue on the Great North Walk.
21
14.46 km1.24 km
Follow signs onto the Blue Gum Walk towards Hornsby and stay on the principal track.
22
15.72 km1.26 km
Continue onto the wider Rosemead Firetrail.
23
16.64 km920 m
Bear right onto the returning Hornsby Heritage Steps path.
24
17.03 km390 m
At the bottom junction, turn sharply left onto the Quarry Road Hornsby Firetrail.
25
17.15 km120 m
Bear right and continue along Quarry Road.
26
17.65 km500 m
Continue onto Dural Street, heading east towards Hornsby Park.
27
17.80 km150 m
Follow the pedestrian access north through Hornsby Park towards the Aquatic Centre. Follow the GPX connector here.
28
17.94 km140 m
Finish at Hornsby Aquatic and Leisure Centre.

Final connector: The last approximately 140 metres through Hornsby Park is represented by a direct GPX line. Use the available pedestrian path rather than trying to run an exact straight line.