Territory and Municipal Services Minister Shane Rattenbury said he hoped the trail would expose Canberrans to previously hard-to-access parts of the natural environment.

The trail is a 150km self-guided loop around the ACT for walkers and cyclists, funded by the government. It was originally suggested through community submissions received in 2009 as part of the Canberra 100 call for project ideas.

The suggested time for completing the trail has been put at seven days for walkers and three days for cyclists.

"It's designed to target that market of people who want to go cycling by they aren't hardcore. It's people who are taking a leisurely ride," Mr Rattenbury said.

"The design of the trail is to take in some of the best parts of Canberra and to really showcase the city and give people access to some of the nicest spots in Canberra Nature Park.

"One of the things people will really get from this is that there are some fabulous views of Canberra, all around the city, in the nature park, and people don't often see them."

Mr Rattenbury said the route included 18km of new trails as well as upgraded trails and new signposted areas. A new campsite would also be built on the northern ACT-NSW border including rainwater tanks, outdoor tables and bike racks.

The work was expected to be finished by October or November.

Canberra company Makin' Trax is doing the work, with director Darren Stewart saying it included the installation of new pedestrian bridges and a viewing platform in the Murrumbidgee Corridor which would be heli-lifted into position later in the year.

Mr Stewart said his company had been working on the vision for the track since 2009.

"It gives the community access to parts of Canberra they've never had access to before and gives tourists a different perspective of Canberra," he said.

Mr Rattenbury said the government had worked to ensure the trail was "showing off the best parts of the Canberra Nature Park without having a detrimental effect on any of its ecological values".