Canberrans will step up a revamped Black Mountain summit trail from Monday thanks to series of works to counter erosion and help make the track a little easier to climb.
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Territory and Municipal Services Minister Shane Rattenbury announced the completion of the upgrade on Monday, which formed part of the ACT government's $3.3 million Canberra Centenary Trail project.
!['The [Black Mountain] trail itself has been redesigned so it winds up the hill, making it easier to climb': Shane Rattenbury. Photo: Jay Cronan](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/8b23d5fb-abbd-4e03-8f78-d73a8efa490b/r0_0_2000_1330_w576_h298_fmax.webp "'The [Black Mountain] trail itself has been redesigned so it winds up the hill, making it easier to climb': Shane Rattenbury. Photo: Jay Cronan")
"The top section of trail has been remodelled to include a new flat viewing platform and the trail itself has been redesigned so it winds up the hill, making it easier to climb.
"Pedestrian counting devices will also be set up to determine exact usage of the trail and help us to identify maintenance needs into the future."
The popular walking trail begins at the National Botanic Gardens and leads to the summit of Black Mountain.
Mr Rattenbury said the summit trail was chosen as a point of interest as part of the Centenary Trail project in early 2013, leading to more walkers choosing to follow the steep trail through the area.
He said the summit provided "some of the best views in Canberra".
"[Black Mountain is an] iconic walking trail that receives a large number of local, interstate and international visitors every year," Mr Rattenbury said.
"Many interstate and international travellers are also being directed to this trail through various visitor information centres in the ACT as well as through the National Botanic Gardens.
"We hope the improvements on Black Mountain will see even more visitors using this great part of the trail."
The Centenary Trail is a 145-kilometre self-guided loop around the ACT for walkers and cyclists, leading residents and visitors through urban and rural parts of the territory including previously hard-to-access parts of the natural environment.
The full trail is a seven-day walk or a three-day ride but divided into daily sections. Users can join or leave the track at several locations.
The trail follows fire trails, walking tracks and shared paths and is designed to be accessible for low-intensity use by walkers and cyclists of a moderate ability.
