Name: Bilpin Fruit Bowl Ride
Start: 2025-09-06T00:00:00+10:00
End: 2025-09-06T04:00:00+10:00
Location: Bilpin Fruit Bowl

Ride base: Turn into the Bilpin Fruit Bowl carpark (2093 Bells Line of Road, Bilpin), on the left-hand side of Bells Line of Road if you are coming from Richmond. Drive up through the carpark past the playground towards the big orange “pick your own entry” sign. Turn left along the laneway, then left again into the big grassy parking area.
Facilities include toilets and the famous Fruit Bowl shop selling hot and cold food and drinks.
Please pick up manure from off the grass and throw it into the unmaintained edges. This is the overflow parking area for visitors during busy periods and horse apples are not the type of apples that tourists are expecting to find here.
Be ready to ride by 10:00am. Prior to the ride we will have a short pre-ride talk (unmounted and without your horse).
Ride Info: We will skirt around the back of the orchards onto the Bilpin Fruit Bowl Fire Trail. This track is stony and hilly in parts so hoof protection is recommended. The trail travels across private property and brings us out onto Patersons Range Trail in Blue Mountains National Park. We ride a loop trail out to a lookout where we will pause to enjoy the view, then back under the powerlines. We have the option for some or all of us to continue along Patersons Range Trail for as far as we feel like. This is a dirt road where we might encounter 4WDs, trail bikes and cyclists.
Pace will be walk only unless everyone is happy to go faster.
If we have 2 trail bosses and enough riders, we might choose to split into a slower group which goes back after the loop (a total ride of 9 km), and a faster group which continues on for a few extra km.
Ride duration about 2 – 2.5 hours. Allow time to stay and enjoy some lunch from the shop afterwards.
DOGS NOT PERMITTED.
What to bring: Drinking water and bucket for your horse at the ride base. Sunscreen and a chair for yourself, fly repellent for you and your horse. Money (cash or electronic) to buy lunch and drinks afterwards from the Fruit Bowl as a way of saying thank you for hosting this ride. They make a good cup of takeaway coffee and sell locally made cider and of course locally grown fruit, as well as sandwiches, snacks and their famous fresh apple pies!
Ride Fee: $5.00 per rider, payable when signing on at the ride base.
Non-Member Visitors: Application to ride as a non-ATHRA member must be completed prior to the ride via the ATHRA website www.athra.com.au, where you will pay $20.00 for insurance for the day. If you are not a member of ATHRA you may only attend 2 rides per year as a visitor.
If you are not a member of Blue Mountains THRC please bring proof of your ATHRA membership or day membership to the ride.
RSVP by selecting "GOING" on this event notice by 9pm Thursday 4th September. We will not wait for anyone who has selected "Interested".
Contact Fiona Meller via Messenger or phone/text 0415 923 272 beforehand if you have any questions, or on the day if you have problems or are delayed. There is phone reception at the ride base.