What to know about Bowral-Mittagong
- Lake Alexandra Reserve at 20 Queen Street, Mittagong has a walking trail and exercise equipment, and parklands and a cycleway surround the lake.Source: Wingecarribee Shire Council, Lake Alexandra Reserve
- Wingecarribee Shire Council's Recreational Walking Tracks Strategy covers 16 council owned or managed bushland reserves with authorised walking tracks.Source: Wingecarribee Shire Council, Recreational Walking Tracks Strategy
- The Mt Alexandra and Welby trails off Meranie Street are marked for walking and mountain biking and close on extreme or catastrophic fire danger days.Source: Wingecarribee Shire Council, Mt Alexandra and Welby trails
- Council's hall hire puts fitness trainers and gyms among commercial hirers, who may be asked for a business name and ABN.Source: Wingecarribee Shire Council, Hire a Hall or Venue
- Hill Top Community Centre, in the shire's north, has an indoor sport stadium and is used for fitness sessions.Source: Wingecarribee Shire Council, Hire a Hall or Venue
- Bowral - Mittagong had a median age of 47 at the 2021 Census.Source: ABS 2021 Census QuickStats
Lake Alexandra Reserve
At 20 Queen Street in Mittagong, Lake Alexandra Reserve has a walking trail and exercise equipment, and parklands and a cycleway surround the lake. A lap of the lake between sets on the equipment is an easy session to repeat each week.
Bushland tracks and the Welby trails
The council's Recreational Walking Tracks Strategy covers 16 council owned or managed bushland reserves with authorised walking tracks. Off Meranie Street in Welby, the Mt Alexandra and Welby trails are marked for walking and mountain biking. They close on extreme or catastrophic fire danger days, so check the rating before a summer session.
Indoors when the Highlands turn cold
Winter mornings in the Southern Highlands can be bitter. Wingecarribee Shire Council counts fitness trainers and gyms as commercial hirers of its halls and venues, and they may be asked for a business name and ABN. Hill Top Community Centre in the shire's north has an indoor sport stadium that hosts fitness sessions. Since May 2023 many council facilities, halls and sports grounds among them, can be booked online by registered hirers over 18 (Wingecarribee Shire Council). Or skip the drive with sessions at home.
Training in your fifties and beyond
The urban area's median age was 47 at the 2021 Census (ABS QuickStats), so plenty of people here start training in midlife or later. Tell the trainer where you are starting from, and ask for a plan that builds strength and balance at a pace you can keep.
Southern Highlands questions
Do you cover Moss Vale and Berrima?
Yes, along with Bowral, Mittagong, Burradoo, Colo Vale and Hill Top. Name your town on the form.
Can a trainer run sessions in a council hall?
The council lists fitness trainers as commercial hirers of its halls. The booking is the trainer's to make.