Lake Manchester is a water catchment facility situated in the south-western corner of Brisbane Forest Park (D'Aguilar National Park) It lies just North of Ipswich on the outskirts of Kholo. To get to Lake Manchester, simply follow Lake Manchester Road which is mostly sealed road.
Lake Manchester Dam was completed in 1916 and named after Mr E.J. Manchester, president of the Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board. Originally the Dam was called "Cabbage Tree Creek Dam." The Dam was reactivated in 2005 when the Brisbane drought was at a critical point and upgraded in 2007 for security and safety purposes.
Lake Manchester provides popular leisure activities such as bushwalking, mountain biking, horse riding and bush camping. There are a number of interesting features such as views of the Lake and surrounding mountains, including the peaks and ranges outside Ipswich. Cabbage Tree Creek and Branch Creek flow into Lake Manchester and are quite pleasant to visit.
From the map at the carpark it is easy to assume this walking trail concludes at the car park, however it actually ends up at the T-intersection of Lake Manchester and Kholo Roads, therefore the remaining part of the walk is along bitumen road to get back to the car park. Overall the walk is fairly easy going, however there are some creek crossings to negotiate and steep sections of the track that can be tiresome. It is best completed in a clockwise direction, the route described is as follows:
"North Lake Manchester Road" - "Light Line Road" - "South Lake Manchester Road".
Other walks from BFP that connect Lake Manchester, among others, are via "South Boundary Road" and "Cabbage Tree Creek Road"(please refer to relevant posts on this site). To access the bush campsite, walk anti-clockwise starting at the T-intersection of Lake Manchester and Kholo Road and walk for approximately 6kms until you reach the campsite and Cabbage Tree Creek. For the first 100 metres or so the track is heavily eroded and extremely muddy.
