This paddle trail introduces you to the Bremer between Cribb Park in North Ipswich and the river’s tidal limit at Sadliers Crossing. Access to the water is via either the boat ramp in Cribb Park or the canoe ramp in Shapcott Park. Along the way, you can paddle through the city’s heart, ride two-way tidal races, float through a captivating avenue of bottlebrush trees, and marvel at the history of this remarkable place.

The tide can flow quickly here, and it pays to have it on your side. If you want to paddle the whole trail in a single day, the best bet is to start from Cribb Park around one hour before a high tide of 2.2 metres or more. Tide times and heights for Bremer River – Ipswich are published on the WillyWeather website. 

If you start from Cribb Park, head to the right after you launch. There are often a few people fishing near the ramp. While the river has had some water quality issues, and warning signs recommend you don’t eat what you catch, casting a line is still popular.

The banks are surprisingly green, and, a lot of the time, you wouldn’t guess you are in a city. The Riverlink Shopping Centre presses against the northern side of the river on the upstream side of David Trumpy Bridge, just under 2 kilometres from Cribb Park. However, even then, the River Heart Parklands on the opposite bank provide a green corridor for people who want to enjoy the waterway. 

Ipswich has a fascinating history, and there are two particular points of historical interest as you paddle past the shopping centre. The first is the Bremer River Rail Bridge, which soars overhead. It was built between 1865 and 1915 and is considered so significant that it features on the Queensland Heritage Register. The second is much less obvious. There is a thirty-foot sea-going motor launch buried in the riverbank underneath the ripples here. This boat was used to help construct The Harlin Bridge further up the river in 1919, but it was wrecked in the flood of 1921. For many years, locals could watch it emerge slowly from the water at every low tide, but it is now completely hidden. 

The Harlin Bridge was replaced by Hancock Bridge in 1961. You can paddle under the new structure just under 3.5 kilometres beyond the Bremer River Rail Bridge. 

A little further on from there, you will encounter the first and largest of two tidal races. When the water level is low, rocks in the stream form a barrier to passage, splitting this trail into two parts. However, at high tide, they are submerged under fast-moving water that flows in the direction of the tide. If you time your trip just right, you can ride it both ways on the same day. There is a second, much smaller two-way race near the Sadliers Crossing railway bridge (see map).

The Shapcott Park canoe ramp is a short distance upstream from the main tidal race. The section of the river between here and the navigable limit is lined with lovely bottlebrushes. It provides fantastic wildlife spotting opportunities, including turtles, water dragons, herons, and kingfishers. This is a great place to start if you would like a shorter paddle that offers the opportunity to experience all of those things or if the water level is too low to allow easy progress to this part of the river from the Cribb Park boat ramp. It also means one-way trips are possible, if the tide is right.