The Cotter Road , ACT tourist route 5 , begins as a side road off Adelaide Avenue in the suburb of Deakin . The scenic drive stretches from the centre of Canberra past the suburbs of Curtin , Holder and Duffy , in between Stromlo Forest and Narrabundah Hill Pine Plantation , and past Casuarina Sands into the Cotter Avenue river area . The Cotter Road and the adjoining winding Brindabella Road ( the beginning of " The Loop " ) are well known to motorcyclists , many of whom ride there in the evening after work or on weekends . The Cotter Hotel , which stood near the children 's swings alongside the river , was burned down in the 2003 bushfires . It was a well known meeting place amongst motorcyclists on weekends
2003 bushfires
2003 Canberra bushfires
Cotter River