Bicycle Network: Where to Ride
Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail - Visitor Information
Showered with unprecedented Federal Government funding, the 134km Tallarook to Mansfield Rail Trail is now open to visitors. This trail provides a wonderful weekend adventure, or a day trip from Melbourne.
Genuine Bucket List Experience
We are delighted about the opening of the The Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail. It is a genuine bucket list experience for anybody who likes riding bikes in beautiful places. For a detailed description of the ride, follow the link here.
The new trail opened in June 2012 is set within some of Australia's most serene countryside, with links to rural towns, the 134 km long trail follows the former Mansfield Railway Reserve from Tallarook to Mansfield. The trail experience includes the historic Cheviot tunnel, with 9 km downhill run, as well as the long rail bridge across Lake Eildon at Bonnie Doon.
The trail includes approximately 121km from Tallarook, near Seymour, through major towns of Yea and Bonnie Doon to Mansfield. An additional 13km spur to Alexandra extends from Cathkin.
Distances and surfaces along main sections of the GRHCT:
- Tallarook to Trawool (compacted gravel surface) - 16km
- Trawool to Yea (compacted gravel surface) - 25km
- Yea to Cathkin (compacted gravel surface) - 20km
- Cathkin to Merton (compacted gravel and bitumen sealed surface) - 24km
- Merton to Bonnie Doon (compacted gravel surface) - 16km
- Bonnie Doon to Maindample (bitumen sealed surface) - 8km
- Maindample to Mansfield (bitumen sealed surface) - 12km
- Alexandra to Cathkin (bitumen sealed surface) - 13km
- We encourage you not to miss out on experiencing this wonderful new trail.
The trail map is included below:
Map sourced from http://www.victorianrailtrails.com.au/map/
For a full list of town to town distances and route heights you can download the official list here for your planning and to take with you.
of the GRHCT identifying: all of the attractions along the route; as distances between towns; elevations; rivers and creeks; and locations of toilets along the route.
Review of the trail, August 2011
Winter in the foothills of Victoria’s Alpine region, the air chilled and the smell of wood smoke taking over Mansfield’s main street, is more reminiscent of skiing than riding bikes. But with timelines tight to deliver Victoria’s biggest ever rail trail project by the end of 2011, this August was the time to open the first stage of the huge trail undertaking.
The first 12km section links Mansfield, the trail’s eventual eastern terminus, with the town of Maindample, at the junction of the Midland Link Highway. If the first section is anything to go by, the final completed trail will be a joy to ride. At a final distance of 134km between Tallarook (just south of Seymour on the Hume Highway) and Mansfield, and meandering through towns like Yea, Alexandra and Bonnie Doon, with plenty of other worthwhile stops along the way, this trail will offer enough riding and sightseeing to easily fill a long weekend trip and then some.
Ride On magazine, October-November 2010 issue.
Bicycle Network Victoria members can access the full story here. To become a member, click here.