goulburn valley high country rail trail

A group of 14 members of the Whittlesea Bug enjoyed a great ride on the rail trail. We found the trail to be in very good condition. We stopped for lunch in Yea Country Club Hotel and their was plenty of room for bikes with seating outside. The staff were very accommodating and set up a large table in a private room for our group. Everyone enjoyed their meal and the prices were good with nice size serving.

I have ridden the entire length of the trail, my most recent ride was the Tallarook to Alexandra ride (75K) in Jan 2015. In general this is a very good trail, well sign posted, toilets along the way, very few road crossings. Unfortunately the trail is a bit rutted in places, even on the mountain bike this caused a few problems at speed.. just something to watch out for. I think you could ride a road bike on the rail, but I would not, it would be hard work! There are few hills along this section, if you have reasonable fitness and can do the 75K the hills should not be a big issue. I did the ride in about 4 hours with a couple of breaks (and one flat to fix). Take water as there is really none available other then in Yea, and during summer watch out for snakes (yep, passed one on the trip!).Enjoy the ride

I was looking forward to this ride and wasn't disappointed. We rode from Mansfield to Bonnie Doon, ate lunch and returned. Would do it again in a heart beat. Even along the trail there was a gazebo with fresh water and drinks available on the honor system. There was one toilet that I saw along the way and a toilet in a nearby park in one of the small towns.The countryside is lovely, undulating and peaceful.

The trail is good but the black gravel surface is not suitable to narrow tyres. The signage is good but the need for constant care not to slide made riding dam hard work

This rail trail could have been brilliant, however and I am not entirely sure why, it falls short.Having ridden a few other rail trails and also living in Mansfield and being a keen cyclist I often use this trail to stay off the roads during busy tourist peak times when the lunatics control the bitumen.The surface which the shires have used is sharp and easily punctures touring tyres, so bring plenty of spare tubes, bottles of gas or repair kits. In the space of 4 months I had 5 punctures. This is with heavy duty tires and Mr Tuffy inner liners as well. I would have thought being a rail trail mainly for cyclists the overseeing body would have made it more cycle friendly???At the Mansfield shire end, at each road crossing there are barriers which require some skill to ride around, many riders dismount and often people with trailers have to stop and open gates. These are impractical, the rest of the trailing the other shire zones are much easier to ride and in my opinion safer to us cyclists to use.Recently the sides have been slashed by a tractor, be careful as the slasher has gouged deep ruts into the trail surface and these are dangerous. Once again no attempt to repair this potentially hazard.There are a couple of private drive way crossings to look out for too, one near Yarck, which has deep white gravel, this is dangerous to cross, so be careful, the other of note is near Woodfield, it is wearing down, but it's on a downhill,run and if you hit it fast be ready to attempt to jump or hit the deck.Thankfully the magpie season is over now but when they have their hormone imbalance in full flight wave a small stick above your head!! A few years ago I was riding Mansfield to Alexandra and back. A nasty magpie had taken a dislike to me between Yarck and Alex, for maybe 500m he relentlessly hammered my helmet and back. On the return trip I picked a stick maybe 2m long. What was I thinking? Maybe teach him a lesson? How stupid am I?The stick, I placed across my handlebars, it protruded either side maybe a couple for feet, 600mm for young people.Satisfied I was going to do my best Dirty Harry on the punk magpie I hurtled down a fast 35kmh down hill section, treed either side, daydreaming about roast magpie I glanced down to see one side of my magpie mashing stick just hit a rather large tree....Next thing I knew, I face planted into the tyre slashing surface, nothing broken other than skin, buckled front wheel, blood ect everywhere!Lots of pain but after backing off my front brake, I gave up on the magpie mauling stick idea due to a very painful right wrist where it had been jerked around by the force of the bars being wrenched from my grip.Limping along front wheel wobbling, me in pain and bleeding I approach the magpie danger zone. I felt certain he would sense my damaged state.And so he did.Another 500m of helmet pecking, much worse this time due to the injuries not onlyto body but pride as well. I called my wife after 5 Kms of pain wracked wobbling along and asked her to meet me at the Yarck pub so I could get a lift home. The girl behind the bar couldn't believe her eyes when I walked in. Looking in the bar mirror I could see why. My face was covered in blood and gravel, my shirt torn, both hands bloody and also covered in gravel and my helmet badly damaged. She reckoned I had just been cleaned up by a B double and survived to tell the tale! Ha!Hope you enjoyed that little diversion!Anyhow back to the rail trail and what else I know...Food places are getting much better, at bonnie don, there is a little cafe bar called the bonnie bar, with coffee and snacks, pizza and it's licensed too. The other place is hardly cyclist friendly when I went in there the fried food and scowling bloke behind the counter both looked at me with disdain.Merton is ok for a stop but again the fast food is what you would expect.Yarck is booming although with the Tea Rooms closing it has lost a little gloss, however the goat is firing on all fours and the pub is worth a visit too. The general store has reasonable pies too although the goat gets my vote.Yea has plenty of bakeries too, most are ok and the fast food joints are just that so be careful. The red plate cage is worth a look and also the peppercorn hotel in the past has been very good.The riding.A little while ago I rode from Mansfield to tallarook, it was around 5 hours ride time with a luch stop at yea. The trail is easy riding although the cheviot tunnel is very dark inside so take a little while to let your eyes adjust to the darkness.During summer there are plenty of snakes present. Stay well clear, stamp your feet heavily or toss small stones or sticks near them from safe distance. Mostly browns although I have seen blacks too. The browns are the most agresssive, I have yet to see a tiger, late February/ march is breeding season and it is around this time they are most aggressive.As for hills, the most severe is around 4-5%, imagine a train going up these things! none are too hard although where the old rail bridges are no longer in place thee are some steeper pinches which require a little effort.Probably the trail near the goulburn river is most picturesque, although the bridge across the lake at doon is quite speccy too.I guess on the whole we are lucky to have this asset to use, too bad it is not sealed like the trail from wang to bright. Eventually more and more tourist operators will spring up and the trail will be serviced by cycle friendly vendors as they realise the potential of us as customers.

Returned from the trail today. I rode from Tallarook to Mansfield yesterday, stayed overnight at the Delatite hotel in Mansfield and then returned to my parked car in Tallarook this afternoon. Tallarook to Mansfield took me 9.5 hours including a stop for lunch at Cathkin which is exactly half way and another stop for food in Bonnie Doon. The return trip from Mansfield to Tallarook which is predominantly down hill took about the same amount of time however there were more stops for breaks and a tyre puncture didn't help. With all the purpose built bridges along the way, the trail would have cost in the millions to get it up to scratch. There are fairly new toilets and shaded picnic tables along the track approximately every 10kms or so and markers along the 120km from Tallarook to Mansfield indicate how far you've traveled. The gradient map on the great victorian rail trail website is fairly accurate and you can expect to steadily climb for about 20km from Cathkin. There is also a steady climb from Yea to the Cheviot tunnel and a long descent for about 7km once you come out of the tunnel. Watch out for swooping magpies, I was swooped on 3 separate occasions and look out for brown snakes on warmer days as I had 2 cross my path, one on each day. Only attempt the 2 day turn around if you're reasonably fit and you've had a reasonable preparation as 240km in 2 days on a gravel track, battling headwinds at times can be a big ask. The only town with a decent range of eating choices along the way was in Yea, otherwise choices are limited at other towns on the track. The Delatite hotel in Mansfield offers a glorified backpacker type accommodation recently refurbished and I paid $60(1 person) booking direct for a double bed room which was clean and well presented, including television in room and free wireless internet and a lock up area for my bike and staff were very friendly and helpful. Mansfield itself offers plenty of eating options and has foodworks and IGA supermarkets for cheap groceries. The trip as a whole was a pleasant one and well worth doing at least once with views mainly of the Goulburn river in the early sections of the track followed by lots of green rolling hills and cattle and then the lakes and water ways of Bonnie Doon. There are plenty of trees offering shade along the track and I would think that about 2/5 ths of the track is shaded which on warmer days will offer respite from riding in the sun. I also noticed parking areas at different points all along the track so that you can pretty much start and finish where ever you choose. Hope this information helps on your trip.

We rode from Mansfield to Merton and found it a wonderful experience. We wandered around Maindample auction day as we passed through. Plenty of toilets on the trail although it was hard to find the public toilets at Merton. I recommend that you take plenty of water with you. I think they are located down a hill towards Euroa. The surface is well compacted and easy to ride on.

Scenery lovely, track mostly okay apart from some soft patches after some heavy rain.Giddy goat cafe at Yarck has excellent meals right beside the trail

It's not a strenuous ride if done over several days. The hills are gentle and the track is well maintained and clear. Watch out for the swooping magpies in Spring!

Liked the route. Liked the surface. Easy to use. Bit hard to find near Mansfield.Disliked the poles at each cross road.

A 70, 60, near 50, and a 12 yr old..we rode Mansfield to Tallarook over Easter and thoroughly enjoyed it. We found the 60km from Mansfield to Yark harder going, felt like much further, the larger, looser gravel surface made it hard slog at times, very bumpy, we were also carrying our belongings on our backs for the 4 days which didn't help. Yark to Yea was the most enjoyable leg, 35kms of smoother pathway, beautiful scenery and excitement with a tunnel! (our bags were taken to Yea for us that day). Loved that ride and would love to do it again! Yea to Tallarook was an easy ride, also good. Toilets were along the way but you need to go into towns for water, was fine for us as the weather was cooler, however if riding in Summer you would need to fill up at every opportunity. Would have loved signs directing us to Devonshire Tea here!! :)Stayed a great accommodation along the way and enjoyed excellent Pub meals at night.We found the Beechworth-Bright trail easier in comparison and have done the full length on one day several times. We split this trail over 3 days and personally I would not do this one in one day...however am sure many riders could and would, Highly recommend this trail for a great ride and some thrown in "Serenity".

We did these 2 bike trails with our 12 year old son: Yea to Tallarook & Mansfield to Boonie Doon. Both stretches are very picturesque with lush pastures, eucalyptus trees and gently rolling hills. While we are experienced riders, the trail is well laid and an achievable ride for beginners. We discovered a lovely Devonshire tea room on the trail in Trawool. Delicious homemade scones and a pot of tea were enjoyed in the garden overlooking the distant hills. The information office distributes a bike trail booklet which can be a little misleading. The booklet mentions 3 towns: Granite, Kerrisdale and Homewood - none were sign posted so don't rely on them for refreshments or toilet stops. There are environmental type toilets along the track - but no drinkable water so be prepared.

Now renamed and appropriate! We went from Mansfield to Bonnie Doon and back. About. 45 kms. Track is treed most if the way, smooth and well maintained. Stop at the free iced water stand in Maindample and then a coffee at Bonnie Bar. Wonderful scenery including kangaroos along the way. A must do by foot bike or horse if you are in the area .

We rode the entire trail from Tallarook to Mansfield via Alexander and return in 5 days over Australia day weekend. It was one of the best trails we have done, beautiful scenery consisting of rolling hills, gum trees, old farming sheds, sheep, cattle, rivers, dams, all what you expect in country Victoria. The trail is not difficult as gradient is manageable. You will need a mountain bike or hybrid as surface can be gravelly in some areas and hard compact sand may have some ruts developed after riding on it during a wet day. I highly recommend the trail. You can easily do smaller sections as parking is available in most towns. All of the trail is fabulous no matter where or which direction you are traveling

I did the Bonnie Doon to Mansfield section and found the ride very relaxing. Being a disused railway there are no steep hills, however there are some long hills where you need to pace yourself (well I should have).Most of the trail for this section is fine gravel and is very suited to hybrid or mountain bike tyres. I have put narrower tyres on my hybrid for road riding, but would swap back to the wider profile to do this section again. A guy did ride past me on a full road bike and he seemed to do OK.There are well defined road crossings (for the cars too) and toilet facilities.A few sections have trees growing very close to the track and provide a magical enclosure for you to ride through, particularly as you ride into Mansfield.