MURRAY TO MOUNTAINS RAIL TRAIL
VICTORIA
The Murray To Mountains Rail Trail draws cyclists and walkers from afar to tour through some of North East Victoria’s most beautiful landscapes and iconic tourist towns. This sealed trail, of just over 100kms in length, connects Wangaratta to Bright, with an extension to Harrietville (Great Valley Trail) and side branches to Beechworth and the King Valley towns of Oxley and Milawa. Passing through these towns, including Myrtleford, offers great overnight stay options and with ‘foodie’ highlights along the way like farm gate shops, produce stores and wineries, the trail is a tourist attraction in itself.
At the northern end of the trail, Wangaratta caters well to cyclists, whether they’re exploring the town or about to embark on the trail. There’s a bicycle hub at Merriwa Park, offering bicycle lockers, showers, toilets and change room facilities. One of the short side branches of the trail heads south from Wangaratta to Oxley and on to the small, yet renowned gourmet hub of Milawa. (15kms total one way)
The main (82km) section of the Murray To Mountains Rail Trail to Bright starts by heading about 8kms north of Wangaratta to an area called Bowser. The route then turns south-east towards Everton, a small town established in the 1870’s that had a railway station a few kms north of the town, at Everton Upper. Here there was a junction where passengers could go north-east to Beechworth, south-east to Myrtleford and Bright or west to Wangaratta. The replica railway station at Everton Upper has shelter, picnic table, toilets and tank water.
Cyclists can choose to continue on to Myrtleford and Bright or head to the historic and popular tourist town of Beechworth from here (approx. 16km – route is uphill most of the way with some steep sections, otherwise, riding from Beechworth to Everton Upper is downhill).
Continuing on the main route after about 25kms the town of Myrtleford is reached and the trail starts to feature wonderful mountain views as it heads deeper into the Ovens Valley. Upon entering Myrtleford, where the trail crosses Barwidgee Creek, a nice spot to take a break is just on the other side of the Great Alpine Rd at a shady park alongside the Ovens River. There’s toilets, BBQ facilities, playground and a historic tobacco kiln.
The final leg of the Murray To Mountains Rail Trail is a 30km, spectacular section through the small rural area of Eurobin and on to Porepunkah and Bright which are surrounded by peaks of Mt’s Buffalo, Feathertop and Hotham. Eurobin has a replica railway station with shelter, picnic table, toilets and tank water.
The Upper Ovens Valley includes Bright and Porepunkah, but also the historic gold mining towns of Wandiligong and Harrietville are nearby. These towns are a popular base for road cycling and mountain biking, from the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail and its extension, the Great Valley Trail (Bright – Harrietville) to the Mystic Mountain Bike Park with over 30 kms of trails to suit all abilities.
The Great Valley Trail adds a further 27km of sealed, family-friendly cycling path, connecting Bright with Harrietville. The trail follows and crosses the Ovens River through forests and the edge of farmland and at times affords spectacular views of Mt Feathertop and the surrounding alps. With less than 200 metres altitude gain between Bright and Harrietville, it’s also only gradually uphill, in parts, so you won’t really notice it over 27km!
More information on the Murray To Mountains Rail Trail can be found here
