Name: Nurragi Conservation Reserve rail trail
Rating: 2

Rail Trail
On Road
Potential RT
Other Trail
Former Railway

One of the original reasons for rail trails was to create conservation corridors, and the Nurragi Conservation Reserve is a good example. It is an ideal walk to see more than 300 species of native plants, 67 of these are of particular conservation significance.

Why visit the Nurragi Conservation Reserve rail trail?

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The trail through this reserve provides a unique opportunity to experience remnant vegetation which is native to the region
It has a mix of natural and cultural heritage features
It is recommended for families, train enthusiasts and groups who want a gentle 2-3 hour walk

Nearby Attractions

More than 300 species of native plants grow in the Rail Trail
It is recommended for families, train enthusiasts, and groups who want a gentle walk lasting 2-3 hours.
Lake Alexandrina at Milang is a great place for a dip, especially for the kids, because the water is only waist deep until you’re past the end of the jetty.
The Milang railway museum is open from Noon to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays and by appointment at other times. Telephone (08) 8537 0061. They have souvenirs and serve refreshments in the carriages.
The Encounter Bikeway and the townships of Goolwa, Port Elliot & Victor Harbor are nearby.

Trail Guide

Last updated: 30 September 2025

This trail is only suitable for walking as there are stiles at the road crossings.

Local volunteers have established a self-guided walk with features numbered from the Sandergrove end. There are brochures and engraved maps at access points on the trail. Distance markers have also been installed with measurements in both directions.

The trail can be split into two main sections:

Sandergrove to Nurragi features pink gums and Mallee vegetation in its 7 km of heavier soils
Nurragi to Milang has the remains of the Nurragi Siding and a memorial to the person who chaired the Friends of Nurragi for 20 years

Section Guides

Sandergrove to Nurragi (7.2 km)

You can reach the Sandergrove end of the trail via Goolwa Rd and Tucker Rd, which you follow to the end, past the railway line.
Here there was a school to the south west until the 1950s
To the west, the SteamRanger heritage trains run to Victor Harbor
Around Dry Plains Rd, the area can be inundated when the rains finally come
Sandy soils here favour pink gums
Before Nurragi Rd, the former siding is on your left

Nurragi to Milang (5.4 km)

After crossing the stiles on both sides of Nurragi Rd, there is a picnic area and another place to pick up a brochure
There is a memorial to local naturalist John Eckert, who chaired the Friends group for 20 years.
You will see mallee trees like bottle brush and dryland tea-tree, native pine and correa
The railway crossing of Finniss-Milang Rd was acute, so the trail resumes diagonally opposite. Watch for traffic and avoid the private property on the right
Sections of the track are overgrown and sandy.
From Weeroona Rd, where the trail crosses beyond the cemetery, is a section that was included in the reserve in 2001. Closer to Milang, this land was subject to grazing until more recently and not direct-seeded until 2008.
The trail ends at McDonald Rd, not far from the Milang Railway Museum. Try to time your visit for when it is open (see FURTHER INFORMATION below)
Milang is the only place with facilities, including BBQs and a foreshore caravan park.

Photo Gallery

Native vegetation growing in abundance on the trail

Early days at the Nurragi Conservation Reserve [2006]

Scarlet Bottlebrush which can be seen on the trail [Jeff Whittaker]

Nurragi Station site [2006]

Kick-to-kick at Milang Station waiting for the rail cafe to open [2025]

Interpretive signs have been added to display in Milang's railyard [2025]

A Grey Fantail enjoys the rail trail envornment

a low hanging eucalypt, moved about by the wind, keeps the rail trail clean

an old stone abutment on the rail trail

the vegetation can encroach on the trail

all that remains of a stormwater abutment

Get Around

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Reviews

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2 reviews of “Nurragi Conservation Reserve rail trail”

Just rode it today 1way from Milang (which was enough). If you have down hill slalom skiing and professional boxing as a skill set it’s for you, weaving between bush, some say wombat holes so are sink holes I’m sure, low hanging branches some all at the same time you’ll love it. I found it a lot of fun just for the novelty but those styles you have to tackle are terrible, who though of those? Farmers have padlocked the gates so you can’t use those. I think I’ve damaged my shoulder trying to lift my heavy mountain bike over, if you can’t raise your bike to your shoulder height don’t do this ride. Milang is lovely, station, carriages, tracks and even a good bit of the turntable remaing, it’s great, but train wise that it, the only thing on the trail is a few sleepers you can see and a sad station sign half way, not that you can look around as you’ll end off your bike. Leads out to …….? I actually enjoyed the ride as it was very different. Thanks

11/70 Bit of a surprise this one and definitely easier walking but I did it on a MTB. Never did quite sort out getting over the stiles … would be easier with two people. Watch out for wombat and rabbit burrows and loose sand on the singletrack. The cyclocross crowd would love it.

Further Information

Information and Links

Walking Guide Brochure and map prepared by the Friends group

National Trust website for Nurragi Conservation Reserve

Milang Railway Museum

Contact Rail Trails Australia

To contact us about this rail trail, email sa@railtrails.org.au

Background Information

Traditional owners

We acknowledge the Ngarrindjeri people, the traditional custodians of the land and waterways on which the rail trail is built.

Rail line history

The Sandergrove to Milang branch line opened in 1884, with Sandergrove Station being about 10 km south of Strathalbyn on the main line from Mt Barker to Victor Harbor and Nurragi being the intermediate one on the branch. The name is based on the Ngarrindjeri word for scrub. By the early 1990s much of the native “scrub” had been cleared for agricultural production.

Ironically, after the line’s closure in 1970, the rail corridor was left relatively undisturbed and, through the efforts of the local community, council and SA Government, existing vegetation has been protected and species of the original Milang scrub added to the railway corridor. The area was dedicated as a nature conservation and plantation reserve in 1991 and the trail was officially opened in May, 2014. A heritage agreement permanently protects the area.

News

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