The start of the trail is in Dookie West but the main town along it is Dookie, which remains a wheat centre. where the CWA Gardens have toilets and play equipment. There is ample parking opposite the hotel.

The sections of the trail are:

• Dookie West to Dookie (3km): Runs from the direction of Shepparton starting at Conway Rd
• Dookie to Yabba South (5km): Heads north past two examples of Dookie’s portable silo art

Dookie West to Dookie (3km)

• Access: The trail starts on the eastern side of Conway Rd, 900m south of New Dookie Rd (C364) and 2km from Cosgove. There is some on-road parking here but larger vehicles are better off in Dookie
• The chip-seal trail runs towards Dookie next to overgrown railway tracks, which apparently have future prospects
• There’s a rest area almost immediately which would be more useful if the trail started closer to Shepparton

Dookie to Yabba South (5km)

• Access: The Dookie trail hub is in the CWA Gardens, overshadowed by the old concrete wheat silos. There is ample parking opposite the Gladstone Hotel.
• Dookie has a general store and fenced play area with toilets and picnic shelter
• The trail runs west, past a water fountain, decorated dead tree and exercise equipment, before heading north through open farmland, with rolling hills in the distance. Mt Major is on the right and Mt Saddleback on the left
• There’s an interpretive sign about the elaborate church you’ll see at the base of Mt Saddleback
• Volunteer groups have installed so many interpretive signs that it’s easier to walk
• There are also kilometre posts, historical markers and a shelter halfway to Yabba South
• Revegetation efforts are paying off, and there is a birdwatcher’s logbook to record sightings
• The trail runs alongside Dookie Rd before ending 500m short of Treacy Rd, marking the start of the connecting trail below

CONNECTING PATH

Dookie Loop (15km): The more adventurous among you who may be looking for an alternate way back from Yabba South can continue along Dookie Rd for 500m, turn right on Treacy Rd, left on Panter, right on McCormack, right on Gawne, left on Wrens Quarry and west on McDonald Rd to get back to the rail trail for the run back to town. Most of these roads are gravel or dirt, which is so rusty red you’ll be looking for corrosion warning signs. Follow our plot line (click on LARGER MAP) or photograph the map on the information board opposite the pub as there are limited directional signs and some may be pointing the wrong way …