Comments on: East Gippsland Rail Trail

By: Simon G.

Simon G. — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:27:04 +0000

Ride Nowa Nowa to Waygara, then turned around for the return leg as had done the climb out of Orbost earlier this year and really didn’t fancy the tough climb out on a 28 degree day. I would describe the ride as pleasant, 2 trestle bridges were the highlight and the forest was ok for a while but did get a bit mundane. A lot of loose gravel on the surface so I had to pay attention and certain areas debris from the trees narrowed the rideable line to 1 metre max. Saw the rail trail crew out driving inspecting the trail, shame they can’t attach a spiral brush (like on the driving ranges) to the back of the vehicle and drive the debris to the side of the trail. They did however remove the tree that had fallen across the trail on my return leg. Nice work peeps.Thanks.

By: Sharon J.

Sharon J. — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 05:20:56 +0000

Stayed at the Mingling Waters Caravan Park [Nowa Nowa] and rode the trail to Orbst and back in a day. Great trail. I loved the historic bridges but did get swooped by a magpie near one of them.

By: Andrew C.

Andrew C. — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 11:02:34 +0000

Did this ride last week – Wednesday to Friday…train from Dandenong to Bairnsdale 3 hrs….out to Nowa Nowa 60kms (NNCaravan park is brilliant…Steven the owner really looked after me!)
Day 2 out to Orbost and down towards Marlo..Thunderstorm turned me around so back to Now Nowa…torrential rain so Steven (Cvan Park owner) insisted on renting me a cheap deal on a caravan to ride out the storm overnight!!
Day 3…called the trip a day short due to heavy rain so up early and back to Bairnsdale…but Buses replaced trains so had to do 2 buses and a train back to D'nong…4 hrs. But not before a well earned bite and beer at the Grand Terminus Hotel in B'dale…a great trip despite the weather…~220kms with a heavy load (124kg bike, pack & rider). Highly recommend this track. Will do it again and go further next time.

By: Caroline G.

Caroline G. — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 05:09:45 +0000

We parked our caravan on a farm stay at Tostaree (great place) and rode from Tostaree to Orbost. This leg of the trail has mixed surfaces, with about half being hard packed and smooth, while the other half is quite bumpy with large stones/small rocks which was a bit rough on this old girls body!
There's a steep descent and ascent with sharp turns and a loose surface to cross Hospital Creek that we preferred to walk down.
After our 50 odd km return ride, I did feel like I'd done a lot of uphill riding but it was through some very pretty countryside.
The reward at the end is seeing the 903m long, curved trestle bridge that has been partially restored, with a local committee working tirelessly to raise the funds to complete.

By: John B.

John B. — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 05:21:50 +0000

I rode half of this terrific trail (from Nowa Nowa to Orbost) on the 6th of October 2024 as part of Great East ride. The bridges along the way were indeed spectacular and one had a lasting feeling of remoteness when experiencing some unforgettable scenery along the way. The trail had a very good all-weather gravel surface and effective drainage, and the only adjustment needed was a drop in tyre pressure to 35 psi on my hybrid to cope very well with some rockier surface approaching Orbost. Looking forward to returning and completing the full distance from Bairnsdale to Orbost and maybe riding over the new surface atop the Snowy River Bridge once it is available! Our ride was supported by Snowy River Cycling, who ran a very well organized and enjoyable 3-day event. Unfortunately we did miss the first day due to family matters and illness, all the more reason to come back again.

By: greg h.

greg h. — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 07:00:05 +0000

This is a fantastic trail passing through diverse countryside, awesome old bridges and a few good facilities along the way as well as towns to take a break. The surfaces are generally very good and well drained. This was the first of five Gippsland trails I rode on my Bike Friday 20" folding tourer fully loaded with camping gear all on the one trip.
This trail ranks as my favorite Gippsland trail, just loved the scent of the forest, hills to climb and something new around each bend. While I did ride it in one day I would love to return and spend two or three days enjoying it. A credit to the people involved getting up and maintaining it so well!

By: Mark L.

Mark L. — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 00:01:46 +0000

We rode this in two parts – from Bairnsdale to Bruthen which was great with a good sealed surface for the first 13klm and then well packed gravel the rest of the way.
Unfortunately I could not say the same about our trip from Orbost to Now Nowa. The first part out of Orbost is quite uneven and you should ride on the road, the first part of the actual rail trail is a good hard packed surface but then it gets very rough and stoney and I thought quite dangerous in parts.

By: Stephen L.

Stephen L. — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:42:51 +0000

We rode a flat bar racer (38C commuter tyres) and gravel bike (32C knobbly tyres) Bairnsdale to Orbost (24/25 November) and enjoyed the upgraded path, which is wonderful (any so called spongy area described in comments below has consolidated and is now a great surface). It would be great if the 10 km section from Partellis Crossing to Joiners Road could be resurfaced (given it is fairly bumpy).
We enjoyed the trestle bridges, forest and farms, with gentle rolling hills and lots of animals and birds – an echidna, lizard, goana and pheasant and lyre birds.
We stayed at Mingling Waters at Nowa Nowa which had a well supplied camp kitchen and lovely swimming at an arm of the Lake Tyres.
The Nowa Nowa to Orbost section is isolated, so you would want spare tubes and enough water. We highly recommend the trail for others.

By: Alistair C.

Alistair C. — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 21:34:43 +0000

Nearly the full length of this trail has now been resurfaced, with either new asphalt or a really solid gravel surface. The first 14km or so out of Bairnsdale is suitable for any type of bike, lovely asphalt. After that there is a smooth hard packed gravel, suitable for hybrid bikes. The section from Bruthen to Nowa Nowa has only recently been completed and is sensational. Make sure to venture in to Costicks Weir. Great variety of scenery from farmlands to bush and a feeling of being away from the highways. Lovely little towns along the way for accommodation and food. A short section (about 10km) from Partellis Crossing to Joiners road is yet to be resurfaced, but dont let that put you off. This is a gem of a trail and well worth the effort.

By: Luke C.

Luke C. — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 06:41:05 +0000

Not a bad ride. I stayed at the little caravan park at Orbost which is across the river from the start of the trail. Access to the trail from the caravan park is quite easy from the highway around the corner (bridge has a safe separate path for pedestrians/ cyclists).
I rode 60km of the trail before turning back to Orbost, which made for quite a long day.
There's a bunch of nice trestle bridges to see along the way, particularly if starting from the Orbost end.
The petrol station/general store at Nowa Nowa makes for a good rest stop, and the staff there were friendly.
Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to ride any of the trail from the Bairnsdale end due to bike issues, so I can't comment on that end of the trail.
Overall the trail was in good condition with a fine gravel surface. Some of the trail surface at the Orbost end was pretty rough (and that's on a 160mm dual suspension trail MTB). I did see a large pile of gravel along the ride which looked to be for the trail surface- I'm assuming the trail surface may currently be a work in progress.
Definitely a nice one to tick off the trail list.