Comments on: Red Hill Rail Trail

By: Wolter K.

Wolter K. — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 06:57:40 +0000

6/70 Rode this one again today and found the surface in good condition, although the dirt climb from Merricks is going to need a grader over it at some stage and maybe some erosion mounds. Could get a bit slippery over winter! Good to see work has started on the Peninsula Trails section from Golf Links Rd.

By: Darren M.

Darren M. — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 06:31:52 +0000

Lovely little rail trail! Locally known as the Merricks Trail. I made a nice two-day loop starting at Somerville Railway Station riding to Somers, Hastings and Balnarring beaches then back to Bittern. A little bit of riding on busy roads, so caution is required.

By: Bronwyn H.

Bronwyn H. — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:43:56 +0000

Brilliant little path for mountain/hybrid bikes or walking! Very steep in sections, path has big tree roots and other tyre/foot obstacles and lots of walkers, so need to be great at navigating and braking. I typically do it one way from Red Hill to Merricks Food Store, but it can be done one way in reverse direction, or up and back. Great cafe at either end of the trail. The trail can also be extended at the Red Hill end all the way to Red Hill Primary School, AND then down to Green Olive (scenic tapas place and cafe with gorgeous garden and great playground) using the wide footpath separated from the road by treeline.

By: Wolter K.

Wolter K. — Wed, 17 May 2023 09:28:49 +0000

In reply to Ewen H.. Hi Ewen, Glad you enjoyed the trail. I have added some information on the webpage under 'Connecting Path' regarding the Peninsula Trail plan for this area.

By: Ewen H.

Ewen H. — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 08:35:22 +0000

I rode Merricks-Red Hill-Merricks on a longish weekend in April, 2023. The trail guide sums it up exceedingly well. Firstly, it was extremely busy with lots of walkers, dogs (mainly off-leash) and horses and I have not seen a more well used trail, even the Anniversary Outer Circle would be less frequented. This means those who yearn for Strava cycling KOM's may be disappointed as you slow for foot traffic and you really do need to come to a stop for the horses as there is limited passing space. The trail surface, whilst decent, can be a little patchy here and there, however the transition between different scenery and foliage is well worth the effort to visit this trail. I grabbed a great coffee and snack at "Food On The Hill", near the Red Hill station and you won't be disappointed.

It's on 6km but it's well worth the visit

By: Andrew W.

Andrew W. — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 00:34:31 +0000

This is a fun, pretty little trail. We started at Merricks. There are some longish uphill sections, but not too bad.
The return ride is great with nice, intermittent views Port Phillip bay.
The track is a little rough and overgrown in places. Get off your seat and you'll be fine!

By: Roedie R.

Roedie R. — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:04:32 +0000

Visited today 26-10-'21
Very disappointed with the maintenance of the track. Lost of washouts, mud and tree roots sticking up.

Whoever is responsible for the maintenance here needs some encouragement to get into it.

By: warwickdymphna@gmail.com

warwickdymphna@gmail.com — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 23:19:44 +0000

8/27 Next rail trail on my journey to ride every trail in Victoria in my 60th year to promote organ donation. Red Hill Rail Trail is on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula. I started at Red Hill to take advantage of the downhill run. Lovely sunny conditions but a rough surface with tree roots and rocks mean it’s not a great cycling path. At the point the track leaves the railway alignment heading towards Merricks there is a gate that is too narrow to ride through before a very steep (but short) climb. Signage is pretty poor once you leave Red Hill, and I had to consult Google Maps once near the end when there seemed 2 options to go on. To get to the rather non-descript end you need to ride around the equestrian centre, which was pretty busy on the day I was there. But it is an interesting ride with beautiful views, and probably better tackled on foot. 6.5km.

You can follow all my rail trail rides on FB Warwick Duncan – The 2nd Chance Man or Insta @warwick_rides

By: Trevor H.

Trevor H. — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 07:21:14 +0000

With 2 friends I cycled this trail on Tuesday 3rd January 2017, but we soon became concerned that it was not very suitable for riding on a hybrid bike. We started at the Merricks end and were immediately confronted by bumpy impressions left in the ground from horses hoofs, which would have been made when the trail was wet. Further on there were many sections with exposed tree roots which made for a rough ride. Then near a vineyard there was a big hill and very loose gravel, so we played safe and walked our bikes on the grass beside the trail. The trail became a bit flatter and better at the Red Hill South end, and after a coffee, it was mostly downhill riding back to Merricks. Even though some people regard it as a rail trail, we saw very little evidence of station buildings or signs, cuttings, track or sleepers. Officially the 5km trail is known as the Peninsula Equestrian Trail. I would recommend you leave it to walkers and horses, and for safety sake ride on the very pleasant Warringine Park Coastal Wetlands Boardwalk at Hastings, which we did on Wednesday 4th January. The only good long cycle/walking path on the southern Mornington Peninsula is the one from Safety Beach to Sorrento. But being summer and school holiday, we decided to postpone this ride to a quieter time. I would like to see Mornington Peninsula Shire create some other long off road shared paths for walkers and cyclists. This would attract more tourists to the area and provide a healthy activity for them.

By: cascho

cascho — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 02:14:14 +0000

Rode the Red Hill trail on November 9th 2014. A good short trail with a great down hill ride from Red Hill – the gradient is deceptive and you pick up speed very easily. The short rise along the vineyard is in poor quality and bikes are liable to slip when climbing. Agree about the dog owners being everywhere – but had no problems with any dogs.