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Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail

Victoria - East (Gippsland)

4.1 based on 8 reviews
Mark as favourite Mark as visited
Location: 315 km east of Melbourne
Length: 23 km
Surface: Compacted earth, Sealed
Start / End: Colquhoun to Lakes Entrance
Public Transport: Coach
Suitable for:
  • Cycling – Mountain BikesCycling – Mountain Bikes
  • Cycling – Touring and Hybrid BikesCycling – Touring and Hybrid Bikes
  • WalkingWalking
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  • Rail Trail
  • On Road
  • Potential RT
  • Other Trail
  • Former Railway

The Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail is a pretty 23km shared path connecting Lakes Entrance with the East Gippsland Rail Trail, near the small forest settlement of Colquhoun. A significant length of the trail follows an old tramway alongside the Mississippi Creek.

View Map
  • Lovely bush trail that follows an old tramway alongside the Mississippi Creek
  • To watch goannas scuttling, see native wildflowers blooming in spring and hear bellbirds calling
  • Great way to justify luxury accommodation in Lakes Entrance
  • Remains of old cuttings, rails and sleepers
  • Site of granite quarry that supplied stone to line the channel at Lakes Entrance

Nearby Attractions

  • Popular holiday town of Lakes Entrance
  • Colquhoun MTB Park (includes part of this rail trail as linking track)
  • East Gippsland Rail Trail
  • Forestec forestry centre
  • Nyerimilang Heritage Park
  • Kalimna Jetty Walk

Last updated: 13 January 2025

Access points

  • Colquhoun: Take Seaton Tk off Bruce Rd or ride 2km along East Gippsland Rail Trail from Bruce Rd to start
  • Log Crossing Picnic Area, off Uncle Rd, avoids hills if just on quarry visit
  • Junction of Scriveners and Colquhoun roads, 8km north of Lakes Entrance
  • Esplanade, Lakes Entrance

Section Guides

 

Only 9km of this path is a rail trail and, as that part was a tramway, it is rougher and windier than many. The linking sections include steep hills, while the limited access hampers trail maintenance.

Colquhoun to Log Crossing Picnic Area (13km)

  • After leaving the East Gippsland Rail Trail at Seatons Tk, begin your journey of discovery southwards. This bush track has some steep hills on its way down to the Mississippi Creek valley.
  • After 4km you reach the site of the quarry. There is a viewing platform and signage about its role in rebuilding the channel at Lakes Entrance.
  • From here, the trail follows the old tramway for 9km, staying relatively close to the creek and crossing it several times. Watch for granite blocks that did not make it to the waiting barge.
  • Log Crossing is a camping spot with toilets and is a popular starting point for dog owners.

Log Crossing to Lakes Entrance (12km)

  • The tramway section finishes at Scriveners Rd. The granite was barged from North Arm, just south of here. Turn left and climb the singletrack alongside Scriveners Rd until you reach Colquhoun Rd.
  • Turn right at Colquhoun Rd, and follow it and then Palmers Rd for 8km to reach Main Beach. The surface is asphalt – but the shoulders are narrow, so proceed with caution.

 

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8 reviews of “Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail”

I rode this trail on the 5th October 2024 as part of the Great East Ride. Starting at Nowa Nowa, we rode on the East Gippsland Rail Trail in a westerly direction until we reached Colquhoun, then turned south off the main trail onto the Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail. While not being as wide and well-surfaced as the main East Gippsland trail, the Discovery Trail was a delightful ride, with lots of tight twists and turns and undulations as it follows the Mississippi creek for much of its length (yes, and a little bike walking in some short, steeper pinches for me!). Riders had to be wary of the litter of twigs and branches, but these and the squadrons of bugs (they looked like mosquitoes but didn't bite..) constituted only a small distraction and didn't reduce the enjoyment of riding the trail. After riding onto Colquhoun Road, we followed the Great East Ride itinerary to Wyanga Park Winery for lunch instead of proceeding directly to Lakes Entrance. The bus ride and bike transfer from Wyanga Park back to Nowa Nowa, provided by Snowy River Cycling as part of the ride support, was greatly appreciated at this stage!

Started out at 5 from rail trail down to the log bridge. Awesome trail with some cool spots of history but the bugs on the day we rode were relentless. Hoping it was just that time of the year or day. Lost points also as on the last half it was was hard to find the track. A few trees down and boggy patches as we didn’t want to ride down the road with my 8 yr old son. Second half was best suited to MTB. Overall a great ride with the young bloke.

We cycled this trail on hybrid bikes in near perfect conditions on a mild sunny spring day on Saturday 28 September, 2024. Years before we had cycled the stunning East Gippsland Rail Trail over three days and noted this trail along the way and I vowed to return one day. The previous day we had cycled the Gippsland Plains Rail Trail from Stratford to Traralgon one way (and caught the train back). We started from the East Gippsland Rail Trail at Seatons Tk around midday and arrived in Lakes Entrance at 3pm. The trail traverses the Colquhoun State Forest which is beautiful and full of bird life. The first 3.8km is very hilly, with a few steep ascents and descents which prompted us to walk our bikes. We visited the Mississippi quarry before following the old tramway and Mississippi Creek to Scriveners Rd, which was a very pleasant ride. Then we followed the very hilly path up the road to the junction with Colquhoun Rd which again prompted us to walk our bikes. The final 8km on the paved Colquhoun Rd was a little unnerving with cars roaring past at 80kmh. On the final descent into Lakes Entrance, we got up to a top speed of 40kmh. We enjoyed dunch (or linner) in town and then headed back up the road. I pushed my bike up while my teenage son rode his (ahh, youth). We arrived back at our car by 7pm and used our bike lights for the last few kms. The trail was in very good condition but as it mostly traverses a forest, sticks and branches on the path are inevitable. It was one of the most picturesque trails we have ever done and highly recommend it, along with the East Gippsland Rail Trail.

Only did the northern section, from Scriveners Rd. Lovely bush section, an ex-tramway following the swampy creek from the quarry. Surface was very eroded and in need of grading and resurfacing, was a struggle at times on my three-speed Dutch upright with street tyres plus 10kg dog in the rear basket, but a mountain bike would handle it with ease.

Cycled the Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail on 24 January, 2020. This has to be one of the finest cycle trails in Australia – immersed in gorgeous, lush forest, great historical signs along the way and a beautiful, exciting ride both ways. We did the Discovery Trail with the East Gippsland Rail Trail and it was the highlight of the trip. Many thanks to Snowy River Cycling for suggesting we include it in our East Gippsland adventure.

24/27. I rode this trail after driving from Melbourne to our caravan site in Bruthen, which is only 10 mins drive from the trailhead. It is a lovely trail, much narrower and heavily wooded than most RTs as it follows an old tram route. Being a bushy environment, there was a lot of debris on the track so you have to keep your eyes peeled, but it wasn’t too bad. I did it from north-south so it was mainly downhill, and pretty good fun. Even disturbed some wildlife along the way.
I had no need to go into Lakes Entrance so I didn’t continue once I got to the end. Instead I met my sag wagon at Forestech, about 3 kms to the right along Shiverners Rd.. That’s 24 RTs completed! You can follow all my railtrail rides on FB Warwick Duncan – The 2nd Chance Man or Insta @warwick_rides

I rode this trail yesterday (12th March 2015), and was very surprised – for an isolated trail the quality of the track is excellent. I rode between Schrivners Rd and the connection with East Gippsland Trail. The trail can be ridden with a hybrid, with the section between Schrivners and the Quarry essentially flat. Between the connection with East Gippsland and the Quarry there are are some hills – one of the signed steep descents has a fallen tree right across the track – which almost caught me out. The gradient on this climbs will be difficult to some riders – but you can always walk up. A lot of wildlife around and a huge wombat hole on the side of the track just before Schrivners Rd.

Great ride from Anderson’s Track (better parking than Schrivners Road) through to the quarry (8km) established to repair the Lakes Entrance break wall. Well signposted (history notes) with kangaroos, parrots and a red belly black snake seen along the track. Track was well maintained with grass slashed beside the track and no fallen trees or logs.

Information and Links

Contact Rail Trails Australia

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

Background Information

Traditional owners

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

Rail Line History

The Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail follows the route of a tramway that was constructed in the early 1900s to move pink granite from a quarry on Mississippi Creek, to the North Arm of the Gippsland Lakes. The granite was used for buildings in Melbourne and also to construct a permanent breakwater entrance to the Gippsland Lakes. The tramline was used until the 1940s.

 

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