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Great Southern Rail Trail

Victoria - East (Gippsland)

4.3 based on 66 reviews
Location: South Gippsland, 130 km southeast of Melbourne
Length: 137 km
Surface: Crushed granite, Fine gravel
Start / End: Nyora to Port Albert
Public Transport: Coach
Suitable for:
  • Cycling – Mountain BikesCycling – Mountain Bikes
  • Cycling – Touring and Hybrid BikesCycling – Touring and Hybrid Bikes
  • Horse RidingHorse Riding
  • PramsPrams
  • WalkingWalking
  • WheelchairsWheelchairs

  • Rail Trail
  • On Road
  • Potential RT
  • Other Trail
  • Former Railway

The Great Southern runs through the lush farmland and rolling hills of South Gippsland. One of Australia's longest rail trails, the fine gravel surface is great for cycling.

View Map

Now open from Nyora to Port Albert and Yarram

  • It has stunning scenery, ranging from distant mountains to river valleys and farmland, as well as the contrast of the welcoming towns and tranquil forests
  • There are pretty villages with many opportunities to savour local food and wine
  • A wide, smooth, hard-packed gravel surface and only three crossings of major roads
  • Make the full journey or choose shorter segments for a more leisurely adventure. Stop and explore the many towns linked by the trail with their unique stories and experiences as well as terrific coffee, shopping and dining
  • If you also complete the connecting trails up and back, it totals 142km

Nearby Attractions

  • Wineries, farmgate outlets, craft shops and quaint towns such as Yarram
  • Coal Creek Community Park and Museum, Korumburra
  • Phillip Island Nature Parks
  • Wilsons Promontory National Park
  • Agnes Falls near Toora
  • The curved Port Welshpool Jetty, the longest in Victoria
  • Hoddle Mountain Trail bush walk from Fish Creek
  • Cement Hill MTB Park, Foster
  • Koo Wee Rup has a 1.7km rail trail that could form part of an extension of the GSRT from Nyora as far northwest as Clyde

Last updated: 9 December 2024

The surface is compacted gravel, which is generally quite smooth and well drained. Some sections have distance marker signs to help you appease the kids.

Access Points

  • Nyora: Railway station car park on Henley St, off Davis St
  • Loch: Underpass from carpark in Speight St
  • Korumburra: Railway station on Station St via Bridge St
  • Leongatha: Trailhead in station precinct
  • Koonwarra: Trail runs between Swan St shopping strip and South Gippsland Hwy
  • Meeniyan: Carpark 100m north of the shops on Tompkins Rd, off Hanily St
  • Buffalo: Picnic area on Neals Rd with toilets
  • Fish Creek: Picnic area on Falls Rd, next to petrol station
  • Foster: 1km south of town centre on Station Rd
  • Toora: South end of town at Saggaser Park off Toora Jetty Rd
  • Welshpool: Memorial Hall Reserve on South Gippsland Hwy.

Section Guides

Nyora to Loch (6km)

  • The Nyora Railway Station precinct has a nice picnic area, toilets and a skate park but the station buildings and yards look unchanged from when the line closed, for a second time, in 1993
  • The trail passes through forest and farmland as it descends towards the Bass River and Allsop Creek bridges
  • The award-winning Loch Railway Station is beautifully maintained, hosts a weekend market and has toilets through the subway in Sunnyside Park. Loch village has a wide variety of wining and dining options. There is cheap camping in Loch Memorial Reserve

Loch to Korumburra (15km)

  • This is a very scenic, winding section with an overall elevation gain 140m
  • From Loch the trail passes under the South Gippsland Hwy and winds up the narrow Allsop Creek valley
  • After 2km, there is a small viewing platform where visitors can safely admire Hilda Falls, preferably after rain!
  • This area is Gippsland Giant Earthworm habitat
  • After reaching the Jeetho locality, the countryside opens out into lush green, rolling hills
  • After several more underpasses, access to Bena is up a steep path to the right, before the trail goes under another road. Bena has a big carpark and a picnic area, and now includes an “accessible” toilet block – completed in late 2024.
  • The trail continues on through rolling farmland to Korumburra
  • The impressive Korumburra Station and precinct has been redeveloped by South Gippsland Shire Council into a community focal point.
  • There are toilets and a picnic shelter near the goods shed. The town itself is big, with most facilities.

Korumburra to Leongatha (15km)

  • The rail trail winds through rolling green countryside, descending approximately 150m
  • There are no intermediate towns apart from the locality of Ruby, which has a fire station.
  • At Leongatha, the recommended way to cross the busy A440 just before the station involves turning right up to Centenary Park, crossing Anderson St, then right up Roughead St (A440) and left down the other side of the A440 back to the trail (see map). A long-term solution is dependent on the construction of a heavy-vehicle bypass for the city

Horse riders are not allowed to use this crossing, for obvious reasons

  • The station precinct has been redeveloped into a major trailhead. More parking and another access point is located further south at Horticultural Park.
  • Leongatha is a major regional centre with all facilities.

Leongatha to Meeniyan (16km)

  • From Leongatha to Koonwarra the trail descends gently to more dairy-farming country for which this area is renowned. Give way to dairy cattle crossing the trail!
  • Near Koonwarra, the trail enters ti-tree and eucalypt bushland, including seasonal and permanent wetlands.
  • Koonwarra has a café and bakery along with public toilets, making it ideal for a short break.
  • From Koonwarra, an underpass takes the trail beneath the highway before it enters one of its most scenic sections, through the Black Spur via three historic trestle bridges, and two more underpasses of the straightened highway.
  • Check out the long timber trestle, alongside the newer steel rail-trail one, over the Tarwin River. Meeniyan is a small town but its exceptional facilities include accommodation, camping by donation, shops, bike hire, a gallery and many dining options.
  • A Gippsland Tourism Town of Excellence Award winner, Meeniyan has an involved and progressive community and offers free wi-fi throughout the town.

Meeniyan to Foster (32km)

From Meeniyan the railway travelled south via Stony Creek to avoid the highest part of the Hoddle Range.

  • From Stony Creek to Buffalo the trail is undulating. Just over 2km past Stony Creek, on the left, are the remains of a railmotor stopping place used by locals and for small freight. Grey kangaroos, wallabies and many bird species are common here.
  • Buffalo has a weighbridge at the railway station site that may form the nucleus of a museum.
  • The trail now enters the foothills of the Hoddle Range. Several cuttings and embankments provide changing views.
  • At Fish Creek the station platform remains. It has toilets and a picnic area with fish-shaped tables in the shelter.
  • The village has an old butter factory, book and antique stores, the Promontory Hotel and plenty of places to eat.
  • From Fish Creek the trail climbs for 6km to Hoddle Summit, named after Victoria’s first Surveyor-General, Robert Hoddle. It crosses the ridge at an elevation of 140m, just past Lowrys Rd.
  • Descending from the ridge line there are spectacular views of Corner Inlet, the Strzelecki Ranges to the north and the mountains of Wilsons Promontory to the south east.
  • Only a platform remains at Foster but there are plans to make it a community feature. The Cement Hill MTB Park is just past the station site on the left
  • Foster is a larger town and has facilities for visitors drawn by the spectacular sea views.

Foster-Toora-Welshpool (19km)

  • The trail is flat and relatively straight as it runs through lush dairy country interspersed with eucalypts around watercourses.
  • The biggest feature of this section is the wind turbines on the hill behind Toora, these were some of the early ones in Victoria.
  • Toora Station precinct has horse corrals, toilets and a skateboard ramp.
  • The town also has a supermarket, swimming pool, caravan park, motel, hotel, cafes and restaurants.

Welshpool is a small town with limited facilities

Welshpool – Alberton – Yarram  (27km)

This section fully opened on 7 June, 2024

  • This section has a firm surface of granitic sand. There were a couple of soft patches of 20-30m initally after Alberton had 30mm of rain in a few days. For most of the 21km, the predominantly ti-tree boundary vegetation to the south provides good protection and the occasional view of the extensive coastal plains. The northern side of the trail provides a view of the South Gippsland hills initially, with a patch of grass trees around the halfway point.
  • Keep an eye out for wildlife from the bush on the southern side. There are humpback bridges over many cattle crossings which should be approached at speed to get over.
  • Entering Alberton, the new section of the trail diverts off the railway corridor south to Rankin St and then past the Victoria Hotel on a concrete path beside the South Gippsland Hwy before crossing it to the next section, so take care.
  • At Yarram, it passes through the Yarram Tarra Reserve and ends just north of the Yarram station building, which has toilets.

Alberton is a small town with a general store, hotel and servo.

Yarram is a medium-sized town with most facilities for visitors

Alberton to Port Albert (7km)

  • The railway line continued from Alberton to its terminus at Port Albert and this section was turned into an off-road shared path in 2020.
  • Port Albert has a maritime museum, walking trail along the shore, some shops and overnight RV parking.

CONNECTING TRAIL

  • Welshpool and District Community Trail (5km) From Anchor Park in Welshpool, this route to the coast is initially an off-road shared path. It then follows a quiet, unsealed road on the alignment of the horse-drawn Port Welshpool Tramway. It finishes at Port Welshpool’s Turnbull St. Enjoy views of Corner Inlet, Snake Island and the northern section of Wilsons Prom before heading back the same way.

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74 reviews of “Great Southern Rail Trail”

Awesome started at Yarram on the Tarra trail (which is excellent) to Port Welshpool and the amazing wharf (not to mention the museum) and rode on to Leongatha on day one. Riding a Bike Friday folding 20" touring bike fully loaded I had no problems on the trail, good surfaces. Lots of interesting towns and scenic vistas along the way as well as some water stops and toilets easily accessible from the trail. Easy distances between towns. Due to weather decided to not complete the trail but rode to Korumburra(best brekky roll I have ever had) the cross country to Wonthaggi to do the Bass coast trail.Will return when the link to The Bass coast trail is complete.

On 15th October 2024; at 9:02am I set out from Southern Cross station on a VLine coach with my Tern folding e-bike safely stowed underneath my feet in the coach luggage bay. About 1hr 20min later the coach dropped me at Nyora the current headend of the GSRT. As a solo traveller on a weekday I only saw a handful of other rides. After a coffee and lunch stop in "the Burra" for day one I completed a 55km ride at Meeniyan. I stayed overnight at the Meeniyan motel an affordable, clean and comfy and recommended. Day Two was a short 33km easy ride to Foster where there's a good selection of cafes. The ride surface for both days was excellent packed fine gravel and concrete bridges. I had ample time to fold up my bike for the 11:53am coach and stow it in it's bag. e-bikes must have the battery removed and carried by the passenger inside the bus. This is an excellent way to travel the trail without the hassle of shuttles or repeating some sections out-and-back method. I plan to return and ride the entire trail another week.

Just rode the new section between Welshpool and Alberton, as well as the section up to Yarram.
Very impressive trail with two very substantial concrete and steel bridges, as well as a heap of smaller bridges of similar construction. The concrete decking will ensure durability and longevity of all of these bridges. There are also 4 cattle crossing overpasses, which are really great as you don't have to ride through cow dung at the crossing point. The trail is very flat and straight, but the terrain varies between cleared farmland, to eucalypt forest, and pine forest. Great views of the Ranges to the north. The surface is similar to the older sections. Well done to all involved in the construction of this section. We stayed in Yarram overnight. A great little town with murals everywhere, good shopping, as well as good places to eat and stay.

Basing in Foster at Prom Lodge Motel, we rode Foster to Port Welshpool on first day. A good surface, except for a couple of cattle crossings on the trail, which meant filthy bikes. Fairly flat, but still very scenic. A stop at Toora to check out the small wind farm right behind the town. Friendly Cafe at Welshpool for lunch on the way back. Day 2 was a ride out to Koonwarra, via Fish Creek and Meenyian. Stopped in at the Great Southern Ride bike shop in Meenyian which was very busy with bike hire. The lovely weather saw the trail extremely busy with groups, families, walkers and horse riders. A great surface all the way, with plenty of shade protection. Lovely sculptures at Fish Creek, and in the community garden at Meeniyan. A great trail.

We just spent two days based at Foster. Our first day we rode our ebikes from Foster to Port Welshpool and return. The surface is in great condition, and the rural views are fantastic. This section is fairly flat and straight, and the dense bush on each side gives great protection from winds.
Today we rode up to Koonwarra and return. This section is undulating in sections, but the effort is rewarded by some fantastic views towards Wilson's Promentory. Meeniyan has some great eateries, and also a well stocked bike shop. You can hire ebikes here as well. We saw approx 100 other trail users today, including horse riders. The bridges between Meeniyan and Koonwarra make this section well worth a visit. This trail is awesome.

Such a scenic ride. Korumburra to Nyora and return. Great coffee at Loch,where the rail area is well maintained.Good surface, although some chicanes are tight. Korumburra to Leongatha is just as scenic, rolling green hills, cattle everywhere. Good to see lots of riders out, as well as several horse riders. Trail is highly used by locals running or walking.

We have based ourselves at Korumburra for two nights at the Coal Creek Motel. We rode from Korumburra to Nyora and return, and also to Leongatha and return.
Both sections of this trail are in great shape, the surface was smoother than most sealed roads, and the rural views are exceptional. Morning tea at Loch was very well received, and we saw lots of other trail users including walkers, bikers and horse riders. Korumburra is a great spot to base yourself for a couple of days. Accommodation is good and there are many places to grab a bite at night. This section has been open for about 18 months, and is one of the best trails in Victoria.

two of us rode the new section from Welshpool to Alberton, opened in early June, separately on the 19th and 20th of July. After a recent 30 mm of rain in Alberton, the trail stood up well and was easy to ride, with only a couple of soft areas which were quite passable.
Stock crossings typically were achieved with bridges on the trail, and the lower-lying wetter areas approaching Alberton were paved with a concrete path for approximately a kilometer. For the next visit I intend to complete the trail to the two eastern endpoints of Yarram and Port Albert, thereby completing the full 130 Km over a number of rides in 2022 and 2024. Great Trail! One logistical solution for eastbound groups, suggested by Great Southern Ride in Meeniyan, was for one or more riders to return by bus (without their full-size bikes, as per Vline rules) to the day's start point and pick up vehicles. This meant that one or more riders needed to be at destinations like Welshpool and Alberton at times as early as 3:20 and 3:00 pm respectively to match the westbound bus schedule – please confirm with Vline timetable when planning.

We can now say we have completed the whole rail trail (by bicycle) in several stages and agree this is one of the best in Victoria. Today we did Nyora to Korumburra with lunch/coffee stop at Loch. Loch is a beautiful little town and a good place to fill up with water. Trail was in good condition although a bulldozer or similar had been on a farm property and obviously taken a short cut along the trail. Parts were churned up. It really is very picturesque. About 18 months ago we stayed in Fish Creek which is a great ‘central’ point for the trail. Highly recommended.

A group from the Essendon bushwalking club are currently riding from Nyora to Port Welshpool return. the new Nyora to Leongatha section is sublime (the steep, steady ascent from Loch to Korumburra makes you earn your lunch!) and the pride the South Gippsland Shire takes in the whole trail is evident with five maintenance vehicles on the trail today. Well done South Gippsland Shire!

My partner and I love this rail trail. When visiting family nearby we always make time to ride a section of the trail. Koonwarra to Loch is a fave with beautiful views through the hills at any time of year and a lovely downhill on the return. Koonwarra is a great starting point for heading in either direction. Going east you ride through Meeniyan and Fish Creek both with fab cafes for breakfast and lunch. The ride over to Foster is gorgeous with tree fern lined sections and views to Wilson’s Prom. A detour straight off the trail to Gurney’s Cidery is worth it for both the views, cider( non-alcoholic drinks available too) and welcoming staff. Last weekend we rode Fish Creek to Welshpool and we’re delighted that the Windmill Cafe in Toora had lovely vegan options for us to choose from. Next time we’ll head to Port Welshpool to check out the newly restored Long Jetty which locals tell us you can cycle to the very end.
We love South Gippsland!

What a fabulous rail trail, a great surface, nice long rises, superb scenery and enough small towns to stop to refuel the engine. The 50km section between Nyora to Meeniyan is probably the more interesting half of the trail with highlights of Loch and Korumburra stations and the section into Meeniyan. I rode it with a lot of water in the landscape so the wetlands south of Leongatha were teeming with life. The only small hiccup is the previously discussed Leongatha crossing and the magpies, especially the Leongatha one which is 4 levels above 'Pesky'.

Tips:
> Nyora has a general store that does an ok coffee and has some supplies with ample parking.
> Buses are fairly plentiful. If you need to reposition your car, buses will take you back to your starting point for less than a tenner in quicktime but wont carry your bike but there are enough places to lock your bike fairly safely along the route.
> Fish Creek – check out the art work
> Foster – There is a mtb park just after the station to the north if you are into that sort of thing and a number of cafes
> Leongatha – hearty cheap meals at the Chao Phraya Thai River Restaurant/Pappa Rich noodle shop.
> Meeniyan – spend time exploring the village, decent parma at the Mub (Meeniyan Pub)
> Welshpool – There was a shop that did amazing wraps, hopefully it is still going.

I would love to see this start at Lang Lang through the forest, even if the trail is not as fast as well serviced as the current one and of course, limited bicycles on buses! Extending the Bass Coast Rail Trail to Nyora would also be super peachy

Thank you Gippsland – it was a great weekend

Rode the section of this trail from Leongatha to Meeniyan and reuturn on 9th August 2023.
Had not ridden this section since the realignment off the road at Koonwarra, with the more recent trail bridges and road changes.
Started by going south from Leongatha – a wide trail with good surface and impressive 360 degree views. Gates are a good test for tight low speed maneuvering, however.
Riding in midweek/midwinter finds a few good eateries closed – Koonwarra cafe wasn't open Wednesday and the main Meeniyan bakery was on winter break until August 15. Fortunately a nearby Cafe in Meeniyan was open and had a good choice of fare!

Exquisitely beautiful and well mantained trail. I cycled Leongatha to Port Welshpool over two leisurely afternoons in January. We stayed overnight at gourmet B&B "Church House" (which is up a huge big hill, so recomend driving here, then each day driving down to Fish Creek (or other starting point) and leaving car there. Excellent signage.
We look foreward to returning and donig the newer section Nyora to Leongatha soon, ditto the Tarra section.

We cycled the section of the Great Southern Rail Trail between Fish Creek and Meeniyan and back on day 1, and between Fish Creek and Foster and back on day 2. Overall, the trail on these sections is in very good condition (June 2023). Fish Creek to Foster is a very beautiful trail with pine trees overhanging the trail and forest on both sides for large portions of the trail. The highlight of this section of the trail is the outstanding view from the Hoddle Range lookout, and you get to enjoy the downhill run to Foster, or to Fish Creek from there. We stayed in Fish Creek which is an enchanting, arty village with a good pub, a few cafes, a pharmacy, some gift shops, and a general store. A very enjoyable couple of days. Note that it's best to stay Thursday and Friday as cafes are often closed Monday to Wednesday.

Rode the section from Foster to Buffalo and return today, about 46ks from the motel in Foster.
Nice sheltered section of trail with lots of trees on both sides. There is a lookout point before you get to Fish Creek, that is well worth a look. Fantastic views of Wilsons Promitory and Corner Inlet.
Nothing much to see at Buffalo, with a platform and new toilets.
We stopped at Fish Creek for a coffee on the way back, and had to rode the rest of the way in light rain. The track surface is really good, even in the rain, but can make a bit of a mess of your bike. 🚴‍♂️🤪

We met the trail at Meeniyan after crossing from Gippsland Plains RT via Grand Ridge RT. Recommend this circuit using the train to get back. GSRT is a lovely ride through the rolling hills of Gippsland.

We rode the new section from Leongatha to Nyora and return today.
This is such a beautiful section of the trail, with green rolling hills, forests, quaint villages, railway stations, creeks, and bridges. We stopped at Loch for morning tea and found a great little coffee shop and bakery. On the way back we stopped at Korumburra for lunch.
This section has a few long climbs at railway grade, and some rewarding long downhills as well.
The station precinct at Korumburra is a railway enthusiast's delight. Lots of track and points still in place, as well as a turntable, signal gantry, goods shed, and fantastic large station building that looks like it is being renovated.
One of the best rail trails we have ever ridden. The perfect weather probably helped with the enjoyment.

Fantastic section of trail, Leongatha to Nyora. Very scenic, good surface, although a bit damaged towards Nyora by horses. Good to see railway infrastructure still in place along this section.

Rode Nyora to Meeniyan return yesterday and was very impressed with the quality of the surface. Path was easy to follow but could do with some more distance markers between Nyora and Korumburra.it’s a credit to whoever maintains the trail

We rode the section between Leongatha to Buffalo and return today, a distance of approx 56kms. The weather and trail were just perfect. We saw another 25 riders and 10 walkers on the section we rode. The new highway realignment around Koonwarra has made some nice underpasses on the trail. The small village of Meeniyan has some nice little shops and pub. The surface of this trail is one of the best we have ever ridden on, it is just so smooth. Very, very enjoyable. Staying at the Leongatha Motel for 2 nights. Very nice little motel at a good price and location. Off to the new section to Nyora and return tomorrow.

Group of 15 rode the trail from Loch to Leongatha last weekend. Surface was great. Get yourself there and have some fun.
Just be careful manoeuvring between the posts where the roads cross the trail. We had an off on the slippery surface near the edge of the trail.

It’s a great trail but unfortunately a section between Nyora and Loch has been rather chopped up by what looks like galloping horses. The surface is now quite rough in places for cycling due to the many horse hoof divers.

I've ridden the section you refer to and endured the divots made by galloping horses. Inconsiderate of the horsey folk. I'd like South Gippy Shire to erect a discreet sign asking horse riders to do the right thing by the rest of us.

SHORT REPORT ON THE GSRT
As part of my #birthday celebration a group of friends had a great ride on the new section of the @greatsouthernrailtrail from Nyora to Leongatha and back. The trail is fantastic passing through beautiful South gippy countryside and lovely towns and even a small waterfall. The surface is fine gravel and though a bit chopped up near Nyora it’s a pleasure to ride on. There’s a couple of climbs but nothing too challenging. Signage is still to be installed but you can’t go wrong following the track. A great day out on another @railtrailsaustralia Thanks Steve who went to extraordinary lengths to capture the videos 😳 🚲🚲
https://facebook.com/picyclists/
https://www.strava.com/clubs/pi-cyclists
https://www.instagram.com/phillip_island_cyclists

The final unfinished piece of the trail between Loch and Nyora was completed on 23 December 2022. This was the 200 metre long section between the new bridges over Allsopp Creek and the Bass River. It's my opinion that the 37-kilometre Nyora-Leongatha extension is just about as good as rail trails get, certainly in Gippsland.

There is a 3-star default option on this review page, which one doesn't recognise in doing a review and can't be edited afterwards. A website design shortcoming.

I rode 89km on the gravel trail from Loch to Toora, where I overnighted in a motel. Cafe Olive at Loch has good bakery items and coffee. The new 20km of trail Loch to Leongatha was a quality build, compacted sand/gravel over railway crushed rock, with my 35mm tyres failing to leave any indent. This 20km is undulating but at RR 2-3% gradients is always do-able. The streams were vigorously flowing, hills green and blossom trees popping in the first month of Spring. The entire 89km of trail had good drainage; there having been 40mm rain a week earlier, some drizzle on Sat outbound, and I don't think I ever saw a puddle. The wetlands around Koonawarra had lakes that might be missing in summer, the new(ish) 3 refurbished RR bridges east of town are a treat, and a new hwy bridge and bypass construction was a major engineering work and sympathetic to bikes. A few km W of Foster, the lookout over Corner Inlet and Wilsons Prom hills gave an amazing view, right over to Port Welshpool and Toora's wind farm, with an echidna spotted next to the trail. Fish Creek and Koonawarra cafes had good fare. There's a new wood fired pizza restaurant in Toora I enjoyed, the pub at bottom of town still seems active, and the Windmill cafe has apparently changed hands but still great. Outbound from Loch on Sat, I had about 18.5kmh av speed for the first 2 hrs in hills. On Sun, my average for the entire 89km return was 16.5kmh. I rode a flat bar rigid bike with 35mm tyres, one pannier and a rack top bag. Riding west of Leongatha (new 25km of trail) – pack light for the hill work. The rosellas are brightly coloured on this trail, and I rode 20kmh next to 2 spooked wallabies for a km. It was a 2hr Sat drive for me from Werribee to Loch. I left Loch at 10:45am (after coffee) and arrived in Toora at 5:40pm (7hrs), 10 mins before sunset (at end of winter) with 89 km clocked. Overall, a very enjoyable ride on a well built trail, with good scenery, cafes and some wildlife. Flat areas tend to be dominated with dairy farming, with forested backdrop. I'm told W'lies can be strong here. Recommended.

Thanks Angelo
RTA has always shown the Bena to Korumburra section closed because of the bridgeworks. This is the last one so hopefully soon this section will be officially open.

Thanks Damina, I saw the RTA information but there was a period of a few weeks after the last bridge works where I was able to run from Korumburra to Loch (almost!)

We rode the entire rail rail over several days earlier this month starting at Leongatha station. Unfortunately crossing the highway in Leongatha town centre in order to ride west towards Korumburra is a nightmare. It's an asymmetric four way intersection and at 0830 in the morning there is plenty of traffic in all directions. Perhaps there is a way around this but it wasn't obvious. Can something be done to fix this problem? It's an accident waiting to happen in my view. Aside from that the GSRT is a wonderful ride through some of the best scenery in Victoria, don't let the highway at Leongatha put you off.

H. Gibbon

hi Howard, this issue is again on the front page of South Gippland Voices this week.

It was previously raised last year, together with a petition of almost 1000 signatures. You can read the original article from October 2021 here:

https://southgippslandvoices.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SGV211011p00.pdf

And btw the concrete bed is down on the bridge between Korumburra and Bena so hopefully the railings and other finishings will be done in coming days.

the bridge between Korumburra and Leongatha is complete! I ran it tonight. Smooth concrete unlike the one between Korumburra and Bena which still has ballast and some track hardware…

Earlier this month we rode the Leongatha to Bena section. Great ride and beautiful scenery. You need to walk your bikes down and up embankments as a bridge is yet to be built across a farmer’s access road approx 2.5km east of Korumburra. Don’t let this stop you riding this section. Korumburra is a great place to stop for a coffee or meal with a covered rest stop, toilets and a great bakery opposite the old railway station. This week we tried to ride the remaining new section into Nyora. We were stopped 1km west of Loch by a section that included 2 bridges and trail in between not yet suitable for cycling. There is no decking on the bridges and the trail in between still has sleepers, scrub and rails laid. West of the “missing” section the trail is complete from Berry’s Rd into Nyora. We look forward to being able to ride the whole new section from Nyora to Leongatha soon.

I rode most of the new Nyora to Leongatha section earlier in the week and it didn't disappoint with a great trail surface and even better scenery. While not yet fully complete, marvellous work by the South Gippsland Council so far.
This trail description and map has been updated along with lots of new photos.
Certainly a rail trail that has to be on your to do list.

15-20 Feb, This is the BEST RAIL TRAIL! I rode the full 75km and back camping at Toora. Its a dream, with smooth, straight riding, wonderful scenery and facilities all along. I loved it and will do it again.

Rode this trail19th Feb 2020. The ride from Foster to Totora , you have to wade across a road six inches deep of sloppy cow poo. How disgusting. When arrived at Toora, signs say coffe shop open 7 days a week. Guess what, closed on Mondays.
Thee rest of the trail back towards Leongatha is great.

12/27 Is this Victoria’s best Rail Trail? It certainly has the best surface of the 12 I have done so far this year, and with it’s magnificent and expansive views over Wilson’s prom it has the good looks as well. I did the Great Southern with friends over 2 days 6th & 7th April.The Great Southern Rail Trail is a beautiful way to spend the weekend.
Part 1. I started at Leongatha with 4 friends and an objective of making Fish Creek for lunch. A coffee stop at the lovely little town of Meeniyan punctuated the ride. Nice to catch up with fellow Transplant Australia life member Chris Tew for part of the way. 35km today.
Part 2. Capped off a lovely weekend by finishing the Trail. 2 of us today started at Fish Creek and finished at Welshpool. We saw the most magnificent views from the top of Hoddle Ranges towards Wilson’s Prom. Another 33km today, so the total was 68km for the weekend.
This is my 12th trail since Jan 1 for my challenge to ride all 27 railtrails in Victoria this year to celebrate my 30th year after my liver transplant. You can follow my rail trail exploits on FB Warwick Duncan – The 2nd Chance Man or Insta @warwick_rides.

Wife & 10yr old son and I spent four days along here from the 11th to 14th; Leongatha to Foster, Foster to Port Welshpool, Port Welshpool to Fish Creek and Fish Creek back to Leongatha. Very enjoyable and idyllic weather, much warmer and less wind than I expected of this part of the country at this time of year! Unlike the last review we didn’t see much wildlife, ;ots of wombat holes, but no wombats, roos or koalas, the only wildlife was rabbits and foxes, but abundant birdlife. Watch out for some of the huge longitudinal cracks in the track surface especially between Leongatha and Koonwarra, they can swallow a wheel and cause quite a crash. Good to find that the chicanes and gates don’t make it unrideable for tandems or fully loaded touring bikes, some trails go overboard on their obstructions. Loved the signage along the trail, although a bit more at both Leongatha and Port Welshpool to find the trail could be helpful – we ended up leaving the car at Leongatha station and trying (unsuccessfully) to use the locked toilets to get changed.

Victoria has some beautiful and varied rail trails to explore. With a couple of days free I decided an overnight adventure along The Great Southern Rail Trail (GSRT) was in order.
The GSRT begins in the town of Leongatha an easy 90 minute drive from Melbourne on the M1 and South Gippsland Highways.
Regrettably there is no reliable way to get yourself and bicycle to the trail head using public transport. You could try your luck taking the Bairnsdale train from Southern Cross Station, get off at Warragul and then ride the 56 kms to Leongatha on back country roads. You’d need to keep an eye out for farm machinery and logging trucks.
Hitching up my lightly packed rear panniers, I rolled off on a hard compacted gravel surface towards Port Welshpool some 75 kms away in warm murky, overcast, autumn conditions.
I was very quickly surrounded by lowland forest country of Messmate, Manna and Peppermint eucalyptus trees that gave off a delightful aroma. The understory of wattles, grasses and native scrub was alive with small birds; mostly honeyeaters, finches and fairy wrens. I watched a Grey Strike thrush hunting the edge of the trail take a skink lizard for lunch!
The trail is well signposted with information boards strategically placed along the way. There are covered shelters and pit toilets at regular intervals just off the trail. Passing through the inviting tourist towns of Meenyian, Fish Creek, and Foster. I stopped for a nice cup of tea and browsed the local shops. The country folks are friendly, engaging and used to seeing cyclists come off the trail.
While there are no major road crossings, however the trail does intersect many local farm roads where I had to push through spring loaded gates. I was mindful of dairy cows as they ambled unaided off to the dairy.
I’ve cycled this trail before in summer and flies were a big problem, especially passing through the small township of Toora. I recommend you carry a fly net, although they weren’t too bad this time around.
Wildlife abounds: Kangaroos, Koalas Kookaburras, birds large and small and lizards. The gradient is as you might expect from an old rail line, gentle, gradual climbing and descending, making for easy cycling with bucolic country scenes and views across the inlet to Wilson’s Promontory National Park, known to generations of nature loving families simply as The Prom.
After the open farmland around Toora, I cycled into Welshpool exchanging pleasantries with locals who were out walking the trail. For the last 5 kilometres into Port Welshpool, I dropped down into a musty, swampy, marshland of tea tree, banksia, grass trees and wattles.
Port Welshpool is your typical sleepy fishing village. It’s so sleepy in fact it’s almost comatose, With only two shops the pub and a cafe.
I cycle the path through town past empty holiday homes along the foreshore past knots of fishermen waiting on the tide. I turned right at the long jetty to set up camp for the night in the Caravan Park.
After a good feed and pleasant banter in the pub, I slept comfortably in my tiny coffin-like MSR Hubba tent. The next morning I woke to a clear cold autumn day. After a boiling pot of tea and toast at the cafe, I cycled the trail back to Leongatha ridding into an increasingly warm and sunny day. I photograph birds and chat to friendly trail users.
While I did the trail out and back in 2 days, there are great opportunities to extend this trail into a week or more.
Tidal River in Wilson’s Promontory National Park is a beautiful 72 kms ride from Meeniyan and well worth a detour. Visit parkweb.vic.gov.au especially if you’re an overseas visitor who wants to get up close and personal with Australia’s wildlife.
For those wanting to appreciate the extensive Aboriginal history of Gippsland you can contact www.gunaikurnai.org
Overall this is a fun trail to cycle and a good one to do with friends.

We rode from Leongatha to Port Welshpool over two days. I’ve done most the rail trails in Vic, and this is one of the best maintained and signed. A good intro for beginners too, as its mostly flat, with plenty of towns to stop at along the way. Not quite as scenic as some, as cow fields is the dominate environ.
Day 1: Parked at the Leongatha train station (which is actually a bus station). Then it is a short ride on an obvious path to where the trail officially begins. The path goes along Bennet st and long street, you then cross C454 with the pedestrian crossing. turn right along the overpass and you’ll see the start of the trail below to your left.
There look like to nice cafes in Koonwarra, but we found that this was two close to the start to warrant a stop. Instead we stopped after 18km at Meeniyan, which has a number of options, but there is a place that specialises in pastries, which is hard to go past.
We then stopped Fishcreek for lunch. The cafe there close at 4, we just made it. There were a couple of options, and more if you get there early.
We then road to Foster. We stayed the night in Foster at the caravan park. We brought our tent, but there are also cabins you can hire. The staff were friendly and there is a camp kitchen, which we only used for breky, as we went to the pub for dinner. So day one was about 50km. It includes the only ascents of the trip, which weren’t too tough, and the downhill made it worth it. This stretch has the most bushland, trestle bridges and cuttings.
Day 2: we rode 12 km to Toora. Toora is a small town, but had a few pleasant surprises. The Latte Dah Cafe, is modern and hip, it’s on the South Gippy hwy, which you get to if you ride through the main street. There was also a German bakery as part of a bric-a-brac store and gallery. The pastries matched anything I’ve had in Germany.
We then rode on to Welshpool. This section is probably the least scenic of the trip, as it’s just cow paddocks, but the wind farm in the hills provides some contrast. We were a little disappointed by Welshpool, slim pickings for food options, so we rode on to Port Welshpool, where fish and chips is your only option, (the pub opens after 4pm). The section near Port Welshpool is one of the prettiest parts, as you pass through banksia bushland. At Port Welshpool, you can ride along what is apparently Vic’s longest pier. I believe it. We also swam, i recommend a spot about 400m west of the pier. It was very windy at Port Welshpool though, which locals implied is not uncommon. But you don’t seem to feel it a bit inland.
We then road the 5km back to Welshpool to get the 16:52 v/line coach back to Leongatha. We were hoping to put our bikes in the ample storage underneath, but the driver was unrelenting. V/line is hopeless, which is why I took off a star for this trip, as they should be supporting the rail trail. So we locked our bikes up, and then had to drive an hour back to collect them.

My wife and I travelled down from NSW to ride some of the great Rail Trails in Victoria. We finished the Gippsland Plains RT and then drove over to Leongatha to ride the Great Southern RT. However no accommodation available in Leongatha, so found a room at the motel in Meeniyan. The original ride plan was modified so that we rode from Meeniyan to Leongatha, back to Meeniyan and out to Buffalo before returning back to Meeniyan. Complicated I know, but turned out to be a really great ride with a total of 58ks. The new bridges in the Black Spur section are a real highlight of this ride. You can see that some sections of the old railway bridges have been incorporated into the new construction, with a really great result.
The rural views along the way are just superb, with lots of “how’s the serenity?” being quoted on occasions.
Coffee and cake in Leongatha was well received, followed by a bit of exploration of the old railway station and railway precinct. A bit of a shame that the old heritage railway from here has closed down.
The surface on this trail looks like a fine white sand, but isn’t sandy at all. In fact I found this surface to be one of the most compacted and smoothest of all the RT’s we have ridden, most enjoyable.
We have previously ridden all the way to Port Welshpool a few years ago, and have fond memories of that ride.
I think that this trail has got everything going for it, smooth surface, great views, and a long distance. Just a pity the weather was against us riding for another day or two on this trail.

What a fantastic experience, highlight of the school holidays!!!
I just completed the ride from Leongatha to Port Welshpool with my family of six. The trail is in great condition, with villages spaced conveniently along the way. We have children aged 2-9, with the elder two on their own bikes and the younger two in a bike trailer. The four year old was able to get out of the trailer and ride his own bike along the flatter sections.
We rode the trail in easy stages, driving to the start of each stage in the morning then catching the vLine bus back to the car at the end of each day. We locked the bikes up near the bus stop overnight. The bus comes past between 3.30 and 4.30 in the afternoon, depending where you are along the route.
We did Day 1: Leongatha to Meeniyan, about 18kms. Day 2: Meeniyan to Fish Creek, about 18kms. Day 3: Fish Creek to Port Welshpool, and then doubling back to Welshpool, about 41kms total (only my 9 year old and I did this leg, with him on a bmx, in about 4.5 hrs including fish & chips at Port Welshpool).
Tips:
> The vLine bus was great to save car shuffling. The driver accepts cash only, and depending on the driver the kids were free!
> The only tricky part was that the start of the trail does not connect well to Leongatha Station, which is where the bus arrives. The trail starts just to the south of the station. We parked at the station, then followed the bike path from the station past the Salvation Army and over the main road and rail bridge at the lights. Another 50m along the bike path there is a spot you can do a hop through the grass and over the disused rail line, which lands you just past the ‘official’ start of the rail trail. This part was a bit wobbly with the bike trailer, but then you’re sailing. It would be great if you could just ride off the station platform at Leongatha!
> Look out for the fantastic Alison Lester shop in Fish Creek.
> There is a trail map and set of about 7 individual cards for each leg of the trail you can pick up at tourist info or similar. The leg cards were handy to pass around amongst the kids and give a great sense of accomplishment as each section is completed.
> After Foster we spotted a Koala up close which was totally fantastic, a real life Blinky Bill!

Enjoy!

We used the Easter holidays to ride from Toora to Fish Creek and back. The trail is in very good condition, just a bit of leaf litter and some fallen tree branches to the east of Fish Creek. There is a new business, Gurney’s, adjacent to the track, making cider and offering cider tastings. They have a signpost on the trail, about 3km west of Foster.

Rode from Welshpool to Port Welshpool with the track totally off road. The track in places was very wide and hence looks like a road but is reserved for bikes and walkers only. Lots of vegetstion to protect riders when those winds blow off the southern ocean. Interesting Port village to wander and improvements to 1km jetty underway to encourage more visitors.

My 16-year old son and I just completed this trail in two stages: from Leongatha to Toora, and from Toora to Port Welshpool (74kms in total). The trail is now continuous with a well-maintained surface, and is well signposted, with lots to see and do en route, from the quaint towns like Fish Creek, Foster and Port Welshpool, art galleries, and fine old pubs, to the great new bridges to replace the old railway bridges, and wonderful vistas of nearby Wilson’s Prom. The main trail starts with a few hills in densely wooded terrain, but has a clean run down to Foster. The remainder of it is very flat passing through dairy country. We also did the optional extra spur “Tarra Trail” running from Alberton to Yarram (7km) which is also flat. I understand there is a plan to connect these trails and, once complete, it will be a great community asset, and a wonderful attraction for bikers. I applaud the efforts of the community and volunteers who have maintained the trails, erected signs and distance markers, and planted out trees (many are done by local school kids, especially on the Tarra Trail). I recommend the trail if you are fit enough and like the idea of slow tourism. Take your time, explore the region, and enjoy what this part of Gippsland has to offer.

Five YHA Cycling riders covered 150km in 2 days within a week of winter solistice, Leongatha/Port Welshpool and return. A very threatening weather forecast didn’t eventuate with high rainfall, but Sunday did throw a 20kn NW’ly headwind at us – so we all felt like heroes on ride completion. The trail has extensive sections with tree cover on both sides, which mitigated the wind somewhat. No mechanicals and everyone was capable and worked together. The night sky Milky Way view was astounding, with little back-lighting in Port Welshpool. A stretch of perhaps 6km had been thoroughly cleared back 3 feet from the usable trail edge by Council, which was impressive maintenance. The trail was superbly maintained, a pleasure to ride, and the locals friendly and helpful. Great cafes and/or bakeries at the many towns we visited along the route, and a good pub tea on Sat night. The 3 new Koonwarra bridge we brilliant.

An exceptionally good trail: well-maintained and with sufficient things of interest en route. My 15-year old son and I did The Bass Coast and Grand Ridge Trails recently so we wanted to complete the trifecta (I am a 56-year old moderately fit man). We did 65 km from Leongatha to Toora in the best part of a day starting off at around 10am, and at no great haste. The trail was a gentle camber all the way with a wonderful downhill run just before Toora. Lunch was at Fish Creek. We could have gone further to Welshpool but for the necessity of a car shuffle and the impending storm clouds. There were echindas en route, rosellas and (sadly) lots of rabbits! The fading rural architecture was a delight in places like Toora. The Toora pub–the oldest in Gippsland apparently–was closed and boarded up or I would have finished the trip with a beer. We also marvelled at the bridges, at least 5-6 en route, some very long, which were well-restored from old trestle bridges that the trains used. I take my hat off to the volunteers that have such a good job with this trail. We will be back to finish the Toora-Port Albert leg in the near future.

The section between Koonwarra and Meeniyan is now complete and open negating the need to travel through the black spur on the highway. It’s very scenic with a long paved section joining the bridges.
It’s well worth the ride.

Completed the entire length of this trail and have only positive comments to add. A really great ride on a fantastic smooth surface. Starting at Leongatha after an early start from near Lara and battling the traffic through the suburbs. Plenty of history remaining at the station area and Gangers from the SGR were very friendly. A lot of pollen blowing around and a remarkable amount of fruit trees along the section to Black Spur. Beautiful farm land and very healthy looking dairy and beef cattle line the trail. A little history remaining at Meeniyan Station with photo’s. While riding, you can play “dodge the poo”, but be careful as when you pass the horse poo the flies and insects rise to eye and face height. The surface may need regular clearing as done on the Grand Ridge Rail Trail. Between Meeniyan and Fish Creek there are many very large wombat holes, and rabbits don’t seem to be afraid. At Fish Creek, the station has been turned into a Community Garden, and the area kept clean and tidy. A big climb out of Fish Creek up to Hoddle and a good place for a rest. Down the grade all the way into Foster through rain forest type country. Good views of the Prom from this section. Tall ferns, creepers and vines line the trail. Several crossings have self closing spring gates, a bonus and great idea to those installing these. Work underway at Foster to return the station building to a standard. Flat and generally straight to Toora but could be subject to strong winds at times. Good views of the Toora wind farm along this section. Call into the Royal Standard Hotel at Toora for a coffee. The section to Welshpool is open but remnants of the Tramways to Barry’s Beach and Port Welshpool can be found. I also completed the Tarra trail from Alberton to Yarram while in the area. A short ride but really needs to be connected to the rest of the trail. Some areas require some minor works.
Overall this is a great trail with a massive amount to see along the way. All people were found friendly and appreciate visitors to their towns. I suggest the connection to Port Albert, Port Welshpool, Port Franklin and Barry’s Beach along their tramways. This would create additional riding and history of the areas concerned. The trail will be one great adventure upon completion of the three bridges at Black Spur. The surface is suitable for all bike types. As I said, I am very happy with completing this trail and if possible will return to do it again. Great effort for a 60 plus gent. Well done to the committee.

YHA Cycling had a group of 8 ride the trail with panniers to overnight at the caravan park in Port Welshpool, which was affordable and tidy. It was about 70km on RT and 5km on a quiet road into Port Welshpool. A well designed and maintained rail trail, with some beautiful views and charming cafes en route. Cafe stops included Meeniyan, Fish Creek, Foster and Toora. Toora’s was 2 blocks up the main street on the east side, and run by a possibly German chap who did a great cooked breakfast and it smelt like a lovely bakery as soon as you walked in; on a Sunday. Buffalo’s general store is doing coffee, but we didn’t make that one. Excellent provision of toilet blocks to a high standard all along the route. Second week of Spring, so blossom trees in bloom and new growth, with the fields an unbelievable lush green. Farm dams full and water in the creeks. Trail surface was basically dry and good to ride, although a week earlier some mud was getting flicked up I was told.

The 3 bridge reconstruction east of Koonwarra is a work in progress and one still needs to take the road for 3km, which wasn’t a problem for our group. Detour signage was patchy, and we backtracked 1km on the way east. My guess is that this will easily be another 9-12mo to completion. The eagle, heron and ibis birdlife was a highlight; with the wombats and roos escaping notice, although I got a snap of roo footprints and saw 3 wombat holes on track edge. Crossing the 140m alt high point going east becomes worthwhile when the view of Corner Inlet opens up. Just east of Foster, a roughly 300-400m stretch of tree and shrub planting had gone in next to the trail, showing thoughtfulness and ongoing commitment. Overall, the Great Southern RT is a world class ride.

Four of us rode the trail last weekend (while Melbourne was taking cover from storms) from Leongatha to Welshpool & back, (we stayed overnight at the Welshpool Pub – great food too !) and also down to Port Welshpool for a look. We were fortunate and did not have a drop of rain while riding (it fell overnight luckily). Track was in great condition, even with a lot of rain overnight was still easy to ride. What a great track it is too, in great condition, and we were really impressed with the range of scenery & variations as we travelled along. We met a few other cyclists & pedestrians walking dogs, and without exception they all smiled & said hello. Didnt see much in the way of wildlife, other than a couple of immense wombat holes in the side of some of the cuttings. Cafe’s at Koonwarra & Foster were very good too, great breakfasts/coffee. The short road section as already commented on, is a bit hairy, as cars/trucks are doing 100k, and in places there are no shoulders. Once this section is completed, I would give it 5 stars.

We rode from Foster to Welshpool today, lovely ride, very flat surface and very little gradient, great views. We will look forward to seeing the bush regenerating, as we came across workers spraying all the weeds. Well done South Gippsland people for getting so far with this trail. We thoroughly recommend this ride! Also lovely park areas in all towns with clean facilities!

I rode this trail on Saturday 7th March 2015, between Koonwarra and Toora. This is an impressive trail – the quality is good, though a bit sandy, which means in places through the Hoddle range the track has been cut up with tire tracks left from cyclists during wet conditions. This can cause problems if you are on thin tyres. Also watch out for the mud pit outside of Foster on the way to Toora – where the cows cross – you just have to go through it, there is no going around. The best part of track is the Hoddle Range and the views over to Wilsons Prom. Surprised at how friendly all of the trail users are – by far the friendliest I have come across – The Great Southern is certainly more than just a stroll in the park. Looking forward to Black Spur creek section opening.

Rode the section from Toora to Fish Creek on 2 Jan 2015. The trail is in excellent condition, with great views towards Wilsons Promontory from the section between Foster and Hoddle station site. We saw a good number of other cyclists on the trail, and the townships of Toora, Foster and Fish Creek are all great tourist spots.
Also we checked out some of the new section from Toora to Welshpool, which will open later in 2015. All bridges are in place, still some fencing, bride rails and earthworks to complete.

Awesome ride. Did the full length from Leongatha to Toora. Will look forward to seeing more work on this trail and the extension on to Welshpool. Horrible on road section near Koonwarra made worse by bogan road users using their horns as they come up behind cyclists. Seems bizarre to say the old bridges are too dangerous to be used and then redirect walkers/cyclists onto the narrow highway and risk death and serious injury from speeding traffic. You can walk your bike across the old bridges with care. It doesn’t need mega expensive new bridges to make this more useable for walkers and cyclists. Great little towns and cafes along the way. Full marks to those businesses that go out of their way to be cycle friendly. We happened to be in Fish Creek for the Tea Cosy festival! Love that town! New section to Toora is a lovely smooth ride – only complaint is the gate arrangement at the frequent road crossings. The chicanes are hard to negotiate unless you dismount. Would be impossible on a horse. A little more thought as to the ease of use of these barriers would be good – and do we really need the full barrier thing at every minor road and farm track?

Rodes trail early march between Koonwarra (east of Highway section) and Toora. Trail was well maintained. Has a number of long steady climbs between Buffalo and Foster, but well worth the effort. Trail from Foster to Toora flat and easy going. Saw lots of animal life on this section including roos, domestic dogs, a few foxes, and some birds of prey. The bridges across the Tarwin River were interesting. A great trail.

Completed the rail trail from Leongatha to Toora with my teenage son over two days of the Melbourne Cup long weekend. Left the car at Toora and got the VLine back to Leongatha. The best leg was between Fish Creek and Foster. The worst was the highway section south of Koonwarra. Too dangerous and I would not do it again. Hope this missing 3km is completed soon. Overall a really great trail. No problems finding the start at Leongatha. The park is diagonally opposite the friendly BP service station at that end of town. Comfortable night at Meeniyan Motel with a good dinner at Meeniyan Hotel next door. Welcome stop at Fish Creek Roadhouse. At Foster, ignore the trail sign at the Station Road crossing which says the trail ends in 1km. It now goes to Toora. Also just beyond Station Road we saw a sign pointing to a siding trail to Foster that looked more interesting than a cycle along Station Road, but we didn’t check it out.

Meeniyan CWA Branch is holding a “Breakfast on the Bridge” to celebrate the Australian Year of the Farmer on Saturday 25/02/12 on the Rail Trail bridge over the Tarwin River, 2 km north-west of Meeniyan, on the South Gippsland Highway, from 8.00am to 1.00pm. $5 for breakfast/brunch, all welcome.

It’s a spectacular trail well worth the ride. However the rail trail leaflet did not give any indication where to start. The beginning is hard to find. People need to know that the Horticulture park is tiny, hidden away in a little gully. The only blue sign I saw for the trail pointed to behind the tyre business but this requires lifting your bike (ours were fully loaded for a two day ride) over the concrete curbing at the end of the business’ car park.
A terrific trail and it will be even better when the trestle bridge opens, at the moment there are 3kms on the highway which is a bit hairy.

Background Information

Traditional owners

We acknowledge the Gunnai, Bun Wurrung and Wurundjeri people, the traditional custodians of the land and waterways on which the rail trail is built.

Development and future of the rail trail 

There is a plan to extend the Bass Coast Rail Trail north to Nyora, to connect the two and create more touring opportunities. The first section of the trail between Leongatha and Koonwarra opened in 1998 and it was gradually extended to Foster. Following the expiration of a 10-year moratorium, the trail was extended from Foster to Toora, then on to Welshpool in 2014. In 2016, the Victorian Government and the South Gippsland Shire Council completed a $1.8 million project to bridge the gap between Koonwarra and Meeniyan. This picturesque section contains three long timber bridges.

In 2022 the South Gippsland Shire Council completed a $6 million, 36km extension from Leongatha to Korumburra and Nyora.

In 2024 the South Gippsland and Wellington Shires completed a $6 million 21km extension from Welshpool to Alberton, linking Yarram and Port Albert via what was known as the Tarra Trail, which was constructed on the branch line to Woodside as far as Yarram in 2011

Railway History

The South Gippsland LIne took five years to build and opened in 1892.  It initially joined Dandenong to Port Albert, but a branch line was built to Woodside in 1921; there were also branch lines to Outtrim and Wonthaggi. The last train ran to Yarram in 1987 and the last one beyond Leongatha in 1992. The line from Cranbourne to Leongatha was closed in 1993.  Unfortunately, while several governments looked at reopening the V/Line passenger service to Leongatha this did not happen and in 2012 several kilometres of rail were removed at Koo Wee Rup and a short rail trail constructed there.

The Great Southern Rail Trail gets even Greater

Posted: 19/08/24

The Great Southern Rail Trail's extension to Yarram is now officially open! The new 21-kilometre ...

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Major Upgrade to Wonthaggi Station Precinct

Posted: 10/08/24

The Wonthaggi Station Museum Precinct has received a major facelift, including transformation of the Bass ...

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Official opening of Welshpool to Alberton section of Great Southern Rail Trail

Posted: 29/07/24

On Friday 16 August there will be an official opening of the Welshpool to Alberton section ...

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Storms delay completion of GSRT extension

Posted: 25/03/24

While most of the work extending the Great Southern Rail Trail from Welshpool to Alberton ...

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Gippsland Trail Link Progress

Posted: 18/09/23

The plan to link the Great Southern Rail Trail and Bass Coast Rail Trail at ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail Opening

Posted: 07/04/23

The official opening at Loch station. The official ...

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Official opening of extension to Great Southern Rail Trail

Posted: 27/03/23

Come and walk or ride the Great Southern Rail Trail at the official opening event ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail Extension Fully Open

Posted: 24/12/22

Bass River bridge Great news to finish 2022, the ...

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Further Sections of Great Southern Rail Trail Closer to Reality

Posted: 19/09/22

The Great Southern Rail Trail is growing in length apace in both directions. As the ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail Visitation and Marketing Plan

Posted: 21/05/22

There are some folklores, especially from a movie, that all you have to do is ...

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Major Funding for Station Precincts on Great Southern Rail Trail

Posted: 26/04/22

More great news for the wonderful Great Southern Rail Trail in Gippsland, Victoria with the ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail (Vic) Open to Korumburra

Posted: 27/03/22

Celebrating the opening from Korumburra to Leongatha. Ribbon cutters ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail Extension (basically) Open

Posted: 10/01/22

Big news to start the year with the 36km extension of the Great Southern Rail ...

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Update on Victoria’s Great Southern Rail Trail Extension

Posted: 09/06/21

Rail Trails Australia is excited to share an update of the progress of the Great ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail to grow by 36 km

Posted: 12/02/21

The beginning of works to extend Victoria’s Great Southern Rail Trail (GSRT) was marked ...

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The fabulous Great Southern Rail Trail in South Gippsland is to be extended!

Posted: 10/08/20

After lots of work over a few years the extension of the Great Southern Rail ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail Relaunch – 26 November 2016

Posted: 05/11/16

Celebrate the re-launch of the Great Southern Rail Trail, cycle, walk or horse ride from ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail “Bridges” the Gap (Gippsland, Victoria)

Posted: 06/03/16

There is another option for your Victorian Labour Day or Easter holiday planning! A big ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail to “bridge” the gap (Gippsland)

Posted: 19/10/14

Joining Mr Ryan at the announcement were The Nationals ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail (VIC) – Marketing and Promotion Plan & Community Forums

Posted: 05/06/14

What features of GSRT would you like to see promoted? How should GSRT be branded? ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail Power Supply Work (VIC)

Posted: 19/01/14

Transfield Services are replacing some of SP AusNet’s power lines with new conductors on 23...

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Great Southern Rail Trail Extension to Toora is Now Open (VIC)

Posted: 01/09/13

The opening ceremony at Foster Cyclists, runners and ...

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$2m extension for Great Southern Rail Trail (Vic)

Posted: 04/04/12

A Media Release from the Premier of Victoria. (3 April 2012) Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail (Vic) Bridge Opening Celebrations

Posted: 09/06/08

The new and the old. Photo credit: David Levin[/...

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Tarwin River Bridge Open on the Great Southern Rail Trail (Victoria)

Posted: 30/03/08

Sleek modern structure glides past the old Tarwin River ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail (Gippsland, Victoria) Heritage Day

Posted: 02/01/07

On Sunday 14th January 2007 the South Gippsland Tourist Railway is celebrating the reopening of their ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail (Victoria) seeks loans for bridge

Posted: 18/12/05

The Committee of Management of the Great Southern Rail Trail in Gippsland, Victoria (see description) ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail (Gippsland, Victoria) Bike & Walk Family Day

Posted: 02/11/05

As part Catchment Week celebrations the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority is hosting a Bike &...

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Great Southern Rail Trail Weekend

Posted: 24/11/04

The breakfast group at Korumburra. Photo credit: Alexander McCooke[/...

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The Great Southern Rail Trail Discovery Weekend

Posted: 03/11/04

The friends of the Great Southern Rail Trail in South Gippsland have organised a weekend ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail Open (Vic)

Posted: 27/01/04

The Great Southern Rail Trail is now officially open through to Foster. For details of ...

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Grant for Great Southern Rail Trail (Vic)

Posted: 10/01/02

The Minister for Environment and Conservation, Hon. Cheryl Garbutt, announced that the Bracks Government have ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail (Vic)

Posted: 03/07/01

The Great Southern Rail Trail have a new information brochure. It is available by writing ...

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Great Southern Rail Trail (Vic)

Posted: 14/02/01

The Great Southern Rail Trail have a new information brochure. It is available by writing ...

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