Name: Woodend to Daylesford (incl Domino) Rail Trail
Rating: 4

Map Legend:

Rail Trail
On Road
Possible Rail Trail
Other Trail
former Railway

Why visit the Woodend to Daylesford (incl Domino) Rail Trail?

The Domino trail is part of the original railway from Daylesford to Carlsruhe. Starting from the picturesque country town of Trentham, it passes through bushland that is home to the endangered powerful owl
Signboards along the trail explain the history of the area

A June 2021 storm brought down many trees across the rail trail which have still not been cleared.

Attractions

Trentham is a small town on the edge of Wombat State Forest. There are many cafes and accommodation options.

Trail Guide

At Trentham, the trail starts at the Tourist Information Centre in the old Trentham railway station, Victoria St
At Lyonville, the trail starts at the southern end of Main St south of the Radio Springs Hotel. It is signposted and accessible at the bottom of an embankment.

A June 2021 storm brought down many trees across the rail trail which have still not been cleared.

Section Guides

For the first 500 m the rails are still in place and the grass-covered trail runs between them. On the left the old Sunnyside foundry is visible
After Falls Rd the trail enters bushland of manna gum, peppermint and mountain gum. Watch for swamp wallabies, grey kangaroos and
There is a short detour around the Coliban River, where a purpose-built bridge will replace the trestle bridge in the near future
A sign about 4 km from Trentham indicates a short loop trail to take you down to the Domino Creek to see a brick-lined tunnel that carries the creek beneath the line. The loop continues along an old logging trail before returning to the trail
The trail ends near Main St, Lyonville south of the Radio Springs Hotel and north of Railway Ave.
There are plans to extend the trail to Bullarto in coming years

Further Information

Information and Links

See Services tab above for links to services and businesses along this trail.

The trail is managed by Hepburn Shire.

To report any issues or problems please contact Hepburn Shire (03) 5321 6123

Trentham Tourist Information Centre (03) 5424 1178

Daylesford Spa Country Railway

Contact Rail Trails Australia

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

Background Information

Traditional owners

We acknowledge the Dja Dja Wurrung 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 interest in extending the trail in both directions, possibly from Daylesford to Woodend (44 km). The Trentham to Lyonville section of the proposed Daylesford-Macedon Ranges Rail Trail has now been developed, and a feasibility study is being conducted with a view to developing more of the trail.

The Daylesford Spa Country Railway runs tourist trains from Daylesford to Bullarto. These trains carry bikes.

Daylesford had the distinction of being served by two railways, one from Woodend and one from Creswick.

The railway from Carlsruhe to Daylesford via Trentham was opened in 1880.

By the 1970s, traffic on the line had reduced considerably, and despite local lobbying, it was closed in 1978.

The Crossing Borders Tracks and Trails Feasibility Report for the proposed Daylesford Rail Trail can be viewed here.

Photo Gallery

Information Centre at Trentham station site.(2013)

Trail, about 2km west of Trentham. (2013)

Further along the trail. (2013)

Tall timber on the trail. (2013)

Tall timber across the trail. (2021)

Information board along the trail. (2013)

Picturesque cutting before Lyonville. (2013)

Trail end at Lyonville (2014)

The Daylesford Spa Country Railway runs various rail motors 9km from Daylesford to Bullarto (2014)

Services

No services listed for this rail trail.

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Reviews

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6 reviews of “Woodend to Daylesford (incl Domino) Rail Trail”

This trail is not rideable following the wild storm that knocked many trees down in mid June 2021. We attempted to ride it today from Trentham, and left the bikes after 1km, attempted then to walk the trail to Lyonville. There were many large trees across the trail and we gave up at 4.5km along the trail, after struggling under, over and around so many fallen trees….and walked back.

Beautiful scenery. Started in Lyonville with two hybrid bikes and 4yo on a tag-a-long. Very rocky and bumpy. Agree with previous comment, trail is best suited to walking to appreciate surroundings.

9/27 Next Railtrail on my journey to ride every trail in Victoria in my 60th year to promote organ donation. This one ends in the pretty town of Trentham. Starting at Lyonsville was a little problematic as the Railtrails booklet let us to the wrong side of the track and we couldn’t gain access. Signage is there but very faded – I cannot understand why these regions don’t look after the assets at their disposal. It was quite warm but the trail is very shady, so it was a pleasant ride. The surface was a little rough so it’s not a great cycling track. At the Trentham end, the sleepers are still in place, which looks cool but hard to ride on – it would be better for walkers. Also, as you ride on the track through Trentham it is very overgrown with blackberries and other weeds, it really needs to be cleaned up.as it spoiled the end. It is an interesting ride through beautiful forest, but probably better tackled on foot. 6.5km.

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

I rode the 6km Domino rail trail on Sat 18/8/18, with 7 others on a rainy cold winters day (6.5 deg at 2pm). We rode 22km from Woodend to Trentham on-road, and lunched at Red Beard Bakery Trentham. Nice warm food and coffee after a cold and sometimes uphill ride. I had 32mm tyres on a rigid flatbar and managed to travel quite quickly on the rail trail. One lass on a road bike with 23mm tyres was struggling a bit with a layer of wet leaves and occasional mud patches, and rode back on-road. One lass on a hybrid said she absolutely loved the trail, and it was fun for me too. Sawn logs indicated that the trail was being maintained. A highlight was spending an hour at the Radio Springs Hotel (west end of trail), which had fireplaces lit in 3 rooms, live acoustic country/blues music, movie memorabilia (it has a small cinema) and generally convivial atmosphere. After chillin with an apple cider, we rode back to Trentham and then on-road to Woodend. Despite snow and hail mixed in with intermitant rain at Trentham (800m alt), it was a terrific day out in the saddle. A 4pm coffee in Woodend finished a good ride, which was faster returning with downhill and tailwind conditions. Trail is well sheltered in amongst forest for its length, and has the easy 2-3% max gradient of a rail route.

Completed this walk yesterday. It was lovely and a very easy walk, though we did find signage at the Lyonville end a little scarce, but found our way out and around to the pub and back in the official connection point. Nice and easy walk, little or no gradient.

I’m very impressed with this trail, which I rode today (29th December 2014) – the trail is in excellent condition (hybrid bikes would be fine), and passes through outstanding regrowth forest. There is plenty of signage about the trail and markers to follow – the only deviation is around the old bridge near Lyonville – which is clearly marked. I thought the best part was the creaking of the tall pines in the wind. Will definitely be back – especially if they extend the track. The only problem is the end in Lyonville is a bit anticlimactic – though the train station in Trentham is well restored – that appears to be a thing with towns that have rail trails – they all have beautifully restored their historic train stations. Well done to the management team of this rail trail.