Walking & cycling
Hepburn Shire offers a great selection of paths and trails for walkers and cyclists. Included are short walks, more adventurous walks, mountain bike trails and rail trails.
Here is a sample.
The Domino Trail
A flat, 12km return trail from Trentham Railway Station to Lyonville. Trail follows the original rail line between Daylesford and Carlsruhe. Walk to Lyonville, enjoy lunch at the Radio Springs Hotel and walk back to Trentham. Suitable for walkers and cyclists.
Two Lakes Walk
A 9.4km path that starts at the Lake Daylesford carpark and circumnavigates Lake Daylesford and Lake Jubilee. Suitable for walkers and cyclists.
Tipperary Walking Track
A 14km walk through forest and past mineral springs and old gold diggings that offers three smaller walks of 6.6km, 4.6km and 2.6km around Hepburn Springs. Suitable for walkers only.
The Goldfields Track
A 210km signposted natural bush track from Ballarat to Bendigo. Traverses forests (natural and man-made), pastoral countryside and former goldfields. Undulating and rocky in sections. Suitable for bushwalking and mountain bikes. Check www.goldfieldstrack.com.au
Mt Beckworth Trail
A 5km walk in the Mount Beckworth Scenic Reserve, 8km west of Clunes. Traverses open woodlands and includes breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. Suitable for walkers only.
Creswick Creek Loop Walk
A 4.8km walk along Creswick Creek to St Georges Lake at Creswick. Traverses pine forest and follows part of the Goldfields Track. Suitable for walkers and cyclists.
La Gerche Gully Loop
A 2.4km walk through the pine and eucalypt forest that pioneering forester John La Gerche planted in the late 1800s. Beautifully cool and restful on a hot day.
Wallaby Track
A 52km walk from Creswick to Daylesford through volcanic hills, regrowth messmate and peppermint forest and a railway cutting. This can be broken into three sections.
For details of these and other walks in Hepburn Shire, see the following.
Walks & Rides – Clunes-Creswick-Daylesford-Trentham(PDF, 9MB) - a comprehensive downloadable guide to walking and cycling tracks and trails in Hepburn Shire
Goldfields Track Victoria – website with detail on the Bendigo-Ballarat track that traverses Hepburn Shire.
The Great Dividing Trail Network – website with detail on the major trails and paths for walkers, mountain bikers and trail runners between Ballarat and Bendigo.