Great Southern Rail Trail

Leongatha-Foster

Length: 49 kilometres
Track: Good
Grade: Flat
Start: Leongatha
Finish: Foster.

In the 1930s a busy railway stretched all the way from Melbourne’s outer suburbs to Yarram in central Gippsland, hauling local produce and coal to feed Victorian Railways steam locomotives. The trains have stopped, but their route through the Gippsland hills has been transformed into an attractive walking and cycling trail. Starting at the Leongatha Horticultural Park, this 49 kilometre trail meanders gently through lush dairy farming country and remnant bush of the Gippsland hills. The trail is gently undulating with a wide and well-graded surface.

Note: Between Koonwarra and Meeniyan there are three old timber bridges that have not been restored. To bypass these bridges it is necessary to use the highway for approximately three kilometres near Koonwarra and again briefly to cross the Tarwin River.