“Iconic adj.
of a person or thing that is uncritically adored, revered or admired, or is regarded as a symbol of a particular culture or sphere, etc; an idol.”
I can see The Great Barrier Reef and the Milford Track might fit. Even The Twelve Apostles despite the loss of a few. But the newly established Goldfields Track? I’ll leave that to VIC tourism to justify. But if The Goldfields Track is iconic then so is the total of The Great Dividing Trails in my opinion. And relative to other long distance mtb trails in Australia these certainly are right up there.
Trails status
The best source for current trail status is MapSport’s Facebook page plus GDTA website. Also check Parks Victoria park pages and DSE’s Public Access Map. The latter is unintuitive. Recently I have found both government sites slow to post new info and remove expired info.
Goldfields Track
R: Goldfields Track non-road sign
A 210km multi-use trail nicely staged for multi day rides. The Goldfields Trackis the marketing moniker for the contiguous Great Dividing Trails of Leanganook, Dry Diggings and Wallaby.
Bendigo, Castlemaine and Ballarat are accessible via VLine train. VLine buses service Daylesford but do not carry bikes. A bike symbol on VLocity train sets indicates bike spaces through that door. On diesel locomotive trains contact the conductor at the guard’s van.
If you are not sure which direction to ride the trail, I suggest from Bendigo.
Goldfields Track VicRoads sign
The Leanganook segment is probably the easiest overall (assuming you take the mtb route) while being very interesting. And it offers an out at Castlemaine if you decide you have overcooked it. Two special campsites are available on the Goldfields Track. One on the Leanganook Tk is yet to be signed by Parks Victoria. The other is on the Dry Diggings Track at Fryerstown between Castlemaine and Vaughan Springs.
Great Dividing Trails
The Great Dividing Trail system is 20 years old this year. These multi-use trails were conceived, developed and managed by an extremely resourceful and capable band of people to whom we owe a great vote of thanks. The Goldfields Track capitalised on the extensive and continuing work done of the Great Dividing Trail Assn. We love riding these trails. Over the last 12 years we have been pleased to see more and more mtb riders discover these trails. Yet you can still ride a complete track without meeting a rider or walker.
Lerderderg Track
Additional to the Goldfields Track is the Lerderderg Track which runs Daylesford – Blackwood – Bacchus Marsh. Sign posts on the Lerderderg are GDT green Daylesford to Jubilee Lake, DSE grey after Jubilee Lake to Leonards Hill Rd (community windfram to west along thsi road) then revert to GDT green. GDTA is seeking to have all signposts uniform.
Macedon Extension
No date yet set for opening of this track from Blackwood to Macedon but I gather most of the planning is ironed out. Maybe 2012-2013.