Leanganook Track

Ride the Leanganook Track
Total distance: 58 km
Total time: 5 - 6 hours *

Whilst this may be the least technical leg of your Goldfields Track adventure, it is by no means an easy roll. It’s a great day ride, can be broken into three shorter rides, or use the info below to plan your rest and refuel stops.

Castlemaine to Harcourt (19km)
As you climb through the Chewton bushlands towards and beyond the imposing Garfield Water Wheel, spare a thought for the tens of thousands of miners working these once denuded gullies in searing heat, without water and with seemingly few rights as human beings. Puts that back pain in perspective huh? The native woodlands of the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park soon give way to pine plantations and the apple orchards of the Harcourt valley. Harcourt is the perfect place to grab a great coffee, something to eat and fill the water bottles before you push on towards Bendigo.

Harcourt to Springs Road (16km)
As you climb back on the bike, whilst the walking route passes over Mount Alexander, riders are taken through Harcourt and around the Mount to rejoin the walking route on the Coliban Main Channel. The route through Harcourt takes you past Henry of Harcourt, drop in for a taste of their real cider. The recent announcement of funding for construction of a mountain bike park on the west flank of Mount Alexander will markedly improve the Goldfields Track experience for riders through the Harcourt area – so stay tuned. Orchards soon give way to grazing country as the old gravity fed water channel heads north. There are two tunnels through this section. Where water goes through riders must go over. Be sure to stop when cresting these climbs as the views are spectacular. Make sure you also stop to take in the extraordinary engineering features along the Coliban Main Channel, many still in operation after 140 years of service.

Springs Road to Bendigo (23km)
While there are still a few pinches, the big climbs are done, so you can relax a bit. At Sandhurst Reservoir, one of many water storage facilities around Bendigo the track enters the Bendigo Regional Park and follows mostly non-technical access tracks. The route passes endless mine relics and old water channels giving a sense of the intensity of mining operations during the gold rush era. Entry into Bendigo, unlike the Poverty Gully descent into Castlemaine, is at a relaxing pace on generous tracks and trails allowing time to wind down and reflect on your 210km Goldfields Track adventure. At Bendigo Train Station you could jump on a train and head home, or spend some time checking out Bendigo’s many and various attractions, or maybe turn your bike around and...
After all the Goldfields Track is great riding in either direction.