Northern Rivers Rail Trail

Whoever had the brilliant idea of converting an old railway line into a bike track is a genius. I recently explored the Northern Rivers Rail Trail and bloody loved it! It’s an accessible, cruisy nature fix option which is just what I was craving.

The construction of the trail is happening in phases, and the first phase from Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek is complete and a pleasure to ride. When it’s finished the trail will be a whopping 132 km long and track through Byron Bay, Lismore and down south to Casino.

The trail is really well signed-posted and pretty much impossible to get lost or stuck. The infrastructure is great with purposely built bridges and new pavement areas, so there’s no hairy sections. There is a bike hire shop right at the entrance at Murwillumbah (just book online beforehand) and it’s up to you to set the pace you want, whether that’s leisurely or hard core peloton style. People of all ages can give it a go too from toddlers on bike seats and carriages, right up to gray haired nomads. There’s a great pit stop at Hosana Farm (about 10km in) where you can get good coffee and lunch or snacks, this is a petting farm and kids go nuts for the animals.

Only things to watch out for are snakes (sounds scarier than it is, they aren’t looking to harm you just might be accidentally in your path) and the heat, hence I would recommend going early in the morning and not at the peak of summer.

Take a water bottle, slap on some sunscreen and bob's your uncle and fanny’s your aunt!