The Riesling Trail follows an old railway line through the heart of the valley. Its second life as a cycleway is a small triumph of reinvention.
The Clare Valley's most popular outdoor experience began as something entirely different: a working railway carrying copper, wheat and wine between Auburn and Clare.
The line that closed
Like many regional railways, the Clare Valley line eventually fell quiet as road transport took over. The corridor it left behind, flat, gently graded and running through the centre of the wine country, was too good to waste.
A trail is born
The disused line was reborn as the Riesling Trail, a sealed, traffic-free path for walkers and cyclists. Its gentle gradients, a legacy of railway engineering, make it accessible to riders of almost any fitness, and its route threads past cellar doors, lookouts and historic townships.
The perfect pace
What makes the trail special is the pace it imposes. At cycling speed you notice the changing vineyards, smell the eucalypts, and have every excuse to stop at a cellar door along the way. A railway built to move freight efficiently now exists to slow visitors down, and the valley is better for it.
