Great Southern Rail Trail

Great Southern Rail Trail
Great Southern Rail Trail with disused track at Leongatha
Length	131 km
Location	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Established	2015; 9 years ago (2015)
Difficulty	Easy to medium
Hazards	Some crossings of major highways
Surface	Compacted gravel
Hills	Multiple gentle hills
Water	Available in most towns
Train(s)	No regular passenger service
Bus	Available at Leongatha

The Great Southern Rail Trail is a 131-kilometre rail trail from Nyora to Yarram in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.^[1] Sections of the trail are flat or gently undulating trail through lush dairy farmland, areas of remnant bush and lowland scrub. There is a big climb on the section between Loch and Leongatha. The section between Fish Creek and Foster climbs past Mount Hoddle and goes through dense forest with occasional magnificent views of Wilsons Promontory and Corner Inlet.^[2]

The trail is well maintained with a surface of compacted gravel. Koalas, Wombats, wallabies and Echidnas can often be seen from the trail particularly in the early mornings and evenings.

The 10 km Toora to Welshpool section was opened on 7 February 2015. The section from Koonwarra to Minns road was opened in March 2016, incorporating what had been three very dilapidated wooden trestle bridges and replacing a three-kilometre diversion to the nearby South Gippsland Highway. That made the trail continuous from Leongatha to Welshpool, and users can link to the 6 km pathway to Port Welshpool and its picturesque Long Jetty.

Two trestle bridges north of Loch were surfaced in late 2022 to complete the trail between Nyora and Loch, bringing the total trail length from Nyora to Welshpool to 107 km.

Works to extend the trail from Welshpool to Alberton were completed on 7 June 2024, connecting to the Tarra Rail Trail between Yarram and Port Albert extending the total trail length to 131km from Nyora to Yarram.