Ballarat-Skipton Rail Trail
Encyclopedia
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, runs 53 kilometres along the old Skipton railway line from western Ballarat
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
, southwest through Haddon
Haddon, Victoria
Haddon is a town just a few kilometres west the city of Ballarat. It is in the Golden Plains Shire. The township only has a population a bit above 1,000 people. Its postcode is 3351....
, Smythesdale
Smythesdale, Victoria
Smythesdale is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Glenelg Highway in the Golden Plains Shire Local Government Area, west of Ballarat and west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Smythesdale had a population of 280....
and Pittong to Skipton
Skipton, Victoria
Skipton is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is situated on the Glenelg Highway 166 kilometres west of the state capital, Melbourne and 52 kilometres south west of the regional centre, Ballarat. Part of Corangamite Shire Local government area, Skipton is on the banks...
. The trail was in poor condition for many years before being upgraded and resurfaced in 2008, at a cost of $700,000, funded in roughly equal measure by local, state and federal government. The new surface is "compacted granitic sand". The total length of the trail is 63 km including an 8 km section from Ballarat railway station to the trailhead.
One major landmark on the route is the historic Nimmons Bridge at Newtown
Newtown, Victoria (Golden Plains Shire)
Newtown is a locality situated on Pitfield Road in Golden Plains Shire, 144 km north-west of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia....
which the trail passes over.
Landmarks
- 0 km: Trail begins at Ballarat railway stationBallarat railway station, VictoriaBallarat railway station is a railway station serving the city of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia.The station is located on the Ballarat line and serves both freight and passenger functions....
- 4.5 km: Arch of Victory and Avenue of Honour. Trees commemorate Ballarat residents who enlisted in World War I between 1917 and 1919.
- 7.6 km: Rail trail proper starts
- 10.2 km: Cardigan Station
- 17.8 km: Haddon Station
- 25 km: Smythesdale Station; SmythesdaleSmythesdale, VictoriaSmythesdale is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Glenelg Highway in the Golden Plains Shire Local Government Area, west of Ballarat and west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Smythesdale had a population of 280....
was a former gold mining town. - 29.3 km: Scarsdale Station
- 33.8 km: New Town Station, Nimmons Bridge
- 36.5 km: Ruins of another trestle bridge
- 42.3 km: Historic township of LintonLinton, VictoriaLinton is a town in Victoria, Australia off Glenelg Highway. It was first settled about 1840. The town was named after a pioneer family in an area. At the 2006 census, Linton had a population of 355. The Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary lies to the south-east of the township, near Springdallah Creek.-...
- 50 km: Pittong
- 62.6 km: Skipton Station
- 63 km: Skipton