Mansfield & Surrounds Gravel Road Rides
These are the best gravel road rides in Mansfield / Mt Buller and surrounds.
MT BATTERY, COOMBESBERG & LONG LANE LOOP (33km)
- From the Mansfield Botanic Park, where the local club bunch rides start, head towards Mt Buller on Mt Battery Road. The gravel leads to Graves Road;
- Turn left, then left again onto Old Tolmie Road and punch it up the Coombesberg!
- With the biggest hill behind you, descend to Long Lane and turn left onto the gravel. There are Give Way and Stop signs to heed, and one section which can be a bit 'moist', but otherwise this is smooth, fast and fun;
- At the and of the gravel, turn left onto the Midland Highway towards Mansfield, but just before you descend into town...
- Turn left again into Carlisle Hill Road, with views over Mansfield;
- Turning right again onto the bitumen of Mansfield-Whitfield Road returns you to the Botanic Park.
- Ride south on Highett Street (which changes its name along the way to Monkey Gully Road) turn right at the end, then first left; this is Riflebutts Road. As it turns to gravel, enjoy views over Mansfield and the Delatite Valley to Mt Buller and beyond.
- Turn right onto the Jamieson Road for a few km then, just after the Boorolite CFA shed, turn left onto Chapel Hill Road, follow the tarmac and turn left at the crossroads of Hearns Road on the gravel;
- Just after the bitumen starts again, turn right up the hill onto the gravel of Buttercup Road. This little section is a bit rough. Cross over Buller Road and onto Buttercup Road proper for the next undulating 20km or so; mostly gravel, the road is quiet and smooth, There's a couple of creek crossings and dappled sunlight through the trees.
- Turn right onto Carters Road and descend back to the bitumen of the Buller Road for the ride back to Mansfield.
- Leave Mansfield along the Great Victorian Rail Trail and turn right onto Pikes Road. Enjoy this undulating gravel road through farming country but watch for mud if it's rained recently.
- Carefully turn right onto the Midland Highway;
- Then take the first left onto the gravel of Long Lane;
- Turn left again at the next bitumen road (Mansfield-Whitfield Road) for about 3.5km;
- Turn right onto the gravel of Tabletop Road, just after crossing Bridge Creek. This is a steady gravel climb but has some steeper pinches half way up and it's sealed again just before the top;
- Turn left onto Old Tolmie Road (careful on the descent, particularly the second right-hander)
- Go straight onto the gravel at the next intersection, don't follow the tarmac to the left. This undulating track skirts around Tolmie;
- Turn left onto the Whitfield Road and enjoy the descent back to Mansfield.
Web Links
→ www.ridehighcountry.com.au/gravel
