The first thing I noticed about the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail (also known as the Warburton Rail Trail or “Warby”) was that there were lots of cyclists on it. Most of the rail trails I have cycled, I saw either nobody or maybe two or three other cyclists for the ride. This was completely different. As I stood still in Yarra Junction, I saw several groups go through, and it was a weekday!
Easily accessible from Melbourne, with a train station at Lilydale, and serviced by lots of small towns, it’s easy to see why the trail is so popular.
We were staying in a caravan park on the Yarra river, near Yarra Junction. For my first ride on this trail, I decided to do an out and back ride to Warburton. I joined the rail trail at Corduroy Road, just before Yarra Junction.
At Yarra Junction I passed the Upper Yarra Museum and a former railway goods shed which is maintained by the museum.
I took a short detour through the Yarra Junction Reserve to catch a few glimpses of the Little Yarra River, a tributary of the Yarra.
As I continued on to the first station stop at Wesburn, the rail trail turned away from the Warburton Highway and crossed the Little Yarra River.
There were views to the mountains of the Yarra Ranges National Park.
The packed gravel surface was very flat and comfortable to ride on. I began to form plans of getting my husband Derek out on this section of the rail trail.
Now Railway Road was on my right. There were a couple of portraits pinned to tree stumps along the side of the trail. Later, I saw a few of these at other sections of the track.
It was only five kilometres to Wesburn Station.
After the station, the trail continued as before: flat, with views across pretty countryside towards the mountains. A milepost let me know that it was only four kilometres to my destination at Warburton.
As I arrived at the small settlement of Millgrove, I noticed that the Millgrove Village Bakery was very popular. At least a dozen cyclists were sitting at the outside tables enjoying the sunshine.
There were traffic lights to assist with crossing the Warburton Highway, which is usually quite busy.
On the other side of the highway, the style of the trail changed. The surface was now bitumen and I was commencing a steady climb.
This continued for a kilometre and from there the trail was undulating. Below me on my left was the Warburton Highway. I could catch glimpses of the Yarra River on the other side of the highway between the trees. The river was running full and I could hear the rush of the water above the sound of the traffic.
Warburton
At around 10.5 kilometres I arrived in Warburton. I stopped at the Cog Bike Cafe, which was right on the rail trail, to enjoy a good cup of coffee. I liked this sculpture in their garden.
After coffee, I cycled on to see more of Warburton. The town was very pretty, nestled between the mountains of the Yarra Ranges. The Yarra River, full of snow melt, was rushing swiftly through the middle.
As I slow-pedalled past the coffee shops on the main street of Warburton, I was astounded to see that half the clientele were in cycling clothes – and it was a Thursday!
My trip back was enjoyable and uneventful. Including my three-kilometre meander around Warburton, I had cycled 24 kilometres and climbed 310 metres. Because there are always people around, the Warburton Rail Trail is very safe to ride if you cycle solo.
Two days later I completed the Warburton Rail Trail by cycling from Lilydale to Yarra Junction.
