By the time we got to Tumbarumba to ride the Tumbarumba Rosewood Rail Trail, it was already mid-May. I wasn’t too hopeful that much would be left of the autumn colours. How wrong I was!
We missed this rail trail in our 2017/18 tour of Australia, because it hadn’t yet been created!
Riding the Tumbarumba Rail Trail almost exactly one year after it’s official opening in April 2020, it was pleasing to see that the well-designed infrastructure was holding up well. Moreover, it was great to observe that even on a weekday there were quite a few riders on the track.
How to get to the Tumbarumba Rosewood Rail Trail
Situated in the Snowy Valleys region of New South Wales, Tumbarumba is a charming town with a caravan park, motels, hotels, three cafes and a tourist information centre.
Not having done much research before I arrived, I hadn’t realised that the Tumbarumba Trail Head was a good two kilometres west of the town centre. While the bike path to get there is scenic, an eighty metre climb over the distance makes for a pretty steep hill!
If you’d prefer to avoid this climb, you can park your car at the trail head on Figures Street and ride from there.
Highlights
As details of the rail trail have already been published elsewhere by Tumbarumba local Debbie Harris of Deb’s World and Rail Trails Austraila, I will focus here on what I found particularly enjoyable about the ride.
Firstly, about two kilometres from the Tumbarumba trailhead, you come across this beautiful stand of native vegetation – young snow gums?
Another highlight is the scenic riding beside Mannus Creek for much of the Rosewood half of the trail.
But perhaps the most outstanding beauty of all is the old Wolseley Park station in autumn. Breathtaking!
But did I mention how cold it was?
Fortunately we did not experience much wind during our stay, but the overnight temperatures were down near zero. At the start of my ride I was wearing five layers on the top half and a tracksuit over my leggings. My hands and feet were so cold that I invested in Heat Holder gloves and socks at the local supermarket! Well worth it I can assure you!
Signage and Infrastructure
With clear blue markers every kilometre showing the distance to each end of the trail, the signage on the Tumbarumba Rail Trail is truly excellent. The markers also provide GPS information.
On the whole, the drainage features of the trail are holding up well, considering the amount of rain the area had prior to our visit.
Adjacent farmers appear to have been well catered for, with grids and new fencing, sometimes even electric fencing!
There are five or six of these concrete tunnels providing walkways overhead for cattle and access for farm vehicles.
Several well-constructed bridges cross the local creeks, the most impressive of which is this longer bridge over Mannus Creek.
Map of the Tumbarumba Rosewood Rail Trail
Including the bike path to the Tumbarumba trailhead, the return trip is 46 kilometres with a 330 metre climb.
While you can get a good paper map of the Tumbarumba Rail Trail from the Tumbarumba Tourist Information Centre, I’ve provided the map of my ride below, for those who would like to download a gpx file.
Tumbarumba Rail Trail Summary
- Length: From the Tumbarumba Trailhead to the Rosewood Trailhead, the distance is 21 kilometres one way. If you add in the bike path from the town centre to get to the Tumbarumba Trailhead, it’s 23 kilometres each way.
- Difficulty: Once you get to the rail trail proper, the gradients are easy. However, on the return trip, the climb from Sawpit Creek to Tumbarumba is noticeable.
- Surface: Sealed bitumen
- Suitable for gravel, hybrid and mountain bikes. Road bikes could have issues on the cattle grids, a few short gravel sections and some sharp edges on the bridges.
- Signage: Excellent – markers every kilometre.
- Best Times: Suitable for most times of the year, taking care of course on hot days.
- Coffee and Food: Two good cafes at the Rosewood end: Rosewood Rail Trail Cafe and GoneBarny Cafe. In Tumbarumba, I can recommend the Nest Cafe, Dare to Bite and Tumbarumba Bakery.
While you’re in the Australian alpine area, why not cross the border into Victoria and try the High Country Rail Trail or the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail? Another great NSW ride I have tried is the Lennox Ballina Coastal Path in the Northern Rivers region.
This is a great account of riding our rail trail Helen, I’m just sorry I wasn’t here to join you! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and beautiful photos, the autumn colours are a treat at this time of year despite the cold starts. Really enjoyed your post and thanks for linking to my Guide too. Hopefully we can catch up for a ride one day!
Thanks Deb. Sorry we missed you but loved seeing the trail in autumn. We had a great stay in Tumbarumba 😍
A wonderful account of this trail, the Tumbarumba to Rosewood “Pilot Trail” for further additions to NSW cycling infrastructure.
The work done by the local Rail Trail Committee over the last 20 years has paid huge dividends in the health and wealth of the Tumbarumba area, as a commendable percentage of users are local (health) and a larger proportion are visitors to the area(wealth). Their work promoting the trail, the area and its benefits as well as improving the facilities continues, making the area even more appealing.
The recent use of the Trail for a Marathon Running Event highlighted other uses for the facility, while across the Border in Victoria the High Country rail Trail have hosted another of their “High Tea” rides where you are guaranteed to consume more calories that you burn.
Thank you John. This rail trail certainly is a great credit to the local community. It’s good that the NSW Government is starting to understand the many benefits of rail trails.