Forty kilometres long, mostly flat, and entirely off-road, the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail is the headline outdoor experience of the upper Yarra Valley. It follows the route of a passenger railway that ran from 1901 until 1965, threading through farmland, township edges, and stretches of riverbank that haven’t changed much in a century.
The Warburton end is the prettier end. The trail crosses and re-crosses the Yarra, runs past the back of the township, and finishes in the old station precinct now occupied by the Hub. Most visitors do a stretch in either direction and come back — a couple of hours’ walk along the river, or a half-day bike ride. Bike hire and shuttle services run from Warburton and Lilydale.
Bikes, pedestrians, and horses are all welcome; e-bikes too. The surface is compacted gravel — fine for road bikes in dry weather, hybrid or gravel bikes any time.