The GDTA was established in 1992 by a small group of volunteers who sought to
develop and promote walking tracks linking the gold rush cities and townships of
central Victoria. The network’s central hub is Daylesford on top of the southern end of
east coast Australia’s Great Dividing Range. The tracks, with a few exceptions, pass
through forest and public land. All of the tracks feature mining artefacts dating back to
the gold rush era in the mid-19th century.
The Great Dividing Trail Network
The Great Dividing Trail Network (GDTN) consists of five individual tracks. For a map of the network click here.
The southernmost track is the Lerderderg Track, which starts in Daylesford at a new
trailhead at the Bridport St Lookout above Lake Daylesford. It can be accessed at the
halfway mark from Blackwood and the final trailhead is the Bacchus Marsh railway
station. Posts marking the track are blue-topped. Track maintenance and promotion is
the responsibility of the GDTA in association with the land managers.
Lerderderg Track Daylesford to Bacchus Marsh 87km
Four other tracks form the 214km Goldfields Track, which stretches from Mt Buninyong
through the gold rush era towns of Ballarat, Creswick, Daylesford and Castlemaine to
Bendigo.
Eureka Track Mt Buninyong to Creswick 43km
Wallaby Track Creswick to Daylesford 52km
Dry Diggings Track Daylesford to Castlemaine 58km
Leanganook Track Castlemaine to Bendigo 61km
Overall marketing and promotion of the Goldfields Track is the responsibility of
Goldfields Track Inc (GTI), a committee of representatives nominated by land
management bodies. It includes members of the GDTA and community reps. The GDTA
initiated formation of the GTI in 2010.
Shared Use by Walkers, Trail Runners and Bike Riders
The majority of both the Lerderderg Track and the Goldfields Track are designated as
‘shared use’ for walkers, trail runners and bike riders. Where bike use is considered as
unsuitable, a separate bike route is designated.
Five bike diversions exist on the Lerderderg Track, which follows a steep gradient
down a river to a gorge mouth. The GDTA has followed national walk/ride standards in
assessing the degree of difficulty of each of the track’s seven sections.
Bike diversions on the Goldfields Track add an additional 36km to its 214km.
Maps, Guidebooks and Circuit Walks/Rides
The GDTA have produced a map for the Lerderderg Track, including bike diversions, and maps for the Dry Diggings and Leanganook tracks. The GDTA has also produced and distributes a guidebook for the Goldfields Track. A 2nd edition was published in December 2017, the Goldfields Track Walk or Ride Guide.
Central Victorian Highlands Walk and Ride Circuits is the latest guidebook published by the GDTA. It provides full colour, large scale contoured maps together with detailed track notes of 20 walks and 10 rides within a 25km radius of Daylesford. Current information about each of the walks and rides can be found here.
Circuit walks and/or rides commencing on the Goldfields Track around major regional towns with detailed maps have been prepared here.
The Ararat Circuit Track (14.5km) map is downloadable for free from this website here.
Online downloadable gpx files of all tracks are available on the GDTA website here.
Land Management and Track Maintenance
The land managers for the Lerderderg Track are DELWP, Parks Victoria and the shires of
Hepburn and Moorabool. The GDTA has developed track maintenance arrangements
with the land managers (or is in the process of so doing).
The land managers for the Goldfields Track are Parks Victoria, DELWP, cities of Ballarat
and Bendigo, shires of Hepburn and Mt Alexander, Central Highlands Water and
Coliban Water, together with several committees of management. Small sections are
under the management of either VicRoads or VicTrack.
Track maintenance is shared for the Goldfields Track. The GDTA is responsible for
co-ordinating track maintenance on the southern end of the Goldfields Track between
Daylesford and Buninyong. For maintenance issues relating to the northern half of the
Goldfields Track between Daylesford and Bendigo, contact GTI here.
Joining the GDTA
Anyone can become a member of the Great Dividing Trail Association. Annual membership entitles you to regular newsletter bulletins, information about the Association’s walking and interpretation program focused around the trail, as well as discounts for publications.
The GDTA is always seeking volunteers to aid in regular patrols of the network, reporting back on issues such as fallen trees; as well as carrying out supervised track maintenance, such as replacing damaged posts. To be added to the volunteer list, email the Maintenance Manager – maintenance@gdt.org.au
