GRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS
PERCORSO DI CRUFFIN
This loop will be a favourite with foodies, marked at the halfway point with a 'cruffin break' (a delicious muffin/ croissant hybrid filled with all kinds of gooey goodness by Milawa Kitchen and Bread). The moderate ride of 56km will lead you through the backroads of the Milawa Gourmet Region, with many stops to savour.
MT BATTERY COOMBESBERG AND LONG LANE
Get started with this classic 33 km circuit on the country roads out of Mansfield. With Mt Buller as your backdrop, this is a smooth, fast and fun ride that will entice you towards more High Country gravel adventures.
BEECHWORTH GAOL BREAK
This ride links some of the best gravel roads and trails around Beechworth with a few surprises thrown in. This ride covers the hills and forests around Stanley, including an optional ascent up to the Mt Stanley summit, and finishes with a long downhill run back to town.
THE MYRTLEFORD MONSTER
With its amazing scenery, undulating terrain and various lunch options in the King Valley, this all day mixed surface ride between Myrtleford and the King Valley deserves a place on any list of iconic High Country rides. Prime your legs for a 123 kilometre loop that takes you around Lake Buffalo and over the Black Range to Whitfield, before returning via undulating backroads and farm lanes to Myrtleford.
THE SOUP BOYS GRAVEL LOOP
During winter, on the shortest day of the year, the Soup Boys embarked on a gravel epic from the Kiewa Valley that tested their limits. The 100 kilometre loop would take them over Lockharts Gap, down country lanes of the Mitta Valley, over Trappers Gap (while it was snowing!), then up through Redbank and Gundowring to Tallangatta before turning back towards Beechworth.
MT PILOT LOOKOUT
This ride sends you to the highest point in the unspoilt Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park - Mt Pilot lookout - before returning via the historic Woolshed Valley and a decent climb back into Beechworth. Short side trips to the Beechworth Berry Farm and the Woolshed Falls are well worth the effort, as is a detour into Eldorado if you have time.
ESKDALE TO DARTMOUTH DAM
Departing Eskdale, this 78km route offers quiet wide single-lane roads through open valleys before delivering climbs through dinosaur forest and emerging at the indelible Dartmouth Dam. Take your time riding across the top of the dam before turning back and heading back into Eskdale via the Mitta Mitta Brewery.
Mt POREPUNKAH GRAVEL LOOP
With almost 1000 metres of climbing in only 40km the Mt Porepunkah loop is not for the faint-hearted. The gradual climb rewards you with an amazing 360 degree view before an exhilarating descent down to the valley below, returning to Bright along the Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail.
