Beechworth is the gateway to some incredible Victorian High Country bikepacking routes
The historic town of Beechworth is the perfect start/finish point for your High Country bikepacking or flashpacking adventure. It’s easily accessed from Wangaratta or Albury train stations, less than 30 minutes’ drive from the Hume Highway and is home to some of Australia’s best gravel riding.
Routes
We’ve curated a range of adventures to suit most riders.Bring your climbing legs and come and experience some true backroads riding in Victoria’s High Country.
IMPORTANT: Please refer to the note at the end of the page about insurance, risks and backcountry communication. You are 100% responsible for your own safety if you use one of these routes.
The High Country Breweries 550 (5-8 day ride)
We’re expecting this will become an iconic High Country bikepacking loop. It covers a tad over 550km, gains over 8,000vm, and has been devised so that you can choose to end each day at one of the High Country’s independent craft breweries. It’s an epic ride with superb gravel roads, tough climbs, fast descents and incredible scenery.
Taking in the High Country towns and villages of Beechworth, Eldorado, Chiltern, Rutherglen, Glenrowan, Milawa, Moyhu, Whitfield, Cheshunt, Porepunkah, Bright, Mount Beauty, Mitta Mitta, Tallangatta, Yackandandah and Stanley along the route, it includes hundreds of kilometres of sensational gravel backroads riding, avoids main roads wherever possible, takes in sections of the Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail and the High Country Rail Trail, and conquers three big climbs – Goldie Spur, Tawonga Gap and Trappers Gap. It’s a truly inspiring High Country experience that you’ll have to ride to fully appreciate. Pack the bags and give it a crack.
In terms of bike choice, we designed this to be enjoyable on our personal gravel bikes (an alloy Giant TCX with 700x42mm tyres and a steel Curve Grovel with 650×2.0 tyres), so most of the route is good quality gravel. That said, there are some chunky sections and you might be more comfortable on a hardtail mtb or adventure bike with fatter tyres. Give us a call if you want information about the route.
Ride safely, don’t drink and ride, carry a PLB or InReach, and have fun.
The Smallest Pub in Victoria (2 day ride)
Day 1 – 35km | Day 2 – 35km | Total 1,100 vm | 90% gravel
We’ve designed this as an ideal first bikepacking experience from Beechworth. The ride is relatively short out and back, but includes climbs and descents on both days – perfect to help you get used to how a loaded bike handles. Free-camping by Reedy Creek in Eldorado is magical, and once you’ve set up camp for the night you’re not far from a slap-up dinner at Victoria’s smallest pub, The McEvoy Tavern. The ride’s relatively short, but this overnighter is a ripper and we often ride it ourselves with our kids.
Beechworth to King Valley Return (2 day ride)
Day 1 – 85km | Day 2 – 95km | Total 1,850 vm | 80% gravel
Day 1 of this ride departs from Gravelmob HQ at The Old Beechworth Gaol and sends you on scenic backroads through farming country before arriving for lunch in the King Valley village of Moyhu. The riding after lunch follows more excellent gravel roads to the southern end of the King Valley, where you can stay overnight in either Whitfield or Cheshunt. The return to Beechworth on day 2 sees you riding the spectacular Rose River Road to Lake Buffalo before lunch in Myrtleford and the final push up Flagstaff Road back into Stanley and Beechworth.
Beechworth to Bright Return (2 day ride)
Day 1 – 90km | Day 2 – 90km | Total 3,060 vm | 70% gravel
Linking two of the High Country’s favourite towns, this route provides plenty of vertical gain over its journey through some epic mountain landscapes and challenging backroads. Starting at the Old Beechworth Gaol it’s downhill or flat for the first 50km of day 1, but there’s a solid backroad climb up Mt Porepunkah to negotiate before you roll down into Bright for a well-deserved ale. After camping overnight, day 2 includes two solid climbs – back up Mount Porepunkah (gravel) and then the Back of Stanley (sealed) – before a very welcome descent from Stanley back into Beechworth.
Beechworth to Mitta Mitta Return (3 day ride)
Day 1 – 90km | Day 2 – 85km | Day 3 – 120km | Total 5,200 vm | 70% gravel
Rideable over 3 days (if you’re fit), this route absolutely nails the High Country bikepacking adventure experience. Iconic High Country mountain landscapes, knee deep creek crossings, fire trails through native forest, chunky surfaces that’ll have you reaching for a dually, quiet sealed backroads, the chance of snow in winter – it’s all here are as the route passes through the towns and villages of Whorouly, Myrtleford, Ovens, Bright, Mount Beauty, Mitta Mitta, Eskdale and Yackandandah before returning to Beechworth and ending with a frothy at the brewery (well, that’s how we do it anyway). Don’t underestimate the climbs on this one, there are some doozys … and not a lot of zero gradient along the route.
Stay in Bright on night 1 and Mitta Mitta night 2, or take longer over the journey and pick your own overnight stops.
Getting to Beechworth
Driving
Beechworth is 30 minutes from the Hume Freeway. If travelling from Melbourne, take the Beechworth/Bright Great Alpine Road exit on the Wangaratta bypass, and then turn left at Tarrawingee. If coming from Albury the fastest way is to take the Wodonga exit and then the Wodonga- Beechworth Road. For a more scenic route drive a little further along the Hume to the Chiltern exit.
Train + Ride
For a car-free bikepacking experience take the train to Wangaratta, Chiltern or Albury station and hop on your bike for the last leg.
Albury to Beechworth
Chiltern to Beechworth
Wangaratta to Beechworth
Insurance and Risks
- If you download and use one of these self-guided routes you acknowledge and accept that you are riding totally at your own risk. The routes are just suggested loops on publicly-accessible roads and tracks, and the day-to-day quality, safety, difficulty and open/closed status of any part of the routes is totally outside of Gravelmob’s control. Your fitness, amount of remote experience, riding ability and bike suitability is also out of Gravelmob’s control.
- It’s strongly recommended that you have your own personal accident and liability insurance whenever you hop on your bike. There are various cycling insurance providers available, Cycling Australia is the obvious one.
- Some of the routes pass through remote areas where internet/mobile phone service is not reliable or strong enough to make calls or locate yourself via your phone’s GPS. We recommend you arrange a backup communication plan, bring a dedicated GPS unit (so you can get yourself back to the pub), and pack a Personal Locator Beacon in case of a true emergency.
