Bass Coast
About this page
The rail trail is located approximately 115km from Melbourne and can be easily done as part of a day trip to the area. A unique feature of this coastal rail trail (the only one of its kind in Victoria) is the Bourne Creek Trestle Bridge at Kilcunda, which offers panoramic views of the ocean.
Bicycle Victoria's Vision - Penguin Parade to Inverloch
Bass Coast Shire, due to its natural attractions and close and easy proximity to Melbourne, is an ideal location for bike riding. The Bass Coast Rail Trail, currently running from Wonthaggi to Anderson, provides a useful base for expanding facilities available to riders. This trail links to Phillip Island by road and, with the exception of a few gaps that are being progressively filled in, riders can get over the bridge at San Remo and on to Cowes with relative ease. However, this route can be significantly improved, both through expanding the overall length, and altering existing portions of trail to better suit riders.
Bicycle Victoria would like to see several improvements to this trail in the future.
1. An Altering of the alignment of the current trail to move riders away from the busy Bass Highway, Anderson Roundabout and Phillip Island Road between Kilcunda to San Remo. Rerouting the trail away from roadways will enhance rider safety and improve the trail experience. Rerouting the trail along the George Bass Coastal Walk will accomplish this. The Walk currently connects to the trail at Kilcunda, but needs to be improved if it is to accommodate bicycles. This will allow more people to access the scenic wonder of the Walk and enhance the tourism draw of the region.
2. Filling in gaps on the San Remo - Cowes route along Phillip Island Road. Currently, getting from San Remo to Cowes is not a seamless experience. There are still a few gaps in the bicycle route along the way that will benefit from connection.
3. Extend the ends of the trail. Extending the trail west from Cowes to the Penguin Parade, and east from Wonthaggi to Inverloch. Having the trail connect to Phillip Island's renowned tourist attraction, the Penguin Parade, through Cowes, will benefit the trail and riders in the long run by providing the option of riding to such a featured tourist attraction which will act as the 'carrot' to draw riders to this trail. Connecting to the seaside resort town of Inverloch in the east will expand the total length of the trail and contribute to making it a tourism destination in its own right. These extensions would provide a trail of approximately 60km, which will be a substantial draw for riders wishing to tour the Bass Coast area.
Trail surface
Bass Coast Shire Council has been resurfacing the trail to upgrade the surface along the current length of trail between Wonthaggi and Anderson. Much of this distance has now been upgraded, with only a small section near Dalyston yet to be resurfaced. The newer surface is a fine compacted gravel that is suitable for most bikes, bearing in mind that there are still some sections that are yet to be improved.
Trail description
Currently there is 16km of continuous trail between Anderson and Wonthaggi.
At Anderson roundabout is a small car park where you can start your ride. The trail heads towards the coast and past the Mitchell Mine Historic Reserve, a former coal mine, before reaching the Bourne Creek trestle bridge at Kilcunda.
Across the bridge the trail follows the coast for a short distance before heading inland through open farmland. The biggest bridge on the trail is the Powlett River bridge approximately half way between Kilcunda and Wonthaggi.
At Wonthaggi, if you feel like a bit of on-road riding continue along C435, the road to Cape Paterson.
For a more detailed trail description please see the links on the right of this page.
Getting there
Public transport: Catch a V-line bus from Melbourne to Anderson or Wonthaggi. Alternatively take the Stony Point train line from Melbourne (Met Zone 3) and catch a ferry from Stony Point to Cowes on Phillip Island and ride a mixture of paths and roads to Anderson.
Car: Take the Monash Fwy to South Gippsland Hwy, then turn off at the Bass Coast Hwy for Anderson