Pedal through paradise on the Northern Rivers Rail Trail

Discover The Tweed and its bucolic surrounds via the Northern Rivers Rail Trail .

Rail trails are on the rise and the newest addition is set to shine the spotlight on a collection of NSW’s most charming towns and villages.

Unfurling through hinterland and rural towns, the Northern Rivers Rail Trail is set to be a game-changer for the NSW region, opening up The Tweed and beyond to travellers in new ways, one pedal at a time.

Assessing the risk of bodily harm as I clip up my helmet, I glance around at the other punters hiring e-bikes on this blue-sky day in the NSW town of Murwillumbah in the heart of the Tweed Valley.

They include a few happily frazzled families, some wide-smiling couples and plenty of active-looking retiree types. They all appear confident and casual as they swing a leg over their Murf bikes. Should be a nice and relaxed pace out there on the Northern Rivers Rail Trail today, I surmise somewhat gormlessly.

Getting started

I bounce up and down on the fat, four-inch tyres. Feels pretty sturdy. There are five speeds, but I’m told there’s really no need to ascend to top speed. But ‘really’ seems slightly suggestive, almost inviting. I test myself at the lowest setting and, “Weooh!”, surge forward with a rush no amount of self-propulsion could ever replicate. Of course, you can do the trail on a regular bike, a horse or just legs, but electric is the way to go if you’re keen to complete the 24 kilometres there and back in one day.

The crunch of gravel under rubber, the warm, sun-soaked country air and the electric whirr of rail trailers setting off give me all the buoyancy of a kid at a trampoline park. We gently push off from Murwillumbah Railway Station, which, like the other platforms along the trail, is enjoying emancipation from tyre-kicking youths after 20 years of disuse.

It’s idyllic, except that nobody warned me about the sexagenarians. Along the route there are signs cautioning trail-goers to look out for horses and driveways, but nothing about Lycra-sheathed 65-year-olds hell-bent on beating their PBs to arrive at a flat white and banana bread in the next town. They have no hesitation accessing top speed as they whizz by with maniacal, adrenaline-stretched smiles. Toddlers on training wheels be damned; these grey go-mads have been heeding advice for six decades and now no one is going to tell them they shouldn’t pump it to level five.

I tut-tut their speed as I pedal leisurely at level three with all the urgency, and much of the mood, of Julie Andrews belting out The Hills Are Alive. But maybe I’m a little jealous of their cavalier attitude to speed and of their top-tier health cover. They are undoubtedly living their best lives. So is everyone I pass along the way – there are plenty of one-handed salutations.

The development of the trail

The first section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail opened in the Tweed Shire in 2023 and connects Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek, meandering through the bucolic landscape to pass the towns of Stokers Siding, Burringbar and Mooball. It slips through two tunnels (one festooned with glow worms), over 16 restored bridges and is flanked by rolling meadows populated with ambivalent bovine, rainforests and a tiny but ambient pine forest.

It’s just the beginning of what will ultimately be 132 kilometres of trail, unfurling through the Byron Shire, out to Eltham, Lismore and Bentley before terminating at Casino.

The Richmond Valley section that stretches for 13.4 kilometres between Bentley and Casino opened in March, and construction on the 31.8-kilometre Lismore section from Eltham to Bentley is underway. The Byron stretch, connecting Crabbes Creek to Eltham, will be the longest at 62.8 kilometres, and is currently going through the planning and approval stage.

Any shire would be certifiably nuts not to invest in their portion of the Rail Trail, given the enormous economic success it has had in Murwillumbah and the general ebullience of the towns through which it weaves. In its first year, the trail welcomed a huge 140,000-plus visitors, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Northern Rivers. It also made Conde Nast Traveler’s list of The 24 Best Places To Go In 2024, proving interest isn’t only local.

Where to stop along the way

Riverside Murwillumbah had been inching towards full bloom for a while. Already in possession of drawcards – such as its well-preserved Art Deco heritage, proliferation of artists and easy proximity to beaches and rainforested mountain ranges – it was on a slow burn from rural ambiguity to tourism hotspot. The Rail Trail has hastened that inevitability and while there’s ample room for growth, there’s a tangible excitement about the town as it’s on the cusp of reaching its potential.

Indeed, the heritage hamlet of Eltham has impatiently embellished its ramshackle former station with homemade signs pleading to connect it to the rest of the trail.

It makes perfect sense, as home to a tennis court, the saddest playground I ever did see, and the hip Eltham Hotel that draws all walks from Byron and beyond with its incredible food from chef Alanna Sapwell-Stone, stylish accommodation and excellent live music, Eltham would be a real highlight for cyclists. It deserves to be threaded onto the line.

A corridor that was, for two decades, mooched over by livestock, graffitied by bored teenagers and overgrown with pine trees, the repurposing is a boon for the region. And while there are some detractors, the cost of restoring and refurbishing the existing tracks to reinstate trains on this line rendered their return impossible, so creating something that would stimulate and showcase this adorable string of rural towns and bring in tourist dollars is a win-win for everyone. Except, maybe, trainspotters.

In some cases ‘town’ is a tad of an overstatement. Along the current trail, stunning Stokers Siding is really just a memorial hall and a cluster of paddocks, but here you can stop at Hosanna Farm, an agrarian utopia where a well-tended smoker pumps out deliciously fortifying meals in the form of brisket and burgers at the rustic cafe.

If you’re in no hurry, you can spend the night in a cute A-frame hut and settle around a campfire or sip sundowners by the dam before cycling onwards the next day.

Make sure you have a head lamp though, because what comes next is the Burringbar Range Tunnel. At 500 metres long, it’s dark enough to provide a snug roost for microbats and glow worms. And also dark enough for you to hurtle headfirst into a fellow rider or the tunnel wall if you’re not adequately illuminated. It has thrilling ghost ride vibes, but truly, the real threat remains those uncharacteristically daring retirees, who seem to relish passing at speed, tripping your nervous system into battle formation.

Back in daylight and a few klicks on you’ll arrive in Burringbar, a diminutive but gentrifying hinterland village, where riders can dismount for a coffee from the general store, peruse antiques at Heath’s Old Wares, and purchase a take-home tipple from the seemingly out-of-place Natural Wine Shop. Then it’s onwards to Mooball, where an unashamedly no-frills country pub (with a tennis court) and a motorcycle museum number among the highlights. Your final stop is Crabbes Creek, which mainly consists of a bottle shop masquerading as a general store. From here it’s time to pump up your tyres and turn back.

That is until the Byron Shire picks up the slack and unspools the trail down to Billinudgel and onto Mullumbimby. Both are set to lure riders southwards with the historic weatherboard Billinudgel Hotel (also with a tennis court, of course), and Mullum’s eclectic, mountain-backed township as charming as their Tweed counterparts.

And while Byron isn’t lacking the spotlight (the shire is so confident in its own popularity that it doesn’t even have a tourism board), it, too, has a collection of sweet, farther-flung villages that would lure multi-day cycling excursions and connect rural communities. There’s no refuting that The Tweed and Byron beaches remain the biggest drawcard, but the Rail Trail is such a complementary attraction to an active holiday here, it has the power to transform the whole region from a nice-to-visit to a must-visit. Just ask a 60-year-old, if you can slow them down, that is.

A traveller’s checklist

Getting there

Arrive in the Northern Rivers by road, rail or air. Fly into airports in Grafton, Lismore and Byron Bay. Or arrive via the North Coast train line.

Staying there

Blue Water Motel

A retro-revival surf motel, this coastal-chic stay is just a short walk from the beach at Kingscliff and a bit further to town, where you’ll find plenty of dining and shopping options, including the Kingscliff Hotel, which often has a rotation of noteworthy bands.

BASQ House

One of Byron’s newest boutique hotel offerings, this town-centre establishment lists a pool lined with day beds and adjacent lounge among its stylish amenities, as well as a library. Lekker bikes and foam surfboards can be taken out, too.

Eating there

Bistro Livi

Murwillumbah and The Tweed have more noteworthy restaurants than you might think. But Bistro Livi is the most unmissable.

Set on the corner of the M-Arts precinct, this sleek diner from former MoVida alumni has everything from the cocktails to the menu and hospitality in perfect working order.

Playing there

Hire an e-Bike

You can trail as you like, but an e-bike is a lot of fun. If it’s not busy, allow yourself to open up the range and feel the wind in your hair. Valley e-Bikes also offer Pedals and Picnics, where you can choose from grazing boxes and take-home picnic packs. Better By Bike – located at Murwillumbah station – has a shuttle service, should one direction be sufficient.

The Banya

If your muscles are feeling fatigued, book yourself a session at The Banya in Mullumbimby.

This soothing, green-and-white tiled bathhouse with steam room, sauna and four pools has a sleek Mediterranean vibe and is the best way to restore post-ride. Go deeper and add a massage.

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