Otago Central Rail Trail
152km of retired railway, gold-rush ghost towns and the biggest skies in Central Otago. From historic tunnels to welcoming trailside towns, discover the raw beauty and quiet magic of New Zealand's original Great Ride.
152km
Middlemarch → Clyde
4–5
Days, recommended pace
Grade 2
Easy to intermediate
12
Trailside towns & stops
What you're actually signing up for
The Otago Central Rail Trail follows a decommissioned railway corridor between Middlemarch and Clyde. It built its reputation on historic timber viaducts, schist tunnels, and welcoming trailside towns famed for generous hospitality. Visitors come for the cycling. They leave raving about the towns.
The flat to rolling terrain winds through farmland and river valleys, making it ideal for casual riders on rental bikes and seasoned cyclists completing New Zealand's Great Rides. Cycle the full 152km route in sequence or ride convenient out-and-back stages. However you choose to explore, our location just minutes outside Clyde provides an ideal base near the finish line.
Reasons you'll keep stopping
Central Otago provides the backdrop, but these legendary landmarks, historic pubs, and hidden gems are the real reasons to pause your ride and take it all in.
Room Layout
A working museum of homegrown ingenuity where century-old belts, cogs, and machinery still turn, clank, and impress.
Wedderburn
Preserved less for modern tourism and more because nobody ever bothered to change it, offering an authentic step back in time.
Poolburn Gorge
Where the trail runs alongside the river, delivering what is easily the most scenic and dramatic stretch of the entire journey.
The Wedderburn Goods Shed
The legendary shed immortalized in Grahame Sydney’s famous painting, still standing proudly and photographed by travelers every day.
Historic Pubs
Historic watering holes tucked into almost every settlement, outdating the original railway line itself.
Rock Tunnels
Hand-carved directly through solid rock, standing as a striking physical testament to the grit required to construct this line.
Gold Rush Relics
Sunken earth, weathered stone ruins, and forgotten iron relics resting quietly in open paddocks.
Big Skies
The vast, layered landscapes and endless horizons that originally defined the region’s legendary character.
Taieri Gorge Railway
An exceptional alternative end to your journey, swapping the bike saddle for a scenic rail carriage to finish the trip in classic comfort.
The best way to plan your ride
A comfortable four-day version, riding Middlemarch to Clyde. Add a rest day anywhere the pub looks too good to leave.
Day 1: Middlemarch to Ranfurly
≈ 48km · easy warm-up
A gentle start along the Taieri, past Hyde and Waipiata, finishing on Ranfurly's Art Deco main street. Legs still fresh, so it's the day to stop for photos.
Day 2: Ranfurly to Oturehua
≈ 40km · rolling farmland
Through Waipiata and Wedderburn — the shed, the sheep, the sense that nothing here is in a hurry. Oturehua's pub has earned its reputation; don't skip it.
Day 3: Oturehua to Omakau
≈ 35km · the scenic stretch
The Poolburn Gorge viaducts and tunnels — the trail's signature stretch, and the reason half the photos of this ride look the way they do.
Day 4: Omakau to Clyde
≈ 40km · valley finish
Down through the Manuherikia Valley, past Chatto Creek and into Alexandra, then the final stretch to Clyde. This is where the trail ends and the recovering starts.
Distances are approximate and easily split further if you'd rather ride shorter days — the towns along the way make good excuses to stop early.
Enjoy the ride. We've got the rest covered.
Once the riding is done, we take over. Located just minutes outside Clyde and right on the doorstep of Alexandra, The Mad Hacienda is one of the most practical options for accommodation near the Otago Rail Trail, whichever direction you rode it from.
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