Lake Dunstan Trail
55 km beside Lake Dunstan, cut through the Cromwell Gorge on cliffside boardwalks and schist tunnels. New Zealand's newest Great Ride, running from the historic streets of Cromwell straight into the heart of Central Otago — and popular enough with e-bikes that you'll rarely ride it alone.
55km
Cromwell to Clyde
5-7
Hours, typical ride time
Grade 2-3
Easy to intermediate
What you are signing up for
The 55 km Lake Dunstan Trail, a 2021 New Zealand Great Ride, runs between Cromwell and Clyde, featuring an 86-metre suspension bridge, cantilevered boardwalks, and tunnels. Rated Grade 3, the trail is popular with e-bikes, but remote, requiring riders to bring their own food and water. A scenic boat transfer is available for one-way journeys, and the trail ends in Clyde.
Only riding one way?
A boat transfer runs the length of the lake, so you can ride out and return by water instead of doubling back on the bike.
Riding an e-bike?
The trail is popular with e-bikes. The extra assist takes the sting out of the Cairnmuir climb, the one properly steep stretch.
A boat transfer runs the length of the lake, so you can ride out and return by water instead of doubling back on the bike.
Riding an e-bike?
The trail is popular with e-bikes. The extra assist takes the sting out of the Cairnmuir climb, the one properly steep stretch.
Nine reasons you'll keep stopping.
From cliff-hung boardwalks to lakeside cafes, these are the trailside highlights that make you hit the brakes.
A working museum of homegrown ingenuity where century-old belts, cogs, and machinery still turn, clank, and impress.
Cantilevered boardwalks bolted straight onto the cliff face, engineered where there was no room for a path.
Tunnels cut through solid schist, cool and quiet after the exposed cliff sections before them.
Bannockburn’s vineyards, with cellar doors close enough to the trail to justify a long lunch.
The floating cafe moored on Lake Dunstan, a genuine reason to stop mid-ride for coffee.
Cromwell’s heritage precinct, its original stone buildings still standing at the trail’s start.
The climb past Cairnmuir, short and steep, the reason this trail earns its Grade 3 rating.
Wide views across Lake Dunstan itself, formed when the Clyde Dam was built.
A direct link into the Otago Central Rail Trail at Clyde, for anyone not ready to stop riding.
Four stages, one day.
Most riders do the full 55 km in a single day. It breaks naturally into four stages, each with its own character.
Stage 1: Cromwell to Bannockburn Bridge
≈ 10km, lake edge, easy
Flat riding along the Lake Dunstan shoreline out of Cromwell, past the historic Bannockburn Bridge and into vineyard country.
Stage 2: Bannockburn to Cairnmuir Gully
≈ 8km, vineyards to gorge
Bannockburn's wineries give way to the start of the Cromwell Gorge, with the floating cafe a good excuse to stop before the terrain changes.
Stage 3: Cairnmuir Gully to the tunnels
≈ 14km, the technical stretch
The suspension bridge, the boardwalks bolted to the cliff, and the climb past Cairnmuir. This is where the trail earns its Grade 3 rating.
Stage 4: Tunnels to Clyde
≈ 10km, valley finish
Through the schist tunnels and down into the Clyde Dam, finishing in Clyde's historic main street. Recovery starts here.
Distances are approximate and mark natural stopping points, not fixed stages. Shuttle operators can drop you at Cromwell or collect you at Clyde if you'd rather ride one direction.
Post-ride recovery done right
No cramped sheds, no basic setups. Located minutes outside Clyde near Alexandra, The Mad Hacienda delivers premium Lake Dunstan Trail accommodation built specifically for trail recovery.
