Everyone can share their Brisbane Valley Rail Trail experiences. Share your thoughts with other trailgoers.

Toogoolawah to Fernvale - a tough ride.
by Lynette Wallis.

My son and four other boy scouts have just ridden from Toogoolawah to Fernvale on the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail. The plan was to start at Toogoolawah, ride to Esk and spend the night in tents at Esk, and continue on to Fernvale the next day. However, the track was extremely rough and blocked by numerous locked gates, so progress was painstakingly slow. The track appears to be geared to horse riding only. The track surface is mostly left over ballast from the railway track and is consequently made up of fist sized stones - making it extremely rough to ride on. The numerous gates are made for horses to step over and not for bicycles. The boys had to lift their heavily laden bikes over these "horse" gates more than a dozen times. Needless to say the trip was very slow and rough.

The only section of the track that could be recommended for bike use is the Lowood to Fernvale section. This is the only section of the 67km trip the boys took that did not have "horse" gates and had a reasonably smooth surface. While the boys enjoyed the scenery and the numerous pretty, flowing creeks, the whole experience was spoiled by the gates and rough surface. We would not recommend any section of the Toogoolawah to Fernvale Rail Trail for bicycles except the 8km between Lowood and Fernvale.

Horse ride
by Sharon Flynn.

The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail initiative held over 9 days in April was a fantastic experience. Thanks to Athra and all those involved in developing the trail. Can't wait for next year.

Cominya to Esk - logs!
by Michael Freemanle.

Rode this about a month ago before going to NZ to ride the Central Otago Rail Trail. Not sure what the thinking is behind the design of the entrances with two logs across the trail have allow horses to move unimpeded while cyclists have to dismount and fill their bicycles over the obstacles (logs). Not sure if the locals communities have any idea of the potential for passing trade that this trail will have to offer - needs to be contiguous before people will be looking for overnight accommodation - I can't wait until access to available for the entire length of trail.

Moore to Blackbutt and return - I had a great time!
by Geoff Perkins.

I have just ridden the Moore to Blackbutt section of the Brisbane Valley rail trail on 31 December and thought I would share my experiences, and a few random thoughts, with other trail users.

Firstly let me say it was a great experience and I will certainly be doing this section of the trail again when I get another opportunity. I left Moore under a cloudy sky at about 9:00AM and reached Linville about 9:30 after having a little trouble locating the trailhead at Moore. I did not check the actual location of the trailhead before leaving home and wrongly assumed it would start at the location of the railway station, but I eventually saw a sign pointing to the trail and I was on my way. After passing through a heavy shower I collected a key at Linville from a very friendly Ron at the store and headed off up the trail to Blackbutt.

The trail is easy to follow with a good surface for my standard mountain bike and I had no trouble reaching my destination about 2 hours later in the middle of another heavy shower. The distance markers on the trail were helpful and the new toilet about halfway up would have been a welcome relief for those needing it. After an early lunch at Blackbutt and a chat with the ladies in the information centre I left on the dot at midday, and was rained on twice again before arriving back at Linville at 1:30 (a little faster going back down the hill!) for a welcome bottle of soft drink and another (longer) chat with Ron. I eventually arrived back at Moore at around 2:15.

Overall my rail trail experience was really good and I look forward to doing more of them in the future.