The Northern Rivers Rail Trail
Activities:
Location:
Any of the old train stations are generally good places to commence your ride - refer to our Adventure Map for some of these locations.
Description:
Looking for an off-road yet easy bike ride within a 30-minute drive of Gold Coast Airport? The Northern Rivers Rail Trail (NRRT) isn’t just a good option - it’s your best one.
The NRRT is a unique trail spanning multiple local council areas, meaning that its development has been (and remains) staggered depending on when each of the councils have approved its build, acquired the necessary funding, and then actually built the bloody thing. As a result, the open sections don’t yet connect, but what’s available is already worth the ride.
Where Can You Ride? (As of April 2025)
Currently, two main sections of the NRRT are open, totalling just under 54km - though they’re at opposite ends of the planned full route:
Tweed Shire Council Section (24km one-way): Runs from Murwillumbah (northern terminus) to just beyond Crabbes Creek at the Tweed Shire boundary.
Richmond Valley & Lismore City Council Section (not quite 30km one-way): Runs from Lismore to Casino at the southernmost end of the NRRT.
For details on the future of the NRRT, scroll to the bottom of this page.
The Tweed Section (24km)
Being from the northern Tweed Shire I have ridden this section a heap, and I usually start at Murwillumbah Station. There’s parking at the station itself, plus another carpark across the road by the river.
Commencing from the station, you have 2kms of sealed trail before it turns to gravel and (in my opinion) the real fun begins. The Tweed Section of trail is for the most part gravel, however there are sections of sealed trail as you pass through townships (e.g. Stokers Siding) or where the trail is more heavily used (i.e. notable sealed stretch from Burringbar through to Mooball).
The trail is best suited to gravel or hybrid style bikes, although I’ve seen plenty of people on 25mm road bike tyres doing just fine - it’s just not the way I like to do it. In general, most bikes will survive the trail OK - beach cruisers included if the tires are wide enough.
Kids with moderate bike riding ability should have no trouble riding the trail either, as the gravel surface is generally good and it’s mostly flat. The exceptions are for the approaches to the Burringbar Range Tunnel from either side, which you encounter on the stretch between Stokers Siding and Burringbar. These are sustained uphill approaches and, although never super steep, the smaller wheels and often single speed on kid’s bikes will likely see them struggle. The trail isn’t really suitable for kids on scooters either - except for the previously mentioned sealed sections.
Highlights of the Tweed Section:
For families, I’d recommend a ride from Murwillumbah down to Hosanna Farmstay, just beyond Stokers Siding. It’s 9km one way, a manageable distance for younger riders when there’s the promise of an ice cream and some farm animals to fuel the return ride.
For those that aren’t up for the full 48km return trip, I often ride the shorter 38km return trip from Murwillumbah to Burringbar - with a stop for a coffee (and often a piece of slice) at The Barn in Burringbar, which is directly opposite the trail.
If horse riding is your thing, there is a short length of the trail near Burringbar on which horses can be ridden: more details here.
If you’re an art lover, at the end of the 2km sealed section coming from Murwillumbah, there is direct access up to the Tweed Regional Gallery. This does involve leaving the bike trail-side and hiking up a not-insignificant set of stairs up to the Gallery. But it’s a hidden jewel for art enthusiasts.
If you’re coming from the south, starting at Mooball is a good bet. I may have had a burger and beer at the Mooball pub one* time during a ride, and can recommend it. (*may or may not have been only one time)
For my birder mates, it might be surprising to learn that there are always birds in the trees and bushland adjacent to this section of the trail. I hear eastern whipbirds almost every ride (although I’m yet to sight them), and there are fairy-wrens, fantails, magpies, and numerous other avian friends making appearances on the regular.
Bike Hire
If you don’t have your own bike, there are plenty of hire options literally at the trail. At Murwillumbah Station there are two hire businesses (Better by Bike and Freedom Machine), and at Mooball there is the long-standing Northern Rivers Bike Hire. All usually have a range of traditional and e-bikes, as well as carrier and trailer add-ons.
The Lismore to Casino Section (30ish km)
Being more recently opened and further away from me, I’ve only ridden the length of this section once since it was opened in full in December 2024. I parked easily enough at the Lismore Station trail head, and was soon on my way.
My initial feelings on this section are very positive. Perhaps with a somewhat biased view I feel that the Tweed Section is more scenic (more tree-lined, more variety in terrain) than this section, but that’s not to downplay the merits of this section of the trail either. It traverses lots of grazing type land, and gives a fantastic dose of open space - and if rolling, wide open views are your thing, you may even enjoy this section more than what the Tweed offers. It was also less busy than it’s northern counterpart.
I would hazard a guess that this section is even flatter than the Tweed Section, with one significant exception: there is a trail diversion away from the original rail corridor to avoid disturbing a bat colony. The result is a particularly steep climb (from either direction) over the old Naughtons Gap Tunnel which requires a good range of gears and significant huffing and puffing. There is at least a place to rest at the top.
This section also better caters to horse riders.
Without pointing out specific highlights, I can say that I will definitely head back down to Lismore to ride this section again. And again.
Further Info on The Trail
More detailed information on each section of the NRRT can be found at the official trail website here.
Final Thoughts
The Northern Rivers Rail Trail is already a must-ride destination, even before the full 130+km route is complete. Whether you’re after a scenic gravel ride, a family-friendly day out, or a peaceful pedal through open countryside, it has something for everyone.
Further Reading RE. the Future NRRT Roadmap:
If you have some interest in when the trail will be fully complete, read on. If not - thanks for making it this far!
The roadmap for development of the remainder of the trail is - as government things often are - reliant on funding and decision makers pulling their fingers out:
Lismore City Council seem committed to the remaining 21-ish km in their region, which will connect Lismore station out to the north and east to Booyung at the edge of their council boundary. This section is seeking funding.
Unfortunately Byron Shire Council have been stuck in wet sand for longer than the other councils and have yet to approve any rail trail development, let alone commenced design or construction.
They have committed to “planning and seeking approvals” for connecting the town of Mullumbimby north through to Crabbes Creek, which would at the least add on 13-ish kms to the end of the Tweed section. It’s not much, but it’s a start.
There’s also some discussion of planning and approval processes being underway for the section of trail from the old Byron Bay Station through Bangalow to Booyung which, once the Lismore section through to Booyung is completed from the other direction, would see the southern end of the rail trail extend all the way from Casino to Byron Bay. This would be a great development.
The elephant in the room however is Byron Shire Council’s reluctance (perhaps persistence, depending on your viewpoint) to commit in any meaningful way to connecting Mullumbimby through to the old Byron Bay Station - which is the section needed to connect up the northern and southern ends of the trail, and to bring the full 130+km Northern Rivers Rail Trail project to fruition.
There seems to be a minority within the Byron Shire (both community and Council) fixated on reactivating the rail corridor between Mullumbimby and Byron Bay, which could possibly lead to a rail-side trail (i.e. a rail adjacent trail, not a standalone rail trail). There’s some merit to the reasoning behind why this would be an attractive option, however the current state of the existing rail infrastructure and the limitations around this just don’t stack up in my view.
In my opinion the likely outcome is that the above will lead to years of delay with no real action until the decision is finally made that the rail trail be approved mostly as first envisaged (perhaps with some minor adjustments to appease the naysayers). Call me a pessimist, call me a realist, call me whatever - I just want to see this thing linked up!
