Heathcote State Forests Loop

Normally better known for the O’Keefe Rail Trail, Heathcote also boasts a large area of five star gravel roads through a network of national parks and state forests wedged between Rushworth, Nagambie & the Puckapunyal Military Base.

We took a bit of a gamble hoping to find some smooth gravel and to say we were truly blessed would be an understatement. The roads & the scenery were absolutely superb!

With no punchy climbs and nothing technical, the route would suit beginners and intermediates alike.

If you were looking for something a little more challenging, you can extend the route out to 100km with this extended loop into Rushworth (hosted on RWGPS) or you can even push it out to 150km through Rushworth and then Nagambie with this loop (hosted on RWGPS). I haven’t scouted the roads on these longer routes so I don’t like posting them on Bikeroutes until I have, however the roads around here look like they are a fairly safe bet. Google street view also seems to have quite a bit of imagery available if you wanted to triple check.