Kinglake & Toolangi National Park Loop

I pinched this route from a group ride that Curve Cycling hosted the other week and that I happened to stumble across on social media.
Sarah does a much better write up than me and you can have a read here.

I’m seriously happy that I gave this one a crack as it’s one of the better gravel routes I’ve ever done.
All sections are ridable on my bike with 48mm gravel kings although I did walk some of the pinchier bits. Anything less than 48mm tyres and you might find yourself walking a fair bit more as there are some pretty rocky and loose gravel sections.

Kicking off in St Andrews (but too early for a coffee, thanks daylight savings) smooth roads into a smooth and at times pinchy climb up Bowden Spur (which is a pretty iconic Melbourne gravel climb) into Kinglake central which is yet another way up Kinglake mountain that I had no idea about.
The route then cuts across Kinglake and down Captains Creek Rd where things do get a tad more technical (and puddly) before crossing The Melba Hwy and entering Toolangi National Park via Marginal Rd.
Marginal Rd is a smooth climb up before hitting some rocky and pinchy sections before a reasonably comfortable descent down Spraggs Rd / Old Toolangi – Dixons Creek rd still in the beautiful Toolangi National Park.
Once at the bottom, I found myself back on The Melba Hwy to once again cut across, this time back into Kinglake National Park.

I hadn’t studied the route and to my surprise, I happened across Dixons Creek Cafe! Considering I hadn’t brought any snacks, I was absolutely starving and my eyes lit up with glee.
Despite many signs pointing to the cafe being open, it was not and my eye’s lit with glee turned to eyes of despair.
It turns out I was a little unlucky today, upon reading their Facebook page, their water pump was malfunctioning and this was a one off.

Dixons Creek Cafe is now permanently closed!

Determined to fill my belly, I knew that I had a couple of short pinchy climbs left before arriving back to St Andrews.
I carried on up Hunt Lane and not before long, I found myself off the bike and hike-a-biking up a rather short section where the gradient maxed out at 24%.
Not too long after that, the climb up Old Kinglake Rd began, also featuring pinchy bits and once you’ve reached Heidelberg-Kinglake Rd, don’t get too excited as you are to take a hard left onto Mt Everard Track featuring yet again more and more pinchy bits.
The pinchy bits continue on and the last 15km’s or so are pretty slow, but Mt Everard Track and what’s beyond feature some pretty amazing scenery through Kinglake National Park and aren’t to be missed in favour of the quicker asphalt descent down Heidelberg – Kinglake Rd.

Arriving into St Andrews, I was somewhat hungry and dishevelled, however, the bakery was still happy to receive me and I in-turn was happy to receive a large coffee and a couple of what are in my opinion, possible the best home-made sausage rolls in all of Melbourne.

Terms of use: Cycle this route at your own risk. Check local weather, conditions and closures before departure. Adhere to land use rules, carry provisions, safety gear and respect the trail. This information is intended to be used as a planning resource; accuracy is not guaranteed. BIKEROUTES.com.au are not liable for any incidents during or following this route.