The 55-kilometre-long Lake Dunstan Cycle Trail runs through the Kawarau and Clutha River gorges between Cromwell and Clyde in Central Otago. It’s a grade 2-3 (easy – intermediate) trail which is open all year-round.
I booked bike hire and shuttle transfers for my partner and I through She Bikes He Bikes (who I’d previously booked the Otago Central Rail Trail with). We stayed at 2 Oaks Cottage in Clyde which was clean and spacious and within walking distance of Clyde’s restaurants, cafes and shops as well as the old Clyde railway station where She Bikes He Bikes is based.
Our shuttle left She Bikes He Bikes for our Cromwell starting point at around 9:30am and our driver kindly stopped at the Clyde Dam look out on the way.
Biking the Lake Dunstan Cycle Trail
Starting from Butcher Drive in the Cromwell Heritage Precinct and heading along the Kawarau arm of Lake Dunstan, in the early stages of our ride there were quite a few dog walkers on the trail, often with ear buds in and not keeping an eye out for cyclists.
With views across the lake to the Bannockburn vineyards, we crossed Bannockburn Bridge to loop back along the opposite side and within 45 minutes of starting we found ourselves at Carrick Winery which was so scenic we had to stop.
The winery is the last point at which She Bikes He Bikes could have picked us up as the 25km between Cornish Point and the Clyde Dam are remote and have no access to the main road. We never ran out of phone signal using the Spark network though.
Just before the 20km trail marker in the Cromwell Gorge is Coffee and Burger Afloat where my vege burger and coffee were much needed before the Cairnmuir Ladder – the first big hill.
It was a twisting ascent rather than straight up and following the instructions of our shuttle driver to set the ebike assistance to high and the gears down low we powered up the hill.
The Grade 3 parts of the track are steep and narrow with blind corners and drop-offs on the water side which had railings on the steeper bits.
With the height came the best views of Lake Dunstan. As the trail runs in both directions, occasionally we met a cyclist coming the other way which could be a bit dicey where the track was narrow, but most people seemed to be cycling in the Cromwell to Clyde direction like us.
The 88.5 metre Hugo suspension bridge over Specularite Creek is the most impressive viaduct of the day.
We stopped for a break and a stretch near the Dunstan Arm Rowing club before the final 3.5 kilometres where we passed the other side of the Clyde Dam and crossed the Clyde Bridge to find ourselves back in the Clyde Heritage Precinct.
Who should ride the Lake Dunstan Cycle Trail
As there are steep and narrow (1.5m) sections, the Lake Dunstan Cycle Trail is best for intermediate riders on mountain bikes or e-bikes. It can be started at Bannockburn Bridge or Smiths Way rather than the Cromwell Heritage Precinct if you’re after a shorter distance.
To ride the trail safely and enjoy it you need to be generally fit as well as confident with changing gears and braking on a gravel path. Many parts of the trail featured boardwalks fixed to the cliffs which are not fenced along the water side and had considerable drops, so if you’ve not ridden a bike in years it is probably not the trail for you.
Two trails down and I hope to go back to Central Otago to do the Clutha Gold and Roxburgh Gorge Trails.
