Northern Rivers Rail Trail

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Trail Overview

You can tell a lot of thought was put behind the planning and construction of this rail trail (RT) because it’s impressive from the RT parking lot… yes, I said parking lot.

This shared path is made mostly of sealed road with compacted dirt sections, and stays pretty flat from our start to finish over 2 days.

Labelled the Tweed Section of the RT, this section officially finishes at Crabbes Creek (another 5.2kms from where we finished) and is always busy with runners, walkers, cyclists and their dogs. We saw lots of well-behaved dogs (the bike shop even had bike trailers for hire encouraging people to bring their kids and dogs).

Bikes

Riverside Touring 520

With Bob Ibex trailer

Yuba Spicy Curry

With front and rear crates

View Trip Gear

Dogs

Trail Tails

The RT experience starts the second you park your vehicle. Every RT we’ve cycled before this didn’t have a designated parking lot, so finding parking, knowing your vehicle is safe and unloading and gearing up the bikes and dogs was a breeze.

It starts at the state heritage listed Murwillumbah Railway Station equipped with a bike shop, toilets, first aid station, a cafe and multiple places and spaces to sit. A beautiful send-off and welcome-home station that can get busy with bikes, walkers, kids and dogs.

The trail begins with a stunning scenic ride out of Murwillumbah. This part of the trail gets super busy, so sticking to your left, calming excited dogs, and overtaking politeness goes a long way. Crowds start to thin out from here.

The RT has a few drinking stations with dog bowls available so we made sure we filled up when we came to one. The first drinking station is 2.2kms in at the Gallery Connection, the next 16.5kms away at Burringbar station, and if you’re continuing on, the last is 2.2kms along at Mooball Station. You can also detour to a cafe along the trail in between the drinking stations. You’ll find multiple signs along the RT advertising cafes and businesses off the trail. We took a short detour off the trail in Stokers Siding to fuel up the Hosanna Farmstay.

We stopped at a few seating areas for a rest and to let the dogs stretch their legs and have a drink. All dogs were kept on leashes. We never came across any off-leash dogs.

The trail was mostly shaded and a nice cruise passing through farm land and small villages. Some cows and horses come right up to the fences along the RT. Our dogs tend to leave them alone as we pass, but it’s still something we’re mindful of when passing through private farmlands.

We came across a few road crossings at Dunbible, Stokers Siding, Upper Burringbar and one other. Traffic is basically non-existent, but it’s still something to be aware of when crossing with kids and dogs.

The ride from Stokers Siding to the Burringar Tunnel is an unassuming gradient which you start to feel when carting 2 dogs. Reaching the Burringbar Tunnel became a refreshing section after the stretch. The Burringar Tunnel is the longest tunnel on the Casino to Murwillumbah line, approx. 524m in length, so you must have a bike light to enter.

Our route

We mapped our route, complete with dog-friendly accommodations, dog-friendly eateries, and places to stock up on provisions.

Trail Highlights

What we and the dogs loved along the trail. We may have spent a little TOO much time at these spots….

Honestly, the RT parking lot (not kidding)

Murwillumbah Station – The Platform Cafe, toilets, first aid station, Better By Bike shop, and a selection of chill out areas

The long stretch along the farm field near Murwillumbah Station

The trail through a farm valley before you reach Dunbible Station

Burringbar Tunnel – 524m long. The longest tunnel along the Casino to Murwillumbah line. A single-track concrete tunnel 7m high and 3.7m wide. Microbats and glow worms call it home. Maybe don’t open your mouth and look up.

Hosanna Farmstay – fantastic service, good coffee, iced drinks and delicious food

Accommodations

Dog-friendly accommodations we loved during our whole stay and exploration of the Northern Rivers!

55 Tweed Valley Way, Murwillumbah NSW 2484

Tweed River Motel

Family-run motel with a comfortable room
Offering dog-friendly rooms on the bottom floor with hard and tiled-flooring. The grassy banks of the Tweed River is at your door step making it an easy and scenic sniff-n’-pee break for the pooches.

25 Greenvale Court, Burringbar NSW 2483

Oasis at Burringbar

Private little Oasis
Booked via Booking.com. This place is conveniently located just off the RT. Spacious private home with tiled floors. The hosting family know what it’s like to have dogs in a home and prepped the place to accommodate them. It’s backyard is on dog-friendly public land with direct access to forest trails and lovely swimming holes for the dogs. It has a gated front yard with a shaded patio to store our bikes. The house is surrounded by beautiful tall bamboo giving it a private and tropical vibe.

PSA: This place has a coffee pod machine, soda stream and massage chair… ohhh yeah

64 Mt Warning Rd, Uki NSW 2484

Mavis Kitchen & Cabins

Can we live here please?
After finishing the RT we drove 13 min south-west to Uki. The Secret Cabin was the only cabin available at the time and we LOVED every moment here. Correctly named, it feels like a secret getaway hidden in the forest. A very spacious cabin with natural light and wooden floors equipped with Starlink. The dogs could be off-leash to wander (within sight) outside the cabin with access to a Secret Hill from the patio. A beautiful spot with a view of Mt Warning.

2-6 Old Pacific Hwy, Brunswick Heads NSW 2483

The Brunswick

Amazing and accommodating staff. Insta gorgeous room and place.
It doesn’t get more dog-friendly than this. They provided three dog beds fit for each of their sizes (small, medium and large), 3 dog blankets and 4 bowls. We were blown away by how accommodating they were with the dogs. We were also blown away by how gorgeous the room looked: Holiday-esk chic. The Pool Rooms are pup friendly. They have concrete flooring and are located on the bottom level with a 2-door access – carpark and poolside – poolside gives your pooch access to do their business on the grassy area next to the pool.