Bicentennial National Trail

Location

About This Trail

Australia's longest marked multi-use trail at 5,330km, running the Great Dividing Range from Cooktown QLD to Healesville VIC for horse riders, hikers and cyclists. The Bicentennial National Trail (BNT) is the longest marked multi-use trail in the world, stretching approximately 5,330 kilometres along the rugged spine of the Great Dividing Range from Cooktown in Far North Queensland to Healesville on the outskirts of Melbourne, Victoria. Conceived in the 1970s by long-distance horseman R.M. Williams, Dan Seymour and a small group of bushmen who wanted to preserve the old stock routes, coach roads and brumby tracks of eastern Australia, the trail was officially opened in 1988 as a project of the Australian Bicentenary. It traverses four states and territories - Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria - passing through 18 national parks and dozens of state forests on its journey south. The BNT is an expedition-level undertaking. Most through-travellers take between 8 and 12 months to complete it on horseback (the original intended use), while self-supported hikers typically need a similar window and cyclists slightly less. The terrain is overwhelmingly remote and unsealed: old logging roads, fire trails, stock routes, single-track brumby paths, river crossings and occasional sealed-road connectors through small towns. Surfaces range from hard-packed dirt and gravel to deep sand, rocky scree, boggy alpine flats and steep eroded descents. There is no continuous formal infrastructure - no trailhead amenities at most points, no marked campgrounds, and only sporadic water. The trail is described in 12 official guidebooks published by the National Trail organisation, each covering a section of roughly 350 to 550 kilometres. Highlights along the route are extraordinary in their variety. Northern sections wind through tropical Cape York hinterland and the Atherton Tablelands, then the cattle country of the Burdekin and the granite belt around Stanthorpe. The trail crosses into New South Wales through the New England Tablelands and the Barrington Tops, skirts the upper Hunter, and climbs into the Blue Mountains and Kanangra-Boyd wilderness. The middle sections traverse the Snowy Mountains and Kosciuszko National Park - the highest and most exposed terrain on the trail - before dropping through the Victorian High Country, the Alpine National Park and finally the Yarra Ranges to Healesville. Brumby herds, wedge-tailed eagles, lyrebirds, dingoes and high-country snowgums are common encounters. The BNT is squarely aimed at experienced, self-sufficient bush travellers. It is not a graded recreational walking track and there are no day-use facilities at most access points. Travellers must carry topographic maps and the official guidebooks, plan water resupply carefully (some dry stretches exceed 60km), be prepared for snow and sub-zero temperatures in the alpine sections from May to October, and coordinate food drops or town resupplies every 5 to 10 days. Horse travellers must additionally manage feed, agistment, farrier access and weed-hygiene protocols at park boundaries. Permitted uses are horse riding, walking and mountain biking; motorised use is prohibited on most sections. Best travel windows are dictated by latitude: the northern Queensland sections are best in the dry season (April to October), while the alpine middle sections are only safely passable from late November to April. Through-travellers therefore typically start in north Queensland in autumn and chase the seasons south, reaching the Victorian Alps in summer. The trail is maintained by the volunteer-run National Trail organisation (nationaltrail.com.au), which sells the 12 guidebooks, coordinates trail markers, liaises with land managers and supports a network of regional 'trail angels' who provide paddocks, water and local advice. Anyone planning a through-attempt is expected to register with the organisation, contribute to track maintenance reports, and respect the leave-no-trace ethic that has kept the BNT open across hundreds of separate land tenures for nearly four decades.

Highlights

Facilities