Discovery Trail Oak Track Circuit Hike (14.5km)

The Discovery Trail Oak Track Circuit is a slightly shorter version of the Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail. This circuit hike commences at the Mississippi Quarry and follows the route of a tramway constructed in the early 1900s to move pink granite from a quarry on Mississippi Creek to the North Arm of the Gippsland Lakes. Hear bellbirds calling and see native wildflowers blooming in spring as you follow a lovely bush trail along the Mississippi Creek past remains of old cuttings to the Mississippi Quarry. This alternative to the Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail traverses a section of the of tramway, bush tracks and gravel roads.

The Mississippi Quarry was opened in 1904 to provide rock to reinforce the man-made entrance to the Gippsland Lakes. Two interpretive signs at the quarry site provide details on how the granite was taken from the quarry and then shipped to the entrance. A tram line was built to transport the rock 13km from the quarry site along Mississippi Creek to barges at the head of the North Arm inlet. The barges then took the rock a further 6km to the entrance site. Once the entrance was completed, granite was later taken to Melbourne for other building purposes. The quarry ceased production in the 1940s.