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.
- Gravel Path
- Well Marked Trail
- Mountain Bike Trail
- Trail Running
- Rail Trail
- Dog Friendly
- Rivers
- Goldfields & Mining
- Heritage
- Untreated Water
No Records Found
Sorry, no records were found. Please adjust your search criteria and try again.
Maps failed to load
Sorry, unable to load the Maps API.
- 2WD Access
- Gravel Road
- Winding Road
- Vehicle Ford
- Small Car Park
- Untreated Water
The Colquhoun State Forest is located in East Gippsland between the towns of Bruthen, Swan Reach, Lakes Entrance and Nowa Nowa. Roads branching off the Princes Highway and the Bruthen Nowa Nowa Road are the main routes used by visitors to access the Forest.
Rich in history the Colquhoun State Forest offers many wonderful attractions for visitors to the area, including car touring, bush walking, fishing and swimming, and cycling the East Gippsland Rail Trail and Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail. Rich history is prominent within the Colquhoun Forest. A tramway was constructed in the early 1900s and used until the mid-1930s to move granite from the Mississippi Creek quarry to Lakes Entrance. The granite was used to build a new permanent entrance to the Gippsland Lakes, as the original timber pylons had been severely damaged by the marine toredo worm. Work to re-open the route as a shared use trail commenced in 2000, as part of an integrated statewide program by the then Department of Natural Resources & Environment to re-open selected disused rail corridors to public access. Work was completed in 2003, and included surfacing the path with crushed granite to provide a firm cycling surface, for what is now the Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail.
