Copper Trail (Balaklava to Port Wakefield)

Follows the route bullock teams once used to haul copper ore from the Burra mines to the port at Port Wakefield - later replaced by a horse tramway (1869) and then a steam railway (closed 1984). IMPORTANT for trip planning: this is a genuinely rougher, more adventurous ride than most trails in this project - RTA describes it as 'a bush track rail trail... best suited to mountain bikes,' with surface varying from rubble/gravel to formed natural earth. Not the trail to suggest for a family day out on hybrids; a good one for riders wanting more of a challenge. Connects at Balaklava with the Shamus Liptrot Rail Trail (a separate 11km trail continuing on to Halbury) and, via a signed back-road route, eventually the Riesling Trail. At the Port Wakefield end, recent highway duplication works have disrupted the original town-centre start - current advice is to begin/end on Balaklava Rd just east of the golf course rather than in the town centre itself, so allow a little extra distance if starting from Port Wakefield's shops.

Balaklava to approx. 6km out: leaves Balaklava (good parking on Edith Tce, near shops) heading toward Port Wakefield through flat, open grain country, rail reserve replanted with indigenous vegetation providing some shelter from the elements. Around 6km from the Port Wakefield end, the trail passes a dense planting of Century plants (Agave americana). Approaching Port Wakefield: current recommended start/end point is on Balaklava Rd just east of the Port Wakefield Golf Course rather than the town centre, due to ongoing highway duplication works - a concrete shared path built as part of that project gets most but not all of the way into town.