Strahan to Zeehan Road (former rail alignment)

IMPORTANT: despite being listed by RTA and commonly referred to as a rail trail, this is a ROAD ROUTE, not an off-road trail. RTA's own page for this entry is literally titled 'Strahan to Zeehan Road.' The main road between the two towns follows the former Strahan-Zeehan Railway (Government Railway, opened 1892, closed 1960) for most of its length, and its level gradients are typical of an old railway formation, but riders share this road with normal traffic, including logging trucks. The only section that genuinely leaves the road and follows the old railway easement is an unsignposted 5km 4WD track, 15km south of Zeehan near the Badger River - this stops abruptly at a former bridge site over a ravine and does not reconnect to a rideable path on the other side. Strahan is a bustling tourist town on Macquarie Harbour (West Coast Wilderness Railway terminus, Gordon River cruises). Zeehan is an historic silver-mining town, once Tasmania's third-largest, now home to the West Coast Heritage Centre and Pioneer/Railway museums.

The road route generally follows the old railway alignment, with a first section along Ocean Beach before turning inland. 15km south of Zeehan, an unsignposted 4WD track leaves the road to the west, close to the Badger River, and follows the old railway easement for 5km while the road takes to higher ground - this track stops abruptly at a steep ravine where a railway bridge once stood, and is not a through-route. Watch for logging trucks along the road. Mostly flat, easy gradients typical of an old rail formation, but this is genuinely a road ride, not a car-free trail experience.