Shamus Liptrot Rail Trail

The Shamus Liptrot Rail Trail is an easy 11 km cycling and walking trail between Balaklava and Halbury on South Australia’s Adelaide Plains, around 100 km north of Adelaide. Following a disused railway corridor through open farming country and established native vegetation, the trail has a generally fine-gravel surface and very gentle gradient, making it well suited to gravel bikes, mountain bikes, hybrids, touring bikes and families. The trail was created in memory of Shamus Liptrot, a talented local junior cyclist from Halbury who died in 2011, several years after suffering serious injuries in a cycling accident. A memorial to Shamus can be found near the junction of the trail and Bridge Road, around 1 km from Balaklava. The former railway line itself dates back to 1876, with the Balaklava–Blyth line operating until its closure in 1988. Starting in Balaklava, riders can access the trail near War Memorial Drive and Railway Terrace before heading east. Early in the ride, the route crosses the Wakefield River via Dunn’s Bridge, an impressive single-span bowstring-arch bridge built in 1880 and heritage listed in 1995. Farther along, the trail passes through a well-vegetated railway corridor that provides welcome shade across what is otherwise largely open agricultural country. Around 7 km from Balaklava, riders can make a short detour to Devil’s Garden, a small area of mallee-box woodland with links to the region’s early transport history. Interpretive information tells the story of the sandhills, flooding, bullock teams and old corduroy roads that existed before the railway transformed transport across the Wakefield Plains. The trail finishes at Halbury, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the ride. A signed back-road cycling route continues across the range towards Leasingham, where riders can connect with the Riesling and Rattler Trails. In the opposite direction, the Shamus Liptrot Trail connects at Balaklava with the Copper Rail Trail towards Port Wakefield, creating the basis for a much longer gravel or bikepacking journey between the Clare Valley and Gulf St Vincent. RTS Tip: For an easy outing, ride Balaklava to Halbury and back for around 22 km. There’s a very gentle climb heading towards Halbury, which means the return to Balaklava is generally the easier direction. Stop at Dunn’s Bridge and Devil’s Garden along the way, and take care at the small creek bridge east of Balaklava — the crossing is narrow with an uneven surface and riders are advised to dismount. For a bigger adventure, continue from Halbury towards Leasingham and the Riesling Trail, or head west from Balaklava along the Copper Rail Trail.