Lake Dunstan Trail Grand Opening

The Lake Dunstan Trail will be officially opened to the public on Saturday, 8 May 2021. This long-anticipated event will commence with a ribbon-cutting in Clyde followed by community celebrations in Cromwell.

“The trail takes you through amazing scenery (which would otherwise be inaccessible),  past some fascinating historic sites and onto wonderfully engineered structures,” says Stephen Jeffery, Chair of the Central Otago Queenstown Trail Network Trust. “The route links to the Otago Central Rail Trail and forms part of the Great Rides in Central Otago and the Southern Lakes.”

A few members of the public will get the opportunity to be the very first riders on the trail.

“There are ten spots open in the official first bunch for local cyclists to ride the trail from Clyde Heritage Precinct to Cromwell Heritage Precinct (a distance of 42km),” says Stephen.  “We are accepting applications until 21 April, after which there will be a ballot to select the lucky winners.”

Once the official first bunch sets off, anyone else is welcome to ride the trail from the Clyde end “One Day One Way”. Festivities will then shift to Cromwell for the Grand Opening celebrations from 12 till 5 pm.

“The Grand Opening will be held in the Cromwell Heritage Precinct which will be filled with live entertainment, delicious street food, and a selection of local wine,” says Gretchen Nightingale, Community Relationships Manager of the Cromwell & Districts Promotion Group. “It’ll be the perfect spot for supporters to enjoy the afternoon while waiting on their cyclists to complete the trail.”

For more information on the trail and the Grand Opening and to apply to be in the first bunch, go to lakedunstantrail.co.nz.

(Photo by Ross Mackay) 

The Lake Dunstan Trail link with the Otago Central Rail Trail is quite significant.

The Otago Central Rail Trail is an NZMCA member favourite, having won the top vote in the category of Cycle & Walking trails in the Kiwi Summer Road Trip, Motorhome Friendly edition which wrapped up in February of this year.

VIEW THE FULL WINNERS LIST HERE

To explore more walking & cycling trails all over the country, visit this https://www.nzmca.org.nz/trails . Details of the Lake Dunstan Trail will be available in this section when it opens.