Maria Island

5 Star Route / Hobart, Tasmania / Published January 2019 / Version 1.0 / Directions

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Start of gravel cycling route, rocky section

The ride starts out on a rocky track with eyeballs and fisters. Follow the blue sign posts.

Wildlife on gravel cycling route, wombats, geese, kangaroos

The island has abundant wildlife including wombats, Cape Barron geese and kangaroos.

Riding the grass with Mt. Maria in the distance.

Gravel cycling tour, reservoir on island

Riding the gravel road up up to the Reservoir.

The convict built reservoir.

Gravel cyclist descending single track section

Descending the short section of single track trail.

Riding into Darlington on the manicured gravel.

Heading south, big views on gravel cycling route

Leaving Darlington, heading south, with big views!

Demanding pitches on cycling route in tasmania

The Inland Trek route. Several demanding pitches.

Some small stream crossings.

A bit of sand.

Cyclist on manicured gravel, cycling route, maria island

And back to the manicured gravel before the convict cells.

The convict cells in the background.

More primitive road leading to Encampment Cove.

Back to good gravel, just past Encampment Cove.

4 Mile Creek

Riding bikes along the coast of darlington

Riding the Coast road back to Darlington.

Final pitch, moderate gravel cycling route, tasmania

The final pitch.

Overview Map

North of Maria Island, tasmania, cycling

Map of the north portion of the island.

Ferry pier on gravel cycling route, tasmania

The ferry at the pier on Maria Island.

Route:

Loop | 22 mi

Gain:

1,900 ft

Surface:

100% gravel + short section of wide single track

Technical Difficulty:

Moderate

Navigation:

Straightforward

Locale:

Rural

Tire Suggestion:

40 mm+

Options:

---

Maria island is a must do gravel ride if you are in Tasmania. It is a fantasy island of fun riding, big views and history. And there are no cars on the island!

The route includes both easy riding roads that bring out bike-renting tourists and more challenging tracks that include a forested single track section, two steep grassy climbs along the coast, and the Inland Trek that requires a little sense of humor.

Now if you get out a map and think you are headed to the south part of the island, across the skinny isthmus dirt road, we hope you brought a fat bike or you don’t mind pushing your bike for a good long distance. We didn’t make it across; after a half mile of pretending it was a good idea, we cried “uncle” and turned around.

We also briefly thought we were headed up Mt Maria, which is a trekking route that doesn’t allow bikes. Honestly, the Inland Trek was ample abuse so the “no bikes” sign wasn’t much of a disappointment. The name of the island is pronounced like Mariah Carey, not like Maria Sharapova.

Map

Brown = gravel / dirt road

Blue = single track

Red = paved road

Purple = paved bike path

GPX Download

Ride Details

When We Like to Ride This

All year.

Terrain & Riding

A quick (30 minute) and scenic ferry ride takes you out to a Maira Island. The route starts from the pier on Maria Island and has you follow the coast line with a few immediate steep, short hills. One pitch is in excess of 15%. It is almost easier to walk this short section than ride it. The views of Fossil Bay are stunning! Then you continue on to the Reservoir Circuit which includes crossing a small bridge and coming down on an “almost single track” road.

This brings you to Darlington where you’ll find nearly everyone renting bikes. Shortly thereafter you turn left onto the Inland trek which starts out pretty rocky. You’ll climb up through an amazing eucalyptus forest, winding your way up and down. You’ll see the trekking trail up to Mt Maria. The road will smooth out and then start to get sandy. (Do you remember our warning about the sense of humor? It’s not long so smile.)

Just when you begin to tire of this endeavor, the route intersects the main road, manicured gravel. Head south towards Encampment Cove and make the turn toward the prisoner cells. A primitive gravel / grassy road. The route takes you out to a peninsula with outrageous views.

Double back and continue past the prisoner cells and to Encampment Cove. From here you ride the manicured gravel Coast road. It really doesn’t get any better than this. Take the time to stop and enjoy the beauty. We recommend Four Mile Beach and the Painted Cliffs.

The Start

Lat / Long: -42.577856, 148.063868

Triabunna ferry terminal.

Food & Water

None.

Notes & Options

Route Notes

Ride the route in the direction we have documented, clockwise. It will ride easier and the views are more spectacular. The route is a series of 3 loops connected by legs and there is one out and back dogleg. Not, our typical route topography, but it works really well in this case.
Read up on the history of Maria Island before you go. The scattered buildings will seem much more impressive!
The ferry was super fun and very accommodating, but check pricing to make sure you are ok with spending the extra money.
There are zero opportunities to buy food or water on the island.
We recommend a red blinky light with rear looking radar detector (i.e. Garmin Varia)

Comments

Have you ridden this route? Got a question? Join the discussion!

Ridden and Reviewed by:

KevinE / Team Dirty Freehub

He should have “Never Stop Exploring” tattooed on his chest! He loves adventures on bikes and is a Co-Founder of Dirty Freehub.

LindaE (aka Gravel Girl) / Team Dirty Freehub

She loves a good day of gravel, like most people like a good book. She’s always amused by the outdoors and the wild adventures. Gravel Girl is a Co-Founder of Dirty Freehub.