Ride Summary

Extending for a very twisting 15 kilometers, the Fraser National Park ride features a corner ratio of 95% and corner speeds ranging from slow to fair. Although incorrectly marked on maps as unsealed, the road is actually paved, smooth, and bump-free, and the bitumen grip ranges from good to grippy. You are likely to encounter cars at a rate of 1 per 10 minutes.

Ride Description

A complex and varied road, the Fraser National Park route is a very twisty and interesting one for motorcycle riders, with a few hazards along the way that should be treated with caution. The beginning of the ride is an ascent up a mountain ridge which is nothing but a continuous series of right and left curves, with scarcely a patch of straight road to be found. Besides the enjoyable swervery, there are excellent vistas over Lake Eildon and the fertile valleys surrounding it for you to savor during your ride. This part of the road also features well-maintained, grippy bitumen surfacing.

The later parts of the route are rougher, and it is here that you are likely to encounter dangerous loose gravel on the corners. At the midpoint of the ride, there is a roundabout with two roads leading off, which give alternate routes for your ride.

The north road, connecting ultimately to Bonnie Doon, is dirt, although it has a decent surface and can be ridden on a road bike, including an NX650 or a GSXR750T. It is a route that follows beautiful scenery, including a stretch where it hugs the shore of Eildon Lake. The south road is bitumen paved, narrow, and penetrates deeper into Fraser National Park. There are expensive holiday houses along it, and a ride along it has a nearly suburban feel.

Directions

Located 100 kilometers northeast of Melbourne’s central business district, Eildon is the nearest thing to a starting point for this ride, with Fraser National Park being located to the north of Eildon. Reaching the Park involves taking the Maroondah Highway through the Black Spur, all the way to Alexandra. At Alexandra, follow the signs to the road that leads to Eildon.

Follow the road to Eildon for 4 kilometers, to a left turn that is marked with a sign for Fraser National Park. Turn onto this road rather than continuing to Eildon, and follow this rather straight road for 8 kilometers. This will eventually turn into the twisty, demanding, excellent Fraser National Park ride. It is also possible to continue on to Eildon rather than turning off outside Alexandra, then drive the route from the other end back towards Alexandra.

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Best Thing About This Ride

The initial stretch, with its constant left to right and right to left swerving, is the best part of the ride – especially because of the spectacular views you can enjoy. The unpaved road that runs along the shore of Eildon Lake is also well worth a look – perhaps on your second visit to this ride.

What Else To Look Out For

The Fraser National Park ride is excellent but unforgiving, and there are several different hazards to beware of. The ridges feature white pebble mix, and there are frequent areas of fine-textured, shifting gravel on the corners, severe enough to easily cause a motorcycle to high-side, as a friend and I learned from painful personal experience. There are no signs warning of this gravel. On the ridge, there is no run-off and there are considerable drops at many places.

Furthermore, the downslopes leading into Eildon near the end of the ride are damp and shaded, so the road surface has quite a bit of algal growth on it. Tourists along the road are another potential hazard, and some corners tighten up as they go rather than keeping the same curvature throughout.