Parkrun while Cycling Australia

A cycling holiday and a Saturday morning Parkrun go together better than you'd think. Both are great fun, both reward a bit of local exploring, and both are a great way to meet people in a town you're only passing through. We went looking for every parkrun that sits in or near a town on one of our cycling tours, plus a broader list of Parkruns held on Australia's rail trails, and put the whole lot together here, state by state.

All Parkruns are free, timed, 5km events open to walkers, joggers and runners of every ability, starting between 7am and 9am each Saturday. Exact start times and locations can shift, so always check the individual event page (linked below, or search parkrun.com.au) before you go.

Where a Parkrun sits on the route of one of our tours, we've linked straight to it. A handful of the rail trail Parkruns aren't on a trail we currently run a tour on. We've linked those to Rail Trails Australia, the national rail trails directory, with thanks to the RTA team for compiling the original trail-by-trail list this post grew out of.

Queensland

• Brisbane Valley Rail Trail parkrun, Blackbutt. Ride the trail on our Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Self Guided Cycle, the guided version, or the Brisbane Valley and Kilkivan Rail Trail Combined Cycle.
• Old Esk Railway Station parkrun, Esk. Same trail, same tours as above.
• Ipswich QLD parkrun, Ipswich, on the same Brisbane Valley Rail Trail tours.
• Wondai parkrun, Wondai. Ride out on our South Burnett Rail Trail Cycle Explorer or the guided South Burnett Rail Trail and Vineyards tour.
• Bundaberg parkrun and Gayndah River Walk parkrun, on our Boyne Burnett Inland Rail Trail Supported Cycle, which overnights in Gayndah.
• Mareeba Rail Trail parkrun and Atherton parkrun, both on the Atherton Tablelands Rail Trail. 
• Yeppoon parkrun, on the Capricorn Coast Pineapple Rail Trail. 

Victoria

• Timboon parkrun, Timboon, on our Great Ocean Road Cycle, which rides the Camperdown to Timboon Rail Trail on day two before joining the coast to Port Campbell.
• Lorne Beach parkrun, Lorne, further along the same Great Ocean Road Cycle.
• Yackandandah Rail Trail parkrun, Bright parkrun and Ovens River Trail parkrun in Myrtleford, all on our Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail tours: the Extended Cycle, Short Break and Downhill Edition.
• Bairnsdale parkrun and Lakes Entrance parkrun, both on our East Gippsland Rail Trail Cycle, which you can start from Orbost or Bairnsdale, or ride as a supported tour.
• Koonwarra parkrun and Great Southern Rail Trail parkrun in Korumburra, both on the Great Southern Rail Trail. 
• Newborough parkrun, on the Moe to Yallourn Rail Trail. 
• Grand Ridge Rail Trail parkrun, Mirboo North.
• Tallangatta Station parkrun, on the High Country Rail Trail. 
• Red Hill Rail Trail parkrun, Mornington Peninsula. 
• Rokeby Crossover Rail Trail parkrun, on the Rokeby to Neerim Railside Trail. 

New South Wales

• Dubbo parkrun and Cameron Park parkrun, Wellington, both on our Central West Cycle Trail tours.
• Mudgee parkrun, Mudgee, on our Mudgee Cycle Short Break, Mudgee Self Guided Cycle Explorer and Capertee Valley in Comfort tours.
• Bowral parkrun, Bowral, on our Southern Highlands Cycle.
• Jindabyne parkrun, Jindabyne, on our Kosciuszko to the Sea and Sea to Kosciuszko tours.
• North Wollongong parkrun, Wollongong, and Huskisson parkrun, Huskisson, both on our Sydney to Jervis Bay Self Guided Cycle. Huskisson also features on our Kiama to Huskisson tour.
• Sandon Point parkrun, near Thirroul on our Thirroul to Huskisson Self Guided Cycle. This parkrun is actually held in Bulli, the suburb next door to Thirroul, not Thirroul itself.
• Kingscliff parkrun, Kingscliff, on our Northern Rivers Rail Trail and Tweed Cycle Explorer and the other Northern Rivers Rail Trail tour variants.

South Australia

• Clare Valley parkrun, Clare Valley, on our Clare Valley Cycle Short Break and the other Clare Valley cycle tours.
• Nuriootpa parkrun, Nuriootpa, on our Barossa Valley Cycle Short Break and Clare and Barossa Valley Combined Cycle.
• Gawler parkrun, Gawler, on the same two Barossa tours. Gawler is a stop along the way on these tours rather than an overnight town.
• Shiraz Trail parkrun, on the Coast to Vines Rail Trail. 
• Seacliff Esplanade parkrun, on the Coast Park Rail Trail. 
• Copper Trail parkrun, on the Copper Rail Trail. 

Western Australia

• Mt Clarence parkrun, Albany, and Wilson Inlet Heritage Trail parkrun, Denmark, both on our Munda Biddi Southern Cycle, which starts in Albany and stops three nights in Denmark.
• Mount Helena parkrun, on the Railway Reserves Heritage Trail. 
• Margaret River parkrun, on the Ten Mile Brook Trail. 

(Jarrahdale Heritage parkrun runs on a piece of former rail corridor that technically doesn't form part of either the Jarrah Dale Heritage or Balmoral Trail, so we've left it off the list above.)

Tasmania

• Railton parkrun, on the Railton to Sheffield Rail Trail. 

Make a weekend of it

A good chunk of this list is an easy add on to one of our tours: ride the Brisbane Valley, Murray to Mountains, South Burnett, Central West, Clare Valley or Munda Biddi trails with us, then stick around for a Saturday morning parkrun before you head home or on to the next leg. Browse our full range of cycling tours to start planning, or see our dedicated rail trail cycling tours if it's the trail riding you're after.

The rail trail parkrun list this post grew out of was compiled by Rail Trails Australia, and we're grateful to the RTA team for putting it together.

Did we miss any? Let us know!