Trail Places

The perfect start or finish to your cycle trip. Clyde, like many towns in Otago’s gold rush days, popped up almost overnight as a rollicking ‘Wild West’ town in the 1860s, and the town centre has retained many heritage buildings.

The original “canvas town” buildings are long gone, but many of the historic buildings and quaint colonial cottages that replaced them are still here (there were not many trees around for building, and stone lasts a long time!) Lucky for us, the buildings now serve another purpose – cafes, B&Bs, boutique shops…

Clyde with its sunny climate is also a popular summer holiday spot, so the town is a modern centre, as well as home to Central Otago’s Dunstan Hospital.

Central Otago is becoming known as a major outdoor adventure destination. Going for a local walk will introduce you to Central’s unique scenery – walk around town and visit the Briar Herb factory museum, and it’s only a short walk up to the Clyde Dam lookout. The local trails into the hills have been described as “Mountain Bike Heaven” or try geo-caching (yet another innovative way to discover Central Otago’s wild scenery). If this sounds too energetic, join a tour to see alpine wildflowers, or learn about the history of gold mining on a 4-W Drive tour or river cruise on the Clutha.

For those who just want to relax, this is orchard country, a place to find good food at the cafes, visit a winery, join the crowds at the Easter Food and Wine Festival – and you can enjoy wine and food as well as the latest movie at the new cinema.