The Otago Central Rail Trail is a 150-kilometre walking, cycling and horse riding track in the South Island of New Zealand.

[5] The original railway line was completed at the turn of the 20th century, and provided a link between Central Otago and Dunedin until closure in 1990.

The New Zealand Department of Conservation recognised that the remainder of the route to Clyde had potential as a recreational facility, and bought the formation after the rails and sleepers had been salvaged.

[6] The trail starts at Middlemarch in the east, loops north through the spectacular countryside of the Strath Taieri and the Maniototo to end at Clyde, on the banks of the Clutha River.

The return journey to Middlemarch or Dunedin can be made on foot or by bicycle over the historic Old Dunstan Road, used by the early gold miners to access Central Otago.

Toilets are available at several points and the contours are best described as easy, having been built to allow steam trains to climb the gentle inclines even in winter, with frost on the rails.

One known issue on the trail can be the strong winds that can develop from the nearby mountain ranges under certain weather conditions, slowing riders going in the wrong direction to a crawl.