Discover Clare

If you’re looking for a hotel in Clare, the town’s trails and cultural attractions can help you decide whether this destination is right for your trip. Clare combines a section of the Clare Valley Wine and Wilderness Trail with opportunities for walks and bike rides, the Gleeson Wetlands and a local history brought to life at the Old Police Station and Courthouse Museum. There are also cafés, restaurants, shops and cellar doors close together. These varied highlights give you practical ideas for planning your stay.

Trails and route details

Stage six of the Clare Valley Wine and Wilderness Trail runs from Polish Hill River to the Clare Valley Wine, Food & Tourism Centre in Clare. It is 14.5 kilometres long and rated moderate to challenging. The estimated walking time is about four hours, excluding breaks. This gives you specific details about the distance, difficulty and approximate walking time for this section of the trail.

The Clare to Sevenhill Short Walk is listed as an easy 7-kilometre route. It passes through picturesque countryside and over historic railway bridges. It is suitable for recreational walkers, mountain bikes and touring bikes, as well as wheelchairs and prams. When comparing it with the longer stage, note that this distance is explicitly for a one-way trip.

The Riesling Trail runs from Auburn through Clare to Barinia, passing numerous cellar doors and other visitor attractions. It is also suitable for recreational walkers, mountain bikes and touring bikes, as well as wheelchairs and prams. This gives you a clear way to compare the Clare to Sevenhill Short Walk, with its stated one-way distance, the stage with its estimated walking time, and the trail route through several towns.

Local attractions and the Gleeson Wetlands

Cafés, restaurants, shops and cellar doors in Clare are close enough together for visitors to combine different activities throughout the day before travelling on. You can therefore plan your stay around the town’s varied attractions, rather than focusing only on the trails. Individual businesses and offerings may change, so check the details important to your visit in advance.

The Gleeson Wetlands are in Clare, form part of the connection to the Riesling Trail and are accessible to trail users. This means that, alongside the trails and cellar doors, a specific natural attraction is also among Clare’s highlights. The trail and wetlands are connected as described.

History and engineering

The Old Police Station and Courthouse Museum is housed in Clare’s first police station and first courthouse; both buildings were built in 1850. Through clothing, household goods, trade items and agricultural equipment, the collection shows how people lived and worked from the 19th century onwards. The buildings’ former functions and the objects in the collection offer different insights into early institutions, everyday life and work. Outside regular opening hours, the museum opens by appointment for groups, schoolchildren and individuals. If you’re planning such a visit, arrange your appointment in advance.

Another engineering attraction in Clare is the Clare Valley Model Engineers. They operate a miniature railway in a ten-hectare park, with more than a kilometre of track, several bridges and a tunnel. These measurements and features describe the attraction in specific terms and distinguish it from the walking trails and local history. Clare’s attractions therefore cater to a range of interests, from trails and cellar doors to a museum collection and miniature railway.

Discover more destinations: Auburn, Watervale, Penwortham, Mintaro.

For the broader travel overview: Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council.