This is the northern loop of the figure eight formed by the Appalachian Trail and the Benton Mackaye Trail. It is very remote and exist inside the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. This is some of the best 160 miles that the east coast has to offer. 

The Fisherman’s Track covers 43km from the historic “village of Kings and Fishermen”, Cascais, hugging the coastline north all the way to the well-known surfing town of Ericeira.

The majority of the route follows ancient coastal paths atop steep cliffs which provide stunning scenery of the Atlantic and pristine cove beaches such as Praia da Ursa and Praia da Adraga. It also passes right by Cabo da Roca, Europe’s most westerly point which was once believed to be the edge of the world.

Starting at Collie, WA Information visitors centre to the Soldiers Park, running anti clockwise around trail. 

First 10km is on shared use path and meanders around the river edge. From there it goes into single trail sections which are quite bushy and in places overgrown at the time of doing this. There are sections in places of firebreak 4wd roads in open forest which are peaceful and rolling with the odd hill. 

There are a number of shelters or huts along the trail with rain tank water and picnic tables some have great views. 

This route is perfect for beginning runners. This trail is relatively easy for getting into running while still being long enough. The trail is well-maintained and open year round. The views are spectacular even throughout different seasons. This trail is pretty popular so you will likely encounter other people. 

This route is a combination of two prominent trails in this area: Bank Vernon State Trail and Crown Zellerbach Trail. This FKT route connects the two with a short routing to the Southside of both the Vernon Waste Water Aeration Lagoon and Vernonia Lake. Below are descriptors for each with a link to additional info.

Banks-Vernonia State Trail is the first “rails-to-trails” park in Oregon. The trail follows an abandoned railroad bed that stretches ~21 miles between the cities of Banks and Vernonia.