As you get close to Clyde on the main highway alongside Lake Dunstan, you can take a side road to the dam. There are several great viewpoints overlooking the dam and back up the lake towards Cromwell. In the right light the gorge's desert colours with the lake's blues are stunning. From there, it is a couple of minutes to the small old gold town of Clyde. There are several nice examples of renovated stone buildings in the town centre.
Clyde is a good place to stop if you want to spend more time exploring the area; the gold history, hiking and cycling, and vineyards are the most obvious things to do. It is also the start of the Otago Rail Trail, a multi-day cycle track that follows an old railway route to Middlemarch.
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