Australia offers some of the best and most challenging mountain bike trails in the world. There are dense pine forests, free flowing single track winding and skilled navigation of gullies, rocks and drops. From novice to professional rider, there is an adventure for everyone.
Here are five outstanding Down Under bike trails that will get your adrenalin pumping.
Sparrow Hill
Located in Canberra, Sparrow Hill is an expansive network of trails that can be traveled in a loop. It has a free flowing design that will fit inexperienced riders with its smooth tracks and their potential for a pinch of speed. There is a location east of Queanbeyan that riders say will have you hooked after a few meters along the pristine trails.
Glenrock
Looking east across Glenrock Lagoon from Leichhardt’s Lookout on the Yuelarbah Track. (Photography by Athol Mullen)
Nestled in Newcastle, Glenrock is a single flowing track. Most of it is intermediate riding but there are technical sections that would challenge the professional rider. It’s tight rolling with exciting downhill trips and flat straight fire roads. It promises to be a great ride. Be warned this trail is becoming immensely popular and there can be serious traffic. It’s a diversified group and shouldn’t deter anyone from having a good time though.
Stromlo Forest Park
Ready for both recreational and professional riders, trails are classified easy (green circle), intermediate (blue square) and advanced (black diamond). Each is designed for specific challenges. For instance the advanced trials will be littered with non-avoidable obstacles while the easy ones have features that are easily avoidable. Overall, there are 50 kilometres of single trail and multiple mountain lines to explore.
Lysterfield Mountain
Sitting in Melbourne, Lysterfield Mountain is perfect for the intermediate cyclist. There is a main loop and many tracks that run off of it. With no difficult hills, this is simply a great place for biking and enjoying your day doing so. The park openly promotes a community of riders committed to the trails and their improvement. The trail network is considered one of the most popular destinations for riding in Victoria. Projects are constantly in the works to bring the Lysterfield trails to championship levels, including the annual Bicycle Swap Meet.
Majura Pines
Another gem located in Canberra. The Pine trails are capable of technical single track and fast flowing action. There is a myriad of bridges, obstacles and gully crossings. There’s a network of large trails that provides endless options for the novice and the pro. There are technical downhill runs reminiscent of XC courses. Expect more technical environments as you ascend the hill.
Glenorchy Moutain Bike Park
Glenorchy in Tasmania is 15 minutes from the bicycle shops in Hobart and has hosted the ’07 ’09 and ’10 MTB Australian National Championships as well as the ’13 Oceania Championships. The park is filled with beautiful natural scenery and courses suitable for beginers and experts.
These are only the tip of the mountain biking iceberg in Australia. There is no better destination for bike trailing adventure than hitting the roads Down Under. Snowfly has extraordinary scenery and downhill descent that has to be experienced to be believed. With its flow down trail, Copperhead is an excellent challenge for beginners with a series of unexpected jump lines to test your skill and keep you on your toes. There’s also Old Man’s Valley, Yellowmundi, Cascade Hut Trail, Lake Mountain and many, many more.
At the end of the day, professional or enthusiast, the bike trails of Australia are favorites to the many who have hit them.