Mountain biking has been popular for decades in some parts of the world such as Vancouver, Whistler and Moab, but it has finally taken off in Margaret River. If you’ve ever ridden here, you’ll understand why. Fast, nimble single-track descents, lots of short ascents, and seriously fun jumps, rollovers, berms and bridges all make for a quality day out.
And as a bonus, most of the tracks are relatively close to a brewery, a cellar door or a town to quench that thirst and satisfy your hunger afterwards.
Although the trails in the Region are best in autumn, winter and spring, they can be ridden year round. In summer, early starts or dusk/night rides under lights are the go to avoid the heat of the day. In the other three seasons, it’s pleasant enough to ride at any time of day.
Mountain-bike trail-development got off to a bit of a rocky start in the Margaret River Region, but local riders and trail builders have worked closely with cycling interest groups and the state government to create the WA Mountain Bike Strategy. It is now being implemented and the government officially supports the development of mountain biking trails, stating that it provides economic, environmental, health, social, community and tourism benefits.
Excellent! Let’s go for a ride!
But where are the trails and how do I find them?
Option 1: Surf a pile of websites to try to find the local areas and trail maps, but you won’t find many, and those you do find may be out-of-date or incomplete. A map for the most popular area may be there, but there is often no information on how to get there or where to park.
Option 2: Drop into any of the visitor information centers in the area for local knowledge, but they don’t have this information at hand.
Option 3: You could book in with a tour guide to show you the way, but if you have your own gear you may not want to pay over $100 to be shown around on someone else’s timeline.
Option 4: Buy a book with trail maps in it. All well and good, but due to ongoing development, many of the maps are completely out-of-date, and new areas are not in it.
So what is the solution?
It’s our FREE Margaret River Find the Fun™ App.
We give you all of the best mountain biking tracks in one place. The App works without the Internet, so it works everywhere. Those pesky black spots won’t trouble the App, by using your mobile’s GPS, it will just keep showing you where you are.
And because it uses the GPS, it won’t cost you a cent in roaming charges or data usage.
These screenshots from the App show you how it works on the mobile:
You can zoom in, scroll around and see where you need to go. Tap on the little i pins to get a bit more information about what to do when you get to an unmarked intersection for example. The green dot is the start point, and the red dot is the finishing point.
No guidebook, paper map or website can give you this much useful information. And best of all, because we are locally based riders ourselves, we keep the App up-to-date. And because it’s used without needing an Internet connection, it always works. Which is a very good thing according to local rider Gary K:
You can depend on this App to get you out of a tight spot! We went mountain biking on the Carters South MTB area late one afternoon and found ourselves temporarily disoriented amongst a maze of intersecting tracks in this heavily forested area…and daylight was disappearing rapidly. We used this very accurate App to safely navigate back to the car and avoided an impromptu overnight camp. Much gratitude for the App designers!
The local mountain biking trails
We have mapped the following trails and give you lots more information about each area in the App:
Boranup Forest: Beautiful ride among the majestic, towering Karri trees. Ride a loop of 24 km. Plenty of single track dotted among dirt tracks and gravel roads. Suits fit riders of all skill levels.
Brown Street: Located in Dunsborough, it is a 5.5 km fairly technical single track with lots of log roll-overs and other technical features. Heaps of fun. Best for intermediate to advanced riders.
The Creek Trails on Carters Road: These 15 km of trails were built in natural bush. Beautiful riding, best in the Region. Suits intermediate – experts and confident beginners.
Dunsborough Country Club: Over 10 km of single track, most obstacles have a technical A line and a B line for the less bold. Man-made obstacles include wooden bridges, rocky sections, log-overs and tight corners. Try out the fun and fast 1 km dual-slalom course for racing your friends. A $5 trail-use permit buys you 5 days of fun on the trails. Suitable for beginners through to advanced riders.
Middle Earth: Located off Bussell Highway between Carbanup and Cowaramup, Middle Earth is 24 km of fun, fast, smooth track with rocky technical sections, berms, jumps and logs. Suits fit intermediate to advanced riders and confident beginners. There is a definite sting in the tail of this ride…
The Pines on Carters Road: In late 2015 a section of the Pines was logged and a few trails in one corner have been lost, but there are still 20 km of trails to ride. The classics are still there, including Big Pine, Whoop Whoop, Lilly Trail and Aunt Lou. The latest addition, Paper Trail, offers some serious technical riding with some jumps and rocky sections. Have a go if you have the skills!
If you’re looking for smooth, fast single-track with jumps, awesome berms and fast cross-country descents, then try the Pines soon. The northern trails suit all levels and abilities, while the southern trails are a bit steeper and tend to have more technical rocky and rooty sections. Suitable for everyone.
Prevelly Cycle/Walk Trail: This paved path takes you between Margaret River Township and the coast at Prevelly. This 9 km long trail is flat until you descend gently into Prevelly. Super scenic ride that is suitable for all skill levels.
Rails to Trails: This is the old railway line that connected Margaret River to Busselton. It’s 15 km length is wide, flat and hard packed and is suitable for everyone. Ride one way, have a coffee and a snack, then return the same way. Very pretty trail, particularly in spring.
Ten Mile Brook: Scenic 16 km loop starts in Margaret River and winds gently up and down through Karri forest that changes to mixed Jarrah, Blackbutt and Marri forest. Plan for a short relaxing break among the Karris at 10-Mile Brook Dam before returning to Margaret River along the same path. Flat, hard-packed trail suits all abilities.
Following your epic ride, take a look at the other categories in the App to find the nearest spot for a refuel of food and drink.
Mountain Biking with Margaret River Find the Fun. Get all the best riding with GPS location-based maps. Download it for free.
Are you ready to Find the Fun?
(This post originally appeared on our corporate website: www.grandma.technology, and has been updated here with the latest information.)