Mountain bike trails in and around Perth

25 January, 2024 By: Travis Deane

2023 closed out with some exciting new additions to WA’s already flourishing MTB scene. We saw the opening of Booyeembara Park in Fremantle, featuring WA’s first micro downhill trails. Extra trails were added to the ever-popular Kalamunda network and improvements and additions were made to the Collie region’s ever-growing network of trails.

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With even more trail development in the works both in Perth and the regions, there will be plenty to keep MTB enthusiasts busy in 2024.

Here’s what riders have to look forward to in and around Perth in the year ahead.

Dianella Regional Open Space

Adding to the existing facilities, which were great for beginners and kids, some new jumps have been included. There was already a pump track located at the northern end of the park, with various lines offering riders easy to more advanced options.

There’s also an interesting skills loop with some basic and fun structures, including skinny planks to ride along to test your balance. The skills loop is great for riders who are new to mountain biking and are nervous about hitting the trails as it provides the opportunity to try some common features encountered on MTB trails in a controlled environment.

Three jump lines from beginner to advanced were added in November 2023, each consisting of three jumps and a berm to hook you back around towards the start. These are tabletop jumps, allowing you to take small steps in your jumping journey.

This sort of introductory jump line has largely been missing around Perth, with John Dunn Reserve in Kelmscott being the notable exception. With three jumps designed specifically for repetition, these new jumps should prove to be a great asset for Perth.

Booyeembara Park, Fremantle

‘Boo’ Park in Fremantle has always had kids on bicycles scratching around on a thin sliver of land between the golf course and the regional park. That terrain, on the southern boundary of the park, has a nice, consistent gradient making it perfect for jumps. Steps were made to formalise this area last year, and what has been produced is a unique riding experience in WA.

Boo Park MTB facilities are unlike anything else in Western Australia. It can perhaps best be described as an urban downhill jump flow line. There is a pump track at the bottom next to the carpark and an easy fire road to ride to the top, right next to the two downhill lines, giving riders an opportunity to inspect the structures they will soon try to conquer.

The dirt has been treated with a resin that makes it as hard as concrete. It also makes it very fast. There are two lines, with the right line having a range of tabletop jumps and berms that are about 400m long. The left line is around the same length but with more advanced and bigger structures.

With the hard surface and challenging features, additional protection is advised. Since opening in July 2023, this pocket park has been a popular destination for riders of all ages and abilities who want to get their bikes in the air.

John Forrest National Park

On Perth’s doorstep, John Forrest National Park has been enjoyed by cyclists riding on the long 40km+ Railway Heritage Loop, which loops from the suburbs up to Mount Helena and back down through the park, with the option of riding through a disused tunnel.

There had been ongoing work in 2023 to existing walking trails in the park and a focus on making an easy (green) offroad cycling trail for all the family to use. The resulting trail has been called Noolbenger (the Noongar name for Honey Possum) and is now available to ride, with (hopefully) another more technical trail being added in 2024.

The Noolbenger Trail is designed for cyclists but intended for shared use, so trail runners can enjoy the trail as well.

Unlike Dianella and Booyeembara, this ride is less about testing skill levels and more about getting out into the beautiful scenery of the national park. The complete loop is 16km which may be too far for some. The Railway Heritage Loop trail bisects this loop, meaning you can choose to complete the 16km loop, or only the northern or southern half, returning on the Railway Heritage Trail, which cuts through the middle.

With it being predominately a cycling trail, other users are asked to yield to cyclists.

Kalamunda Mountain Bike Trails

The Kalamunda trail network is Western Australia’s most popular mountain biking trail network and last year it got some new trails and reboots.

For those who like technical trails, Lancaster received a reboot with some interesting new challenges. The ever-popular Flaccid Ashback got a refresh. From the top shuttle point on Mt. Gunjin, another downhill trail, Blind Snake, was added to the network. It has a large (and blind) stepdown jump just after the powerlines. So make sure you sight it first.

Other new trails include a descending trail from halfway up Mt. Gunjin called Nearly New and several connecting trails: Winjin (a climb), Spinebill, Wynning and Camelman. The naming of Camelman was to pay respect to local camel farm owner and much-loved friend of the mountain bike community, Chris O’Hora, who passed away in 2022.

Dwellingup

2023 saw the addition of the pedestrian bridge at the old Baden Powell Campground area. Both the campground and the bridge have been renamed the traditional name of Dwaarlindjirraap.

The Dwaarlindjirraap day use area provides relatively easy access to the water for a post-ride swim. From the swimming area, the new 108m long suspension bridge now takes you across to the trails. The trails and the bridge were used in the UCI MTB Marathon Masters World Champs last year and are a great addition as they come out next to the popular trails of Bam Bam and Boom Boom at the bottom mountain biking carpark.

The Downhill trails at Toms Crossing were a big part of the racing scene. Work has been underway to rebirth this legendary spot for riders, which will be another riding attraction in the region. The trail’s hub visitor centre in Dwellingup is a good place to drop in to discover which trails are open.

Langford Park

The long-established cross-country network of trails at Langford Park received some love in 2023 with significant upgrades and some new trails added. Not as far from Perth as Dwellingup, it’s a great place to rediscover, especially after some rain which helps the tracks roll faster with more grip on the pea gravel.

Collie

The options for Collie keep growing. The Wellington Dam area has been popular since it was opened, but 2023 saw some favourite trails like Dam It, Pipe N Hot, and the challenging Black Glove get a refresh to improve the trails. Also, several connecting trails and a new climbing trail were added to this popular network.

A trail joining west to the Honeymoon Pool area was also completed. You have the option to skip out onto the Sika trail or get stuck into a memorable descent down to the valley floor and onto the Honeymoon Pool/ River Road area.

But it is west of the river, towards the Pile Road/ Mt Lennard trail network, that the biggest changes have taken place. A new carpark halfway along River Road grants access to a new area of trails between the river and the existing network.

Several blue descents and a couple of really challenging black diamond lines, all dropping significant height, will have experienced riders salivating. The climb back has lots of switchbacks to make it manageable, but it is also possible to shuttle these tracks from River Road. This is a whole new area just behind the historic and much-loved trails on Pile Road such as Grizzly trail, which also had a bit of a refresh last year.

Bindoon MTB Park

Mountain bike riders in the northern suburbs have always had a long drive to the trails east of Perth to get their fix. That's about to change with the Bindoon Mountain Bike Park stage one due to be completed around April 2024 offering a completely new area and 13km of trails.

The 13km is spread over eight trails, ranging from a green loop to an advanced black downhill trail. Stage two has already been approved, which will see more mountain bike trails added. With the green loop trail 5km long and another fun green downhill trail of 1.5km, the new trail network promises to be attractive to riders of all ability levels.