In the past few years, mountain biking in Brisbane (and the surrounding region) has exploded in popularity, with an estimated 2,200 people riding off-road trials every weekend. The Brisbane region has been incredibly popular due to the number of high quality and well-maintained mountain biking parks.
Mountain biking is fun, and you don’t need to be riding at a world-class level to enjoy it. All you need is a quality mountain bike, some basic safety gear, and a taste for adventure. If you’ve managed to get your hands on all of the above, here’s where we reckon you should take them.
The Best Mountain Biking Trails in Brisbane
BunyaVille MTB
For the intermediate rider i.e. the person who can handle basic off-road tracks with ease and can negotiate ‘single track’, Brisbane region offers a number of great options. The most popular intermediate mountain bike park is Bunyaville Conservation Park in North-West Brisbane. 20 Minutes from the CBD, Bunya has 22kms of awesome, well maintained single track that will provide hundreds of hours of entertainment.
With an average decent of 20 meters per run, the tracks are challenging without requiring the need to drop high distances, negotiate rocky downhills, or climb tricky up hills. The great thing about this place is that whether you are relatively new to mountain biking or know how to shred, Bunya will challenge 99% of riders out there. If you’ve never been Bunya, put it on the bucket list, it is a must for riders in the Brisbane region.
Right next door to Ironbark Gully, Bunyaville has a range of trail levels. Enter via the Jinker Track, Dungandan Rd or Collins Rd.
Iron Bark Gully
If you’re new to the Brisbane mountain bike trails, then Iron Bark Gully is the perfect place to go. It offers fantastic trails for entry-level riders, so you won’t find yourself facing up against any nasty surprises. It’s located pretty centrally, too, in Samford. So even if you’ve only got an hour or two on the weekend, chances are you can make it work.
This park has a number of good fire breaks and easy single-track sections to start out on. In saying that, there are parts of Iron Bark Gully that are quite difficult but they don’t need to be attempted until you get experience on the single-track runs. When you get there, stick to the fire breaks and attempt Water Tank upper and lower (track 1 -2) when you are feeling more confident.
Enter off Samford Rd at the Ironbark picnic area. The park is an easy 30-minute drive from the CBD and it’s great for those wanting to ride long distances as it can be tied together with Bunyaville Conservation Forest or Brisbane Forest Park trails. Most of the tracks are fire trails.
Gap Creek in Mount Coot-Tha
Located in the stunning D’Aguilar National Park, Gap Creek is probably better suited to riders with a little more experience behind the handlebars. With 20 km of single track and adjoining fire break, Gap track is rated the best mountain biking location in South East Queensland. It’s downhill runs, steep descents, and rocky outcrops are enough to challenge even the most experienced downhill riders.
However, if you do classify as an intermediate rider, there is still plenty of tracks that will be doable, just maybe not a full pace. Unlike Bunyaville, Gap Creek has an average decent of 50 meters which translates to longer, steeper runs that involve a brutal climb on fire breaks back to the top or to the next track.
Mt Coot-tha Forest is home to 31km of multi-use trails for walkers, horse riders and cyclists, plus an additional 23.5km of specific mountain bike trails. The multi-use trails are easiest, and the 2.2km Rocket Frog Trail is a great beginner trail – working up to a stack of difficult tracks. Gap Creek Reserve is a 23-minute, 14.9km drive from the CBD.
Bayview Conservation Park
A large proportion of Brisbane’s mountain biking gurus have probably found themselves at Bayview Conservation Park at one point or another. Bayview is a collection of entry level to intermediate mountain biking and cross-country trails. This makes it the perfect destination to take the kids, or even just go for a relaxing weekend cruise.
There are multiple entry points to Bayview including from Serpentine Creek Rd, Days Rd or German Church Rd. These picturesque trails are littered with grass trees, and Redland City Council has installed a number of self-service bike maintenance poles. The trails in the northern part are among the toughest south of Brisbane. Keep an eye out for the annual Bayview Blast event.
Daisy Hill State Forest
Daisy Hill is more mellow, great for everyone from the casual family ride all the way up to aggressive XC/All Mountain riders. The trails are mostly, if not all, green easy trails with a few intermediate ones. Daisy Hill has put its stamp on the Brisbane MTB community with its wide and smooth-flowing trails that always leave you smiling.
This popular park in City of Logan features four dedicated MTB tracks, and eight mixed-use trails. Enter the park from Daisy Hill Rd, at the end of the car park is the Bicycle Entry Point. Daisy Hill is just a 20-minute drive from the CBD.
Hidden Vale Adventure Park
Hidden Vale Adventure Park is a privately-run adventure playground for those big kids who want to really push themselves. Needless to say, a weekend at Hidden Vale won’t even scratch the surface.
A 55-minute drive west of Brisbane, this network of single-track trails is a mountain biker’s heaven. The property, which is managed by Spicers Hidden Vale, contains all-level trails that are mostly 4-8km in length. The longest is aptly named The Epic at 8km long. On weekends, the homestead often cooks whole animals on the spit – the perfect lunch for a tough day on the trails.
Cornubia Forest Park
Cornubia Forest is only a stone’s throw away from Daisy Hill. It has to be one of the top MTB places around Brisbane – between its flowy trails and loose rocky descents, it’s hard to get bored riding here, topped off with a very active trail care program, all the trails are always in great condition. Recommended for the experienced rider.
Cornubia is a neat set of trails right nearby Daisy Hill State Forest, featuring more than 12km of trails suited to intermediate and skilled riders. Enter via Boxer Ave, Sugarwood Pl or Kimberly Dr.
Underwood
Underwood offers some of the best entry level mountain bike trails in Brisbane. It is a short bike ride from the Daisy Hill trails (you can also link Underwood onto your Daisy Hill ride). The park is reasonably flat, nothing too steep, full of smooth, tight, winding berms and corners. Also includes a skills park where you can have a play riding logs, table top jumps and berms.
You can find the Underwood Park trails within the sports precinct and follow the bitumen road right to the end. There are limited trails here (about 7-8km), but plenty of good technical features to challenge your skills.
