Mountain biking in South Australia’s parks

Mountain biking in South Australia’s parks

Moun­tain bik­ing is a fan­tas­tic way to soak up the stun­ning land­scapes of SA’s parks. Whether it’s a casu­al ride along the shared use trails through Belair Nation­al Park, explor­ing the pop­u­lar Craig­burn farm trails in Sturt Gorge Recre­ation Park or test­ing your endurance on the Maw­son trail, there is an adven­ture for every rider.

Adelaide mountain bike trails

Which parks can I ride in?

To find out which nation­al parks have spe­cif­ic moun­tain bik­ing trails use our find a park tool and refine your search to ​‘Moun­tain biking’.

Get inspired: Check out the below Good Liv­ing blogs to plan your next adventure. 

Where can I down­load moun­tain bike trail maps?

Many of our parks offer down­load­able PDF maps so you can choose a trail that’s right for you. Head over to your cho­sen park’s page and tap on the ​‘Maps’ tab.

Got a smart­phone or tablet? Down­load the free Aven­za PDF Map app to keep inter­ac­tive nation­al park maps right at your fingertips!

How do I choose a trail to suit me?

There are trails rang­ing from easy to dif­fi­cult in South Australia’s nation­al parks and it’s vital to pick one that match­es your skill level.

Research trails before you go — there’s infor­ma­tion about trails on indi­vid­ual park pages and maps to guide you. When you get to the park, check the on-site signs.

Here’s some more infor­ma­tion about how trails are graded:

Mountain bike trail difficulty rating system

Mountain bike trail difficulty rating system Easy Trails
 Wide trail with gen­tle gra­di­ent and smooth sur­face. Some obsta­cles such as roots, logs, and rocks. Suit­able for begin­ner cyclists with basic moun­tain bike skills, and off road bikes.
Mountain bike trail difficulty rating system Easy with Intermediate Sections
 Like­ly to be sin­gle track with a mod­er­ate gra­di­ent, vari­able sur­face and some obsta­cles. Some obsta­cles such as roots, logs, and rocks. Suit­able for moun­tain bik­ers with moun­tain bikes.
Mountain bike trail difficulty rating system Intermediate trails
 Sin­gle trail with mod­er­ate gra­di­ents, vari­able sur­face, and obsta­cles. May include steep sec­tions. Suit­able for skilled moun­tain bik­ers with moun­tain bikes.
Mountain bike trail difficulty rating system Intermediate with Difficult Sections
 Suit­able for com­pe­tent moun­tain bik­ers used to phys­i­cal­ly demand­ing routes. Expect large unavoid­able obsta­cles and fea­tures. Chal­leng­ing and vari­able with some steep climbs or descents and loose surfaces.
Mountain bike trail difficulty rating system Difficult
 Suit­able for expe­ri­enced moun­tain bik­ers used to phys­i­cal­ly demand­ing routes. Nav­i­ga­tion and per­son­al sur­vival skills are high­ly desir­able. Expect large, dan­ger­ous and unavoid­able obsta­cles and fea­tures. Chal­leng­ing and vari­able with some steep climbs or descents and loose sur­faces. Some sec­tions will be eas­i­er to walk.

Trail users code of practice

To pro­tect the sur­round­ing envi­ron­ment and to ensure the safe­ty of all rid­ers and shared trail users, please be aware of the Trail Users Code of Prac­tice when using shared trails. Impor­tant points to remem­ber include:

  • plan your ride
  • com­ply with all signs
  • ride only on formed tracks/​trails
  • share the trail — obey give way rules
  • avoid rid­ing in wet, mud­dy conditions
  • ride light­ly and leave no trace or rubbish
  • con­trol your bike with­in your limits
  • clean your bike to avoid the spread of weeds or plant diseases
  • car­ry suf­fi­cient food and drink­ing water
  • respect the rights of others
  • share and pro­mote the code