Mountain Biking Snowy Mountains

Mountain biking in the Snowy Mountains is a summer activity that is going somewhere.  There are endless mountain bike trails all through the snowy mountains and a trail to suit anybody who can ride a bike from the hardcore downhill runs at Thredbo to the flat single trail along the Thredbo River.

 

Thredbo

Thredbo is the home of the Cannonball Run, a challenging downhill run from the top of the Kosciuszko chairlift (1937m), right down to the village, a vertical drop of more than 560m.  Several other mountain bike trails and features can be found in and around Thredbo Village.  If you are after more information, download a copy of the Thredbo Trails Map (http://61 NULL.88 NULL.2 NULL.20/uploads/pdf/20090330165530 NULL.pdf). New for summer 2012 is the Thredbo’s intermediate downhill trail “The Kosciuszko Flow Track” offering more access to introductory downhill runs and section upgrades and changes.  Check out what the original Canon Ball Run is like on this video:

Downhill bikes and equipment are for hire in Thredbo.  If you are doing the downhill course for the first time you will need to do a course with South East Mountain Bike Company.  For more information contact Thredbo Resort Centre on 1300020589 or link to the Thredbo’s mountain bike page (http://www NULL.thredbo NULL.com NULL.au/summer-activities/biking/).  If you are doing the downhill course or the new Kozzie flow trail you will need to do an induction tour. The induction tour is two hours of either the Thredbo MTB Downhill or Kosciuszko Flow Trail. It involves a safety brief, protective equipment & bike inspection, introduction to lift usage, explanations of technical sections of the trails and a general introduction to the great riding in Thredbo.

Lake Crackenback

There is a trail system around Lake Crackenback and a mountain bike skills park which in 2012 includes an awesome pump track.  You can grab a copy of a Lake Crackenback trail map (http://www NULL.rollingground NULL.com NULL.au/lake-crackenback NULL.html) from Rolling Ground.  Below is a trail around Lake Crackenback that also traverses the Thredbo River that has been mapped on EveryTrail:

Thredbo Valley Track

The Thredbo Valley Track is still under construction but will eventually join Thredbo Village to Bullock Flat with 19km of shared use track running parallel to the Thredbo River.  The section between the Thredbo Diggins and Bullock Flat is already complete along with about 7km heading downstream from Thredbo Village.  You can get a copy of the Thredbo Valley Track master plan (http://www NULL.rollingground NULL.com NULL.au/thredbo-valley-trail NULL.html)here.  National Parks are building the track and are a good source for more information on the Thredbo Valley Track (http://www NULL.environment NULL.nsw NULL.gov NULL.au/resources/parks/resort_roundup_summer2009 NULL.pdf).

Jindabyne, Tyrolean and East Jindabyne

Jindabyne has many mountain bike trails of its own complete with stunning views, often over the lake with the snow capped mountains in the background.  The Lake Jindabyne Community Trail (http://www NULL.rollingground NULL.com NULL.au/lake-jindabyne NULL.html)now links from town to Tyrolean Village and plans for the future are to traverse right around the lake. 

Tyrolean Village (between East Jindabyne and Jindabyne) offers a wide variety of trails and features from the top of the hill right down to the water and the dam wall.  Access to the mountain bike trails is via the gate and 4wd track on the Jindabyne side of the Tyrolean Village turn off or by parking on the Cooma side of the dam wall.  There are some very technical sections on these trails but in mid 2011 Council completed a moderately easy trail from the Dam wall to the Tyrolean road, complete with bridges over the creeks and difficult sections.  The main trail is reasonably easy but you can branch off onto some of the older more technical tracks for a more challening ride.  For more information drop into one of the mountain bike shops in Jindabyne, grab a Tyrolean trail map (http://www NULL.rollingground NULL.com NULL.au/mill-creektyrolean NULL.html)from Rolling Ground or check it out on Everytrail below.

East Jindabyne has a small network of trails that are best when ridden down then taking the roads back up.  Take Jerrara Drive off the Highway, then veer left into Camira Avenue and park the car where the road ends.  Follow the fire trail up to where it meets the highway and the trail head is just to your right.  There are a few options but all end back down at the lake.  Take the path to the road then peddle back up. You can see this trail on Everytrail below.

Mount Kosciuszko

You can ride most of the way from Charlottes Pass to Mount Kosciouszko, you will need to leave the bike at Rawsons Pass and walk to the top.  See the track on EveryTrail below:

Bungara

There are some great flowing MTB trails, pump track and skills park at Bungara Alpine Centre (http://www NULL.bungarra NULL.com NULL.au/)but the land is private property so they until 2012 could only be ridden if you participate in one of the Jindabyne Mountain Bike Club social rides (http://www NULL.jindabynectmc NULL.com NULL.au/main/page_mountain_bike_club_1_social_rides NULL.html).  New for 2012, the Bungara tracks will be open to the public on the weekends, via a trail pass system.  A Trail Pass can be purchased for $5pp per weekend, which will allow access to trails from 12pm Friday to 12pm Monday. Over the Xmas holiday period (December 12^th- January 27^th), a Trail Pass will cover riders for any consecutive 3 day period.

 There is an honesty box at the trailhead with registration forms and envelopes to deposit the Trail Pass fee, which will go towards trail maintenance. The trails are closed to the general public after dark and occasionally on weekends when events are being held.

 

Jindabyne Cycling Triathlon MTB Club

The multi-discipline club arranges social rides and races and the club is more than happy for tourist to participate.  Social rides (http://www NULL.jindabynectmc NULL.com NULL.au/main/page_mountain_bike_club_1_social_rides NULL.html)are held at a variety of locations and this is a great way to learn about local trails.  You will need to be a member of MTBA (http://www NULL.mtba NULL.asn NULL.au/) to ride at Bungarra (http://www NULL.bungarra NULL.com NULL.au/) but otherwise are able to participate without membership.

More Resources

Paddy Pallin Jindabyne 64562922 - for Snowy Mountains mountain bike hire or tours  (http://mountainadventurecentre NULL.com NULL.au/shop/index NULL.php?cPath=22_57)

Jindabyne Adventure Bookings 64561988 – for Snowy Mountains outdoor adventures (http://www NULL.jab NULL.net NULL.au/)of all kinds

Sacred Ride 1300 736 581 - for more options for mountain bike hire or tours (http://www NULL.sacredride NULL.com NULL.au/).

Snowy River Bikes, Sports & Fitness - PH: 0411 815359 – for all you bike needs and advice including triathlon and road riding (http://www NULL.srbikes NULL.com NULL.au/) 

Everytrail is a web site where people have recorded there mountain biking trails.  If you are looking for mountain biking trails in the Snowy Mountains this is a great site to check out. 

If you are doing a mountain bike tour of duty you should also think about doing some mountain biking in the ACT (http://ridecanberra NULL.com NULL.au)on the way through.