Local Australian governments continue to invest in mountain biking, this time on the southeastern coast of New South Wales (NSW). Roughly 288km (179mi) south of Sydney, in the Eurobodalla Shire, mountain bikers now have tires on dirt at the Mogo Trails. With over half of the trail system already complete, the Eurobodalla Shire Council anticipates completing the project in the first few months of 2025.
“This is the biggest mountain bike construction project and investment in NSW and in Australia to date,” Juliane Wisata told Singletracks in an email. Wisata is the co-founder and director of Rocky Trail Destination, the principal contractor for the Mogo Trails.
Upon completion, the Mogo Trails will boast over 130km (80mi) of trails in a single trail system. According to the Eurobodalla Shire Council’s website, those 130km are coming at a relatively hefty cost of $8 million AUD. Over half — $5 million — comes from a grant from the NSW and Australian Governments’ Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund. The remaining $3 million comes from the NSW Government’s Growing Local Economies Fund grant.
The fruits of their labor — and grant funds — are now being seen at the Mogo Trails, as 70km of singletrack opened this past August. The opening of these first kilometers has been long anticipated, as the Mogo Trails have been in the works since 2019.
A brief Mogo Trails timeline
Official conversations about the Mogo Trails began in May 2019, and the groundwork for the Mogo Trails was laid throughout the remainder of that year. In February 2020, Australian trail building company Dirt Art was contracted to prepare the trail’s master plan.
As 2020 passed, the master plan was made available for a public comment period and was eventually approved in December 2020. This was also the year the $3 million Growing Local Economies Fund grant from the NSW Government was awarded.
In June of 2021, another $5 million — this time from the NSW and Australian Governments’ Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund — was awarded. Later in September, Rocky Trail Destination and Next Level Mountain Bike took the lead as the principal designers and builders of Mogo Trails.
2022 was a year of preparation and planning for trail construction. One significant hurdle Rocky Trail Destination jumped through was preparing the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) and submitting it to NSW’s Forestry Corporation. Pending approval, Next Level Mountain Bike was ready to break ground on the proposed trail system.
A permit to begin building trails was issued in January 2023, with construction beginning mid-January. Trail building was well underway by July, with the Next Level construction team operating eight excavators.
By January 2024, over 50km of the trail network had been completed, and that number had jumped to nearly 80km by June. On Saturday, August 17th, 70km of completed trails were opened for Mogo Trails’ grand opening.
More on the way
Mogo currently has a good mix of trails, ranging from green to double-black, with the lion’s share of trails being beginner and intermediate. Judging from a few videos that have made their way onto the internet in the past few weeks, the blacks and double-blacks appear to be true to form.
The tech trails consist of challenging rock gardens and rock rolls, with a drop or two sprinkled in. Others are jump lines with good-sized tabletops and a few long-and-low doubles. Descents range from about 100m to 160m. Many of the trails are directional, with several loops and nearby climb trails for the downs.
“[The] second phase now focuses on the western side of the Princes Highway that passes through Mogo — the highest peak is Mt. Wander at 700m,” Wisata told Singletracks. “We are building a 25km flow and adventure trail there.”
The entire 130km trail system is set to be finished in early 2025. Eurobodalla Shire Council shared via its website that the $8 million they received in funding will not only cover the cost of the planned trails, but they can also “extend the project on the south side of Mogo and add amenities.”
The quality and scale of the new Mogo trail system might already be attracting a mountain bike event to the area… but not just any old festival.
“Our sister company, Rocky Trail Entertainment, [is] working on bringing Sea Otter Australia to the Mogo Trails in October 2025,” Wisata told us. “We have the license from the Sea Otter brand in the U.S., and it’s shaping up to be the biggest cycling festival in Australia, with growing industry and consumer interest since our launch earlier this year.”
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Sep 19, 2024
Oct 2, 2024