Dwellingup

Destination overview

About an hour and a half southeast of Perth, Dwellingup has long been on the map of XCM racers from around Australia, who make an annual pilgrimage for the Dwellingup 100.

North of town, riders can get a healthy heaping of WA’s infamous pea gravel at Turner Hill and Marrinup — the latter incorporates a bit of history, with the trails passing through an old WWII Italian POW camp.

Ride the Murray Valley

More recently, a new 30km gravity oriented trail network has popped up along the banks of the Murray River — aptly named Murray Valley. Using the river valley to gain elevation, it’s all open flowy runs, and jumpy airflow good times here. Shuttles are not necessary, but Loose Riders runs uplifts most weekends.

Only the first stage of singletrack has been built, with another 70km+ on the way, including more trails near town, a new skills park and an upgraded pump track.

The Munda Biddi trail also passes through Dwellingup on its way from Mundaring in the Perth Hills, to Albany on the South Coast.

Hike, raft, kayak and camp

Dwellingup is a bit of an outdoor mecca, with a well-established kayaking and water rafting community and oodles of hiking. Plus, there is excellent camping right across the river from the Murray Valley Trails — because it’s not in a national park, it’s dog friendly, so bring the whole family.

The town itself is pretty small, but there are a few places to grab some grub, and there is even a cidery in town.