Sunshine Coast

Destination overview

With beautiful pristine beaches, spectacular hinterland, and half a dozen trail networks, the Sunshine Coast is a riding destination the whole family can enjoy, whether they’re mountain bikers or not.

Sweet like sugar and the Ferny Forest

Just south of Noosa is the Sugar Bag Road MTB trails. Built on a disused piece of bushland, a local firefighter started cutting trails here in his free time, and it has expanded into a +10km pocket park. Now a local favourite and fully sanctioned by the council, Sugar Bag only has about 50m of elevation drop, and the tight hand-cut trails here pay a distinct homage to BC’s North Shore with lots of bridges, see-saws, whale tails and wall rides. Be sure to hit Bees Knees to get some air under your tyres, and don’t miss the asphalt pump track.

A short drive inland towards Landsborough, you’ll find Ewan Maddock Dam and the Ferny Forest Loop. Just opposite the Big Kart gocart track, this loop has hosted several 12 and 24-hour races, and a stage of the Quad Crown stage race. It’s a 10km green loop with about 100m of elevation gain, ideal for an adventure with the family or a shakedown ride to blast the cobwebs out of your legs. The ride around the dam itself is a wide gravel path but well worth it for the scenery.

Home of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics

When the Olympics roll back into Australia, Parklands on the Sunshine Coast will host the XCO event. Winding through 665ha of conservation area, Parklands is home to 60km of singletrack. Don’t expect machine-built, flat and flowy riding here. Bring your wits and your climbing legs because Parklands will test them both. If you’re a freshly minted mountain biker, this network may not be your cup of tea with tight corners, trees crowding the edge of the singletrack, narrow bridges, log rollovers and plenty of rocks.

Just on the other side of Mount Wappa, you’ll find Mapleton National Park. There are a few scenic XC trails here, but the crown jewel is the Oakey Creek Lookout Track. This fire road adventure offers stunning views of the park once you reach the end, but keep something in the tank for the final push to the summit.

Locals and fly-ins alike rave about the Wooroi trails at Tewantin National Park for its wide-ranging singletrack, vibrant green foliage and velcro grippy dirt. Flow is the name of the game here, with big swoopy berms contouring the hillside; there is something to please everyone in the forest. With the beginner trails tucked in close to the car park, local bike shop Spoke N Trail runs shuttles most weekends for riders who want to maximise the time to metres descended ratio.

About 40min from Noosa is the Garapine Mountain Bike Park. This park hosted one of the first enduros in Australia back in 2009, and the small gravity network has two blue and six black descents, each with its own distinct character. But the throughline here is tight, twisty and hand-built. This is a private park (and outdoor ed camp), so bookings are essential.

Noosa Trail Network

The Noosa Trail Networks is something a bit different. These aren’t purpose-built mountain bike trails, the NTN is a series of eight multi-use loops traversing the Sunshine Coast countryside, linking up a number of hinterland towns. Offering a mix of gravel roads, singletrack and 4WD trails, there are plenty of campsites and pub accommodation along the way, it would make for a great bikepacking adventure. The best part, it’s closed to cars, so you won’t have to battle vehicle traffic and focus on enjoying your surroundings.