How To Do The South Coast | Flow’s guide to road tripping Mogo, Narooma and Eden

Flow Mountain Bike acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Mogo, Narooma and Eden and the surrounding area, the Yuin peoples. We recognise their connection to lands, waters and communities and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

With endless beaches to explore and over 250km of diverse mountain bike trail to ride, it’s time to book your leave, grab your mates, and head to the New South Wales Saphire Coast.

In the past, Flow has covered these destinations individually, but what about tying them all into one big adventure? We’re talking about Narooma Mountain Bike Park, Gravity Eden, and Mogo Trails — three places that every mountain biker should experience and are ideally spaced for a road trip.

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How far is the NSW South Coast from Sydney, Canberra or Melbourne?

Now, we’re not going to sugarcoat it — this isn’t a “pop around the corner” kind of trip. The drive is going to take you through some winding roads, remote stretches, and long, sometimes boring highways, but that’s all part of the adventure. You’ll be rewarded with stunning coastal vistas, forested roads, and small-town locals who are stoked to welcome you to their backyard. This road trip is packed with variety, and the riding? Next level.

If you’re driving from Sydney, the road trip is about 1,000km (door-to-door). From Canberra, it’s just over 600 km if you take the inland route home. For our Melbourne friends, you’re looking at around a 1,500 km round trip and you’ll want to do it in reverse — that’s a whole lot of snacks. If you’re planning to fly in, we’d recommend jetsetting to the nation’s capital and hiring a minivan or ute so you can easily transport multiple bikes. Bike hire is also available at all three of these destinations.

NSW South Coast Mogo trails
Mogo is the latest crown in the jewel of the NSW South Coast, and there is plenty to be excited about in the network, with a whole lot more still to come.

Mogo Trails

Quick facts

Starting with the northernmost stop on our three-park adventure, Mogo is two hours from Canberra, around 3.5 hours from Sydney and nearly nine hours on the road from Melbs. As you pass through Batemans Bay, you may choose to find accommodation here, or just have a quick stretch of the legs before the final 20-minute push through to Mogo.

If you do decide to push all the way, Mogo has some epic food choices to fuel you up. For a quick bite before hitting the trails, you can’t go wrong at Mogo Pies — try the Big Burger Pie, trust us — or Grumpy and Sweethearts is popular for a more robust café meal. The Mogo Ice Creamery is a must stop as well. The town offers a variety of accommodation options, from cozy Airbnbs, to powered campsites for the van lifers.

But don’t rest those café legs too long! There’s time to start chipping away at the 70+km of trail network Mogo has to offer (which will soon expand to whopping 130km!) before the sun sets on your first day.

With the primary three trailheads to choose from – Botanic Gardens, Mogo Township and Curtis Trailhead (for those coming from the Batehaven side) — everything is well signposted and easy to navigate without having to constantly pull out your phone. Each of the trailheads is flanked by singletrack pitched to a specific type of rider. Just beyond the epic rock work of the Mogo Township trailhead are beginner trails to help folks ease into riding, and the further out you stray, the more challenging they become.

The Curtis trailhead is on the east side of the network and is the best place to enter for folks staying on the beach around Batehaven. From here, you can ride to the Ridge Road Saddle trail hub that plugs into the northern end of the network or the Deep Creek trail hub and take trails like Abalone or Zooniverse North to some of the jump trails. The Botanic Gardens trailhead has a great coffee shop, an eBike charging point and easy access to THE rock slab on Sluice Juice.

South Coast NSW Mogo trails
While most of the first stage of the trail network is machine built and quite 3D, there is still a bit of good ol’ fashioned jank.

There are also other entry points to the trails like at the Zoo, which is the fastest way to get to Alice in Wanderland. As we alluded to before, the network is organised into named trail hubs up the hill where multiple descents will stem from, like the Wombat Soup Junction which is where those wanting to earn their wings should spend a few hours.

For the moment there aren’t any shuttles in Mogo, but that will change in the near future, hopefully when the second stage of the trail network opens later in 2025.

Whether you’re cruising along green and blue trails, tackling steep black and double-black runs, or the mega jump lines, there’s enough variety to keep you entertained for days – maybe even weeks (if the boss will let you go).

South Coast NSW Mogo trails
Mogo was a looooonnnnngggg time coming but what the team at Next Level MTB and Rocky Trail Destination have put together is mega fun, and it’s just the start.

The climbing trails are easy on the legs (so you won’t regret that second pie), plus, the rock wall climb is a bit of an engineering marvel. Mogo features technical, shaly terrain, along with groomed flow trails and some beautifully manicured jump trails. Before we say “see you again” to Mogo, don’t forget to visit the Botanical Gardens, the Mogo Zoo and, of course, the many stunning beaches, including Malua Bay Beach, Mckenzies Beach and Rosedale Beach.

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Dust the sand off your feet though, because it’s time to hop back in the car and head to our second mountain bike dreamland destination.

South Coast NSW Mountain Bike Narooma
A bit further down the coast is Narooma. Built on the back of a small network, hand-cut by a few motivated locals, Narooma now sees more than 80km of diverse trails constructed by the careful hands at Dirt Art.

Mountain Bike Narooma

Quick facts

Narooma, meaning “clear blue waters” in the traditional Dhurga language of the Yuin people, is the second stop on Flow’s epic NSW road trip. Just 60km south of Mogo, the drive to Narooma is scenic with a couple of unmissable stops along the way, including Campbell’s Oyster Farm and the Bodalla Dairy Shed. But if you don’t fancy oysters, and you’re lactose intolerant, you’ll get to Narooma in less than an hour — before anyone can say, “are we there yet?”

South Coast NSW Mountain Bike Narooma
While it’s easy to get a bit of tunnel vision talking about a mountain biking road trip, but we can’t forget this is some of the most spectacular coastline in Australia.

There are three main riding zones, though originally, there were five, but The Northern Zone has been absorbed into The Playground, and the Trail Riding Zone into the Wilderness Zone. Each section caters to different riding styles and skill levels.

The Playground, located closest to the trailhead, provides an introduction to what you’ll find around the rest of the network and is a good option for groms and beginners. There are also some unique features like the burned-out ute jump on Thunderbirds Are Go. The northern end of The Playground was originally called The Northern Zone and sees a small cluster of more natural trails, like the uber techy Devils Ballzac. You can do laps under your own steam via Kickstart and the aptly named Witness the Fitness or Return to Earth, or self-shuttle via the dropoff at Mitchells Ridge Road.

The Gravity Zone is where you’ll find…well…the gravity. Here you’ll find everything from full-on black and double-black jump trails like Colonel Senders and Goodbye Gravity and some mellower green and blue options like I Love Steve and the techy Thomas the Jank Engine. There are two climbing trails on either side of this zone (Spaghetti Legs and No Soup for You) or shuttles can be booked through Southbound Escapes.

South Coast NSW Mountain Bike Narooma
Tom Mallett seen here found this burned out ute in the woods while he was building Thunderbirds Are Go, and saw an opportunity to create quite a unique trail feature.

The Wilderness Zone offers more natural, narrow singletrack and includes blue and black trails in a stacked loop format and along with some of the original hand-built trails — previously known as the Trail Zone. Here you’ll find a more rugged, janky style and adding an old-school vibe to the network, with features ranging from big jumps to technical, quirky sections. The trails on the western end of the Wilderness Zone are generally a bit more technical. There are some exceptions to that rule like Walbunja Whipbird, which sees the infamous rocky chute where you need to ride under the downed tree.

South Coast NSW Narooma Mountain Bike
This rocky chute is found on Walbunja Whipbird, and is a pretty techy little feature — carefully if you’re a tall rider.

For a laid-back getaway, a two- to three-day stay in Narooma is just right, giving you plenty of time to ride the trails, explore the region and unwind. Be sure to check out Australia Rock – a natural formation that resembles the shape of … you guessed it, Australia. You might even spot the seals that love hanging out near the rock! For that perfect photo op, don’t miss Glasshouse Rocks.

Once again, you’re spoilt for accommodation choice in Narooma with plenty of options to suit different preferences and budgets. If you’re after an even more relaxed stay, Dalmeny is another option close to the trailheads and offers a beautiful beach to unwind after a day of riding.

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South Coast NSW Gravity Eden
Gravity Eden is the southernmost destination in our trio of South Coast riding terminals and sees a wholly unique take with more of a bikepark style winch and plummet layout.

Gravity Eden

A further 1.5-hour drive (100 km) south from Narooma along the Princes Highway, Gravity Eden is the final stop of our epic South Coast extravaganza. To break up the drive, a pit stop at the North of Eden Artisan Distillery is worth it if you’re into fine gin and other elixirs (make sure you book ahead), or the Bega Cheese Heritage Centre is good for a feed and a bit of a history lesson in all things cheese. Who knew there were so many different varieties of Bega cheese?

Just 20 minutes east of Bega, you’ll come across the Fire Shed Trails in Tathra. With about 50km of handbuilt singletrack, it’s a lovely contrast to the machine-built paradise that awaits in Eden. You’d be out of your mind not to stop here and spend a few hours. While you’re there, pop your head into Tathra Beach and Bike to say hello to the team. To replenish some carbs for the final leg of your trip, stop in at Wild Ryes Baking Co in Pambula and get a loaf of bread — trust us.

South Coast NSW Gravity Eden
The harbour is lovely, but it’s up in them thar hills in Nullica State Forest where you’ll find the goods.

Arriving in Eden, you will again be spoilt for choice for accommodation, including beachfront caravan parks, motels, and coastal apartments. We’ve stayed at the at Heritage House which has a bike wash and lockable storage facilities.

For dinner, carb load at Hotel Australasia, where you’ll find wood-fired pizza, cold brews and good vibes.

Built by Contour Works, Gravity Eden offers 58km, of trail for riders of all skill levels. Divided into three zones — Gravity, Flow, and Adventure — it showcases diverse terrain, from dry, coastal bush to lush rainforest.

Eden’s Gravity Zone features rocky, raw trails with steep descents and large jumps. Following the same ridgeline Prana and Old Tom — where you’ll find some epic rock work — are two of the trails we kept coming back to. And then there is Round the Outside, an 8km wilderness descent that is nothing short of spectacular. It’s such a fun descent, it once featured twice in the Queen Stage of Quad Crown The Orca.

NSW South Coast Gravity Eden
Gravity Eden is such a diverse trail network. While we’ve enjoyed bringing bigger bikes here, the Quad Crown mini-stage race series has set folks loose in the network on XC race bikes, and it’s no doubt been their strongest event.

The Flow Zone is a bit lower on the hill, and as you can probably guess from the name, it is about big berms and high speed. Straight Six is the mega run here, and once you get your eye in, you can just about break the sound barrier through the top section.

The Adventure Zone provides mellow trails ideal for beginners and families, with beautiful water crossings and scenic surroundings. Centred around the trailhead, this is what remains of the original trail network built by the locals, though it’s been touched up by the Contour Works crew.

Even the trailhead is a work of art, and you could easily kill half a day here without actually making into the network. There is a jump line designed to help you progress, a pump track (lit for night use), and bike storage.

NSW South Coast Gravity Eden
The Adventure Zone down close to the trailhead is lush and ferny, while as you move further up the hill the forest becomes a bit thinner and the trail surface quite a bit dustier — there’s also a whole lot more rock.

Gravity Eden is best used with an uplift, which can be booked through Shuttles Eden. However, if you have an e-MTB or don’t mind some climbing, head to the two main ways up. After Burner, which goes straight up the guts of the Adventure Zone and drops you off at the Flow Zone shuttle drop, or Powerup, which contours around the edge of the network.

Eden is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts, boasting numerous beaches, secluded coves, and natural rock pools, all inviting exploration once the bikes are washed and racked for the day.

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NSW South Coast Gravity Eden
Gravity Eden is one of only a handful of destinations where you could easily spend half a day just at the trailhead, between the jumps and the pump track.

Who is ready for a South Coast road trip?

Whether you’re coming from Sydney, Canberra, or Melbourne, this mountain biking road trip along New South Wales’ stunning South Coast has everything you need for an unforgettable adventure. From the rugged, trail-packed terrain of Mogo to the scenic, thrilling descents of Narooma and the diverse landscapes of Gravity Eden, despite their proximity, each of these trail networks brings something wholly unique to the table. With 250+ kilometres of incredible trails, diverse terrain, and endless coastal beauty, there aren’t many mountain biking road trips that will rival the South Coast. Sure, the drive may be long, but every twist and turn along the way brings new surprises—from scenic vistas and small-town charm to unforgettable trails and experiences.

So, whether you’re after adrenaline-pumping descents, laid-back beachside vibes, or simply the thrill of exploring new terrain, this road trip has it all. Grab your bike, book your accommodation, and hit the road—because this is an adventure you won’t want to miss.

NSW South Coas Mogo mountain bike park
So when are we headed on a South Coast roadie? We’ll bring the snacks!

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