There’s over 50km of trails for you to pick from; with a huge amount of quality singletrack on offer, it’s sometimes hard to decide which trails to hit up. So please, allow us to make some recommendations! Join us for a look at Stromlo’s Sweetest Six.
For location information, trail maps, events and more, take a look at the freshly re-vamped Stromlo Forest Park site. Click here.
1. Western Wedgetail into Skyline
Welcome to the peak of Stromlo! Now the question is, which trails do you take back down? For a lot of riders, there’s one standout route from the top of the mountain; Western Wedgetail into Skyline. These two trails are both rated as green descents, but they definitely aren’t dull! Linking these two trails together in one run is some of the fastest, flowiest riding you can do at Stromlo.
2. Luge
So you’ve just ridden Western Wedgetail and Skyline. What’s next? Luge! As the name implies, Luge is a snaking stack of perfect berms, with barely a moment in between them to compose yourself of wipe the grin off your face. This trail is often picked as a favourite and it’s easy to see why. If you love ripping round a berm, you’ll love Luge.
3. Pork Barrel and Double Dissolution
The slightly more technical route down from the saddle below Western Wedgetail is the linkup of Pork Barrel and Double Dissolution. These two blue-rated trails have all kinds of features, especially Pork Barrel, which combines berms, rocky sections, drop-offs and a few sneaky gap lines. Double Dissolution is a little flatter, but fast as hell, with a load of fun tabletops and an easy climb back out if you’re keen to hit it again.
4. Blood Rock and Black Snake Gully.
The western slopes of Mt Stromlo don’t get as much attention as the eastern side, but if you take the trouble to explore you’ll find two of the most rewarding trails in the whole park. Blood Rock and Black Snake Gully are two super technical, challenging trails, which climb, traverse and descend across the rocky western side of the mountain. They’re both rated a black diamond trails, not because of any major risk or features, but simply because the tight, rocky and pinchy climbs require good technique and bit of grunt. These two aren’t for everyone, but they are supremely rewarding to get right, and the recent extension to Black Snake Gully is some of the best technical descending in park too.
5. Vapour
Vapour is another trail that too many people overlook. Tucked sneakily in alongside the downhill race track, it’s a short, fun run, full of jumps with multiple lip options, big berms and step-downs. Plans are afoot to extend this trail all the way down the mountain too, and if that happens, it’ll be the real jewel of Stromlo. Watch this space!
6. Trunk Trail
A truly enjoyable climb is a rarity, but the Trunk Trail at Stromlo is definitely one of these gems, whisking you to the top of the mountain and it’s many, many awesome descents. With a perfect gradient, swooping switchbacks, heaps of line/difficulty options and great views, we had to include this one in the Stromlo’s Sweetest Six.
