Riding The Cascades Trail & More | A weekend in Lake Mountain, Victoria

Marysville, in Northeast Victoria, is surrounded by a suite of revered trails built in the 90s that are still running strong plus some new school magic.

A mix of gravity, cross country and one of the most epic descents I have experienced thus far in Australia — Cascades at Lake Mountain. This was certainly the main event of our Lake Mountain Weekender, but the Narbethong Downhill made for a spicy day, and we found a bit of sexy XC at Buxton. The area caters for those just getting into riding, those who love a bit of fast and loose on the bike, and even folks who enjoy a little spandex too.

And so, a crew was assembled. Sammy, Chris, Jono, Jack, and me, (Emma) linked up in Marysville for a couple of days in one of the most scenic riding destinations in Northeast Victoria. Big call, yes. Am I wrong? Go visit and tell me otherwise.

There is nothing like a few days riding, talking line choices and watching team members decline into complete bonk-addled delirium to bring friends closer together. Cue, the big day on a bike!

Join team Flow for a weekend in Lake Mountain

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• Flow Destination Hub | Lake Mountain, VIC

A dirty day begins

Shorts or pants? Bottles or backpack? Is this going to be enough snakes for 28km? Waiting for our lift up to the summit from Marysville, there was A LOT of faffing and plenty of debate on how best to tackle Lake Mountain’s flagship trail, Cascades. Kicking off from the tippy top, Cascades works its way down to Marysville. According to Trailforks it’s only 28km, but this isn’t a leisurely ride down by the park.

Safe to say we got it all wrong, but we still had a blast doing it. But more on the case of the missing sandwich later.

First, let’s break down the not-so-Strava segments dividing up the Cascades trail. Dirt — we like dirt. Particularly when you get to ride no less than four different types of it in one day. Especially if you, (like me) enjoy a bit of geology and talking smack about granularity, viscosity and tackiness on your tires.

And Cascades has quite the tasting palette. Four distinct brews for the day; alpine rock and rye, dark and stormy, a gravel middy and red daiquiri dirt.

Alpine Rock

After a short climb, the trail spits you out to a beautiful high point with Melbourne in the backdrop, under a little cloud. It all feels very far away, and yet it’s just an hour and a half drive, or so the boys say. Chris reckons we’re at 1433m elevation, but we have only climbed a few minutes from the shuttle stop.

The tippy top of Lake Mountain is packed with little hits, drops and rollers, all nicely sign-posted for those of us who opted for the spicier lines on the descent.

It’s a well-measured mix of alpine granite and some darker mud to slap the tires on from the top. All in the backdrop of beautiful low gums and vibrant green scrub.

Dark and Stormy

Now it’s worth mentioning, we did have La Niña along for the ride. She’d given North East Vic a true clapping the weeks prior, but thankfully cleared her skies just in time for our arrival. We ride bikes, so, a bit of wet trail comes with the territory. And hot damn Niña made the day that much more fun.

Conditions made for a levelling of riding ability. Niña presented an opportunity to deflect from our bike handling skills to chat about the shortcomings of our tires. The trail through this section kept you guessing, berms, climbs, and plenty of fast and straight.

Gravel Middy

There are a few rockier sections throughout the day that pop up to keep the party train interesting. Only a taster of gravel but a nice little change of pace over a few hours. A lot of the climbs are also gradual and gravelly, making for a little more traction when you flip on the winch.

Red Daiquiri Dirt

Towards the bottom of the track, as you are coming into Marysville, you’re met with red clay goodness. It’s reminiscent of Bright, the home of red clay. Flowy, fast and plenty of jump lines. This last little section of track into town was tacky, and nicely formed with some zesty jump lines for that final adrenaline boost at the end of the day.

The long descent to Marysville

Now, granularity is nice. But have you heard about elevation?

Somewhere between alpine rock and dark and stormy, the hooping and hollering started to take off. An endless run of berms had me wondering — are those fun squeals? Or ouchy squeals?

Gladly, everyone except Justin (‘cause camera guy backpacks), made it down the Cascades relatively unscathed. Oh, and Jack, acquired a classic shin biter, trying to do something cool. To be fair, he managed to execute the brief on the latter too.

A few of the crew had ridden the trail before, but I was going in completely blind. It’s one of my favourite ways to ride, not knowing what is coming up ahead and getting your bike to respond in the moment. I only ended up in the bushes a handful of times!

What makes Cascades so unique is the long descents, the backdrop, and the bang for your buck. Four hours on a bike, 1,500m descent for only 500m of climbing with such a variety of terrain. The trail has clear A and B-lines amongst these long runs of gravity that offer just a tickle of fear. There were some great little rock gaps we stopped to session, and then the trail led us into a rabbit’s warren options. A true choose your own adventure. Go fast and straight, or head left up the A-line were a medley of rock rolls and roots land you back in the train.

Little poppy jump lines, chutes of techy stuff, and so many back-to-back-to-back-to-back berms.

“I think I’m disoriented,” I said to Sammy mid-run.

We’re talking so many berms you don’t know which way is north. This is my kind of trail.

It was at about 3pm, and halfway down that we realised we had underestimated the snacks. Including the notorious missing sandwich. It turns out for finance guy Jono, math is not his strong suit. Nothing like seven fully grown adults wondering who might forgo the creature comforts of food with a few hours still to go.

Don’t worry, it didn’t get all lord of the flies.

But if there is one thing we learned on this ride. Even if Chris reckons backpacks make you a dork, bring one, and pack it full to the brim. Luckily we were running on high energy from the cracking sunshine, the long descents and free water refills from the creek right when we needed it.

None of us are as cool as a trail builder

Before I bring in the golden hour of this ride, we need to make honourable mention of the absolute machines that manage the upkeep of Cascades. Never did I think I’d see a man with a chainsaw in his backpack hitting jumps at such speed. It made me wonder if I should change jobs to acquire the level of utter respect I had for this man.

These guys were super friendly. Absolute ear-to-ear smiles, and complete characters. Some of the happiest people on the trails, and they were on the job.

Last call for river dips & ciders in Marysville

After a yarn with the trail builders kindly clearing the track, we were on to the last uphill punch of the day. It felt like a gradual climb despite a full day on our legs. The final little hits and jumps into town at that perfect golden hour felt like the perfect end to the day.

Full of cider, with a twinkly sundown hanging in the air we went for a little river dip. And by dip, I mean rolling around in 10-inches of fresh water, hoping it might remedy my weary legs. A free shower and “cold water therapy,” as the professionals are calling it these days.

The pub aka The Duck Inn

After copping what felt like all of Niña’s wrath and bonking hard thanks to the ongoing investigation into the missing sandwich, is there anything better than a steak the size of your skull and a schooner at the pub?

Shooting pool at the Duck Inn with the locals, including a few of the Lake Mountain crew we met earlier, we shared harrowing tales of the day. Jim, who assured us he has never played pool, absolutely cleaned up on the felt.

A lot of “whapows” were repeated that night. Renditions of the day that had been.

Narbethong, rough, ready, racy.

The Narbethong Downhill is like that friend who brings trail beers as their only form of hydration on a ride. Fun guy to have around. Loose. VERY fast — you know the type.

On the way to the trailhead, we had a great chat with one of the original trail builders and long-term residents of the area, Ben Reynolds. He gave us a little insight into what we could expect of the day.

“The trails were built back in the 90s, and all volunteer dug — a bit rough and lots of natural features,” he said on the way to the top.

Lake Mountain does not shuttle Narby, but you can punch up the fire road (spandex, I’m looking at you) or opt to self-shuttle.

This trail was FAST. So fast, in fact, Justin’s peak of the day was “not dying”, which also, funnily enough, was his pit of the day.

We stopped at a little road gap halfway down, giddy from such a nice open run with little side hits, tacky berms and, well, a whole lot of, “errrrr ma gewd this is so fast.” After arguably the speediest descent of the trip, through the rainforest, we eye-balled a little jump into a quick catch berm. Our mathematic minds kicking into the 10t cog to calculate the perfect angles.

Finance guy Jono, slightly miscalculating the mathematics of rolling a bike, proceeded to beautifully execute an unintentional nose manual to face. The culprit, a large tree branch that crept its way into his spokes. Laughing as it went.

Narby is a wild ride, just mind the sticks. The track has a lot of natural features, tight straight sections, loose ruts, jumps and drops. It’s a trail that will keep you on your toes. This track has a little of that dark and stormy dirt and a bit of the red daiquiri variety.

You will go from riding through dense brush to ferny rainforest, and if you are into bird watching (weird flex for me, I know) the Eastern Whip Birds and King Parrots will keep you company as you session throughout the day or laugh at you when you end up on your face.

Pepper — my favourite spice

Flannels finely pressed and shins firmly scrubbed clean of any mud splatters, we embarked on an evening of tiki torches, and discussing tannins in great and highly ill-informed detail.

Now, if you have hit Marysville with your partner, or like Jono, just absolutely love a Cosmo, Peppers Marysville is your place.

I am a big cheese platter girl, and goodness me, after a day on the bikes, can I consume some cured meat. A particular favourite of the crowd aside from the VB served cold, in a sparkly silver bucket was the whiskey sour. A lovely evening, to bring in our final night with the crew.

Buxton — gaining spandex street cred

After a day of fearing for our lives in Narby, it was time to fear less and pedal more. So, for me, fear more.

Not a cross-country convert just yet, due to PTSD from trying to keep up with my brother, I was surprised to hear the words “Fark, this up track is fun”, unintentionally exploding from my mouth. I was a little concerned that my cotton T-shirt wearing street cred may have declined after these syllables. But it didn’t matter because we kept riding through more of that red daiquiri dirt goodness. Gradual climbs and playful fun descents. That is what Buxton is all about.

With a few big days in our legs, it was nice to hit a few cruisy party trains on some forgiving, flowy terrain. An excellent last lap of the trip.

The infamous Buxton Burger was the final stop just to ensure calories were replenished, and that we would be fighting against the need for a nap on the drive home. Jono ordered and then consumed enough ground beef to clog the arteries of ten geriatric mountain bikers, while I opted for a Bubblo-Bill chasing that childlike nostalgia. The Igloo Roadhouse was a classic location to wave goodbye to the crew.

Closing statements

I have realised I must have been hungry while writing this. You should be too. For a trip to Marysville that is, where the bang for your buck on descending, picturesque landscape and culinary surprises are just a few of the highlights. Even the climbs are pretty good too!

I will be back. With bells on.

How to do a Lake Mountain Weekender?

To help you plan out an epic weekend around Marysville here’s a rap sheet with the high points of our trip. Mix and match to make your own Lake Mountain adventure.

Day 1: Cascades Trail

• 1.5 hour drive from Melbourne
• Coffees and snacks from Fragas Café and Marysville Bakery, leave time for faffing about
• Shuttle up around 10:30am, it’s about 15-min to the top
• Get pedalling with key snack locations on the trail, including:
  • The summit
  • The park spot
  • The Lunch Room
  • The river before the last few kms to Marysville
  • Steavenson River in Marysville for a cold plunge
• The Duck Inn for a steak and mash to write home about

Day 2: Narby et al.

• Fragas Café offers a classic egg and bacon and some cheeky King Parrots to boot
• Zip Lines — they are scarier than I expected at Lake Mountain, but they get the blood pumping before more riding
• Narbethong shuttles for as long as the legs will hold on for
• Steavenson Falls and/or Keppel Lookout to round out the day

Day 3:  Buxton

• Keppel Café does a ridiculous salmon eggs benedict, rivalling Melbourne itself
• A few solid few hours riding around Buxton. As always bring some sustenance to keep you going
• Trail highlights include:
  • Cathedral
  • Acheron Ridge
• If your arteries are brave enough, be sure to stop off at The Igloo Roadhouse for a Buxton burger

Extra-Curricular Activities

• Keppel Lookout
• Steavenson Falls
• Zip Lines at Lake Mountain
• Dips in Steavenson River — best paired with a cider
• Peppers Marysville
• Fragas Café
• Keppel Café — the fried capers are to DIE for
• The Igloo Roadhouse’ Infamous Buxton Burger

Things to bring /mistakes we made, so you don’t have to.

If Niña has also been a cheeky gal before you arrive, be sure to bring some bug spray. Opt for the long johns and let a few PSI out of those tires. You’ll be in for an absolute epic of yipping and yeeeing down the mountain.

Secondly, chippies and Solo are an elite-level snack (don’t speak to my dietitian). Bring more food than you think you’ll need. The Cascades trail can take four hours plus, and everyone loves a trail lolly. Backpacks are cool ok?

Fun size more your thing?

If you’re not up for a full 28km or perhaps have some party members that like it a little less main course and a little more tapas plate, Lake Mountain has menu options to suit. Jump down the Trigger Track, which lops a few kilometres off Cascades or aim for a loop around Granite Grind at the summit.

We were also lucky enough to get a good sample of zip lining, and the airbag that will open soon for the season. If you’re travelling with a bit of a mixed crowd, there is a little something for everyone.

TLC says:

Waterfalls — do not chase them. We strongly disagree with this statement. To stretch the legs, a little walk up to Steavenson Falls made for a great spot to crack a beverage and chat about the day that was. There was much conversation regarding the velocity of water moving down after so much rain in the region.

Lake Mountain for the cheapskates

If you’re up for more of the lower key river dip, snags at the campsite kind of weekend, there is a campground up near the Keppel Lookout called Anderson Mill Campground. There’s also the caravan park in town if you want to be within walking distance of the pub.

Lake Mountain has a lot of flavour for the whole mountain biking family! Our mountain biking family for a few days included:

• Sammy McMahon — most likely to be smiling.
• Chris Sansom — humour drier than a bay leaf (dried bay leaf, of course).
• Jono Wade — man of many talents, rolling at a slow pace not one of them.
• Justin Castles & Jim Aldersey — lucky to be alive riding with that much camera gear.
• Jack Lumb — notoriously late.
• Emma Chadwick – busy coming up with more synonyms for dirt.

Words: Emma Chadwick / @wandering__about

Photos: Jim Aldersey / @jimaldersey

Video: Justin Castles / @justincastles

This feature was made possible by Lake Mountain Resort.