Mogo trails build is finally underway!


It’s been about 18 months since we first wrote about the trail development in Mogo, on NSW’s South Coast. Now at the start of 2023, we have just had word that NSW Forestry Corp has signed off on the Review of Environmental Factors, and the trail-building crews from Rocky Trail Destination and Next Level MTB will be breaking ground this week.

All up, this project will include 155km of trails. This will include the 30km of existing trails around Deep Creek Dam, which will receive a nip and tuck, and expand out into Wandara State Forest, where the remaining ~125km of trail will be constructed.

The $8-million project was funded by the Australian and NSW Governments’ Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund and the NSW Government’s Growing Local Economies Fund and is projected to attract an additional 45,000 visitors annually. The hope is that the lovely year-round weather attracts riders looking to escape the winter vortex and help to balance out the seasonality of the South Coast’s Tourism industry.

With 155km of singletrack on the agenda, Mogo will be one of the biggest trail destinations in the country.

What I want is for riders to feel like they’ve gone somewhere else. Like you drove for miles, and you’re in a different environment  — you went from Venus to Mars

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What is planned?

According to Rocky Trail Destination, which is managing the design and construction, the network will include a mix of bike park style gravity trails and XC trails to suit experienced mountain bikers, while also providing the infrastructure for beginners perhaps and mini-shredders to develop their skills.

“155km kilometres allows us the freedom to create different experiences and covers a lot of different terrain. This is something you cannot always do if you’re building 30 or 50km of trail at a time,” says Marcelo Cardona from Next Level MTB.

Beginner trails, black diamond bike park trails and boulders with hair — all things riders can look forward to in Mogo.

“The whole project can be divided into different styles and pockets. Closer to town, more family-friendly, further afield, more hardcore… For us, it’s very important to create a big difference between each area. What I want is for riders to feel like they’ve gone somewhere else. Like you drove for miles, and you’re in a different environment  — you went from Venus to Mars, ” he says.

According to Cardona, the terrain allows for everything from highly sculpted three-dimensional bike park trails to enormous granite features and empty-your-entire-bag-of-handling-skills-because-you’re-going-to-need-it type riding.

There’s also the point-to-point 16km wilderness trail from the summit of Mount Wandera. Starting at 690m above sea level, this trail will include an 8km descent before connecting into the trail network. This connection means there is the potential to string together a ~40km ride from Mount Wandera all the way down to Batemans Bay. There are also plans to offer different options to descend the mountain, ranging from blues to full-on EWS trails.

Not a bad view from the top.

The local riding community

In the run-up to this project kicking off, a new mountain bike club has formed in Mogo, and Juliane Wisata from Rocky Trail Destination explains as much as it’s designed to drive tourism, they haven’t forgotten about the locals.

“We’re very conscious of the local riding community as well, and we’re very keen to engage with the local riders and juniors. We’ll work out lots of opportunities for them to experience the build, and be part of the build of this local network,” she says.

Rocky Trail Destination is focused on keeping the local riding community engaged through the build, especially the juniors.

According to the Council, the existing trails will remain open during the build. However, folks are being encouraged not to take a self-guided sneak preview of the new singletrack as this will delay the build.

This hub at Mogo will see NSW’s south coast become something of a mountain bike mecca

Ride the South Coast

All of this comes only a few years after the South Coast was devastated by the bushfires at the end of 2019 and the subsequent floods and pandemic. For a region that relies so heavily on tourism, a 155 km trail network with scope to host events, a substantial point-to-point adventure trail, and both XC and gravity riding, Mogo will be a big deal. But Mogo is one of many networks on the agenda.

Rocky Trail Race Hub
The existing trails at Mogo have already been used to host events, the combination of the climate and the topography make it pretty attractive for riders in the region.

“Along with the Narooma Mountain Bike Club’s new trails in the Bodalla State Forest that are expected to open early this year – and existing State Forest networks at Eden, Bermagui, Burrill Lake and Nowra – this hub at Mogo will see NSW’s South Coast become something of a mountain bike mecca,” says Mogo Trails Project Coordinator Shane Spicer.

While the trails and main trailhead facilities will be based in Mogo — as that’s where the Council is hoping to attract investment and stimulate some economic activity — link trails will also be constructed out to the coast. Meaning if you book your accommodation in Malua Bay or Batehaven, you won’t need to drive.

“We have been really conscious of connectors — if you’re on any trail, can you get back to town easily. But we also wanted to connect the tourism, Batemans Bay hotel area with the trails, and we wanted to connect the zoo with the trails to allow access to all of that as well,” explains Wisata.

From events to trail destinations

If Juliane and Martin Wisata and Rocky Trail sound familiar, that’s because this is the same duo behind the well-loved Fox Super Flow, Shimano GP and a range of other races run by their events company Rocky Trail Entertainment — which has historically hosted races in Mogo.

Rocky Trail Destination working with Next Level MTB, managed the rebuild of Fox Creek Bike Park, SA. Mogo will be its first-ever MTB destination from scratch.

The trail network has been designed so that if an XC event is running in one section or an enduro in another, the disruptions can be kept to one area, with the remainder of the trails open to the public.

“Here it’s our first build, start to finish, and we’re coming at it from a place of wanting to showcase nature and the natural surroundings. So we want to take people on a journey to see all the big boulders and natural features, but also forestry and council and the local Aboriginal community and tell the story of the region,” says Wisata.

But the pair’s event experience has also played a role in the layout of the network.

“It’s designed so that if certain types of events are happening (XC, Enduro, etc.) in one part of the network, the other parts of the network won’t need to be shut down at all. We always were very conscious to create those satellites trailheads and hubs and setups in spaces so that a lot of activities can happen at the same time,” she says.

By all accounts, the locals can’t wait for the dirt to start turning.

When will the trails be open?

The Next Level machines are arriving in Mogo as we speak, and there will be a total of seven crews working on this project, with a mix of local builders and folks coming in from the trail building outfit’s home base in Tasmania. Cardona tells us they are currently establishing the worksite, and hope to begin moving dirt towards the end of the week.

Spicer tells Flow they hope to have the first stage of 80-90 km of trail open for riders by the end of the year with the remainder to follow around school holidays the following year. For the latest details and updates, check out the Mogo Trails page.


Photos: Eurobodalla Coast Tourism, Next Level MTB

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