Mt Majura in the ACT is far from a new riding area. It was one of the ACT’s first key riding areas and hosted many state and national level MTB events through the early 90s and the decades that followed. More recently this pocket of singletrack was overshadowed by the extensive trail networks at Stromlo and Kowen, and that was before the area was cut in half by a major road development.
Thankfully Majura wasn’t forgotten, and after a two year hiatus, Majura Pines was resurrected. The Majura Pines Trail Alliance (MPTA) has spent countless hours getting the trails back up to speed, building around 8km of singletrack. Jindabyne Landscaping was also enlisted to help, and early this year they put in around three months of work with two excavators to built around 7km of new trail.
The reworked Majura was reopened in March 2015 and features a good mix of different trails. It’s easily accessed from old Majura Road, which runs parallel to the recently built Majura Parkway. The trail head is easy to spot with plenty of parking and a water point to top up your bottles or pack.
A couple of green trails serve as a good warm up loop near the trail head before ducking under Majura Parkway to hit the trails proper. The lower part of the forest is loaded with flowing intermediate ‘blue’ level trails—nothing too tricky but plenty of fun with a few of Majura’s signature gulley’s to traverse. When approached with confidence, these ditches give you a real rollercoaster ride with a big G-out at the bottom before shooting you out the opposing side—just make sure you carry sufficient speed or they’ll swallow you up! Some of the most fun XC trails can be found at the northern end of the area. A gradual climb up Mr Squiggle leads you to the bermed rolling jump filled descent of Pinot Grinio and Bombora—both are blue rated and not too hard to ride but are sure to leave you with a big grin by the bottom.
The southern end of the Pines is littered with more descent oriented trails. Rock Lobster, and Planet Claire are both a blast if you enjoy a good downhill with a few jumps thrown in.
While these trails are linked north to south by a number of intermediate trail options (Telemark/Dew Drop and Smitten Kitten/Radicle), there’s also a black rated XC trail option if you’re up for a challenge. Auto Alley doesn’t flow like most modern purpose built MTB trails. It’s a comparatively low speed and technical trail that will reward the skilled trail rider.
All in there’s around 15km of trail that will keep you solidly entertained for a day. It mightn’t have the sheer kilometres of trail on offer at Stromlo but you’re sure to want to ride Pinot Grinio and Planet Claire more than a few times! The reborn Majura trail network has retained much of the old school feel with some new school flow thrown in for good measure and it’s well worth a look if you’re planning a MTB road trip to the ACT.
For more on the trails go to http://www.majurapines.org and you can even upload an app that’ll help you navigate the trails: http://www.trailforks.com/region/majura-pines/
