Maydena Bike Park
A proposal to create a huge MTB park near Maydena in the Derwent Valley Tasmania has moved one step closer to reality. It has now passed to stage two in the approval process with Dirt Art and their partner adventure development company Dirt Concepts moving into the lease phase for the site. Dirt Art will now work towards gaining the final approvals and develop a detailed plan so the trail construction can begin.
Maydena is about one hour and a quarter (84km) north-west of Hobart, just off the main route to the West Coast. The proposal will take advantage of the Eagles Eyrie; a multi-million dollar tourist centre that was built in 2009 but failed and has been closed since 2013. This building sits at 1,100m above sea level and overlooks the Styx, Florentine and Gordon valleys. It’s also 820 vertical metres above the base visitor centre, and the planned MTB park will make full use of this.
The proposal includes 100km of trail to be built in a number of stages. Standing as the centrepiece will be a 20km descent taking in scree slopes and dense forests with massive myrtle trees. A shuttle service will get you back up the hill and the Eagles Eyrie facility will adapted for riders with a café, restaurant and bike shop. Other activities will also be catered for with zip lines, four wheel drive tours, eco tours and bushwalking.
While the final approval stages still lie ahead, Dirt Arts Managing Director Simon French is confident that the project will go ahead. If all goes to plan, stage one of the trail network may open by summer 2016/17, we can't wait!
