Tassie Dreaming: Plan approved for 47km of trails on Mount Wellington

If Tasmania’s mantle of best MTB destination in Australia was ever in doubt, the announcement of 47km worth of trails in Hobart have put them to rest. 

The plan was confirmed last week by the City of Hobart and will be situated on Mount Wellington. The trails are set to cater to a wide range of skills with three beginner, 10 intermediate, two advanced and three shared use trails recommended by consulting company Dirt Art.

Why now? 

The announcement comes after survey results showed that 83% of Mount Wellington track users were in favour of new mountain bike trails. 

This sentiment is reflected by the recent surge in mountain bike activity on the Apple Isle. Between July 2015 and June 2019, Tasmania saw a 35% increase in MTB-related tourism with last year seeing over 25,000 visitors in total hitting trails. 

So what will the trails look like? 

There will be 15 trails in total according to the plan, all with varying degrees of difficulty. These can also be broken down into three separate rides. 

XC - A classic XC loop, climbing from Halls Saddle to Shoobridge Bend before traversing the mountain’s foothills via the North-South Track. A long descent on new trail follows, before returning to the start via McRobies Gully and the Missing Link area. 

Enduro - Starting from South Hobart, this enduro loop would feature a long intermediate climb to Junction Cabin before descending back towards McRobies
Gully and Tip Top Track, returning to South Hobart. 

Downhill - This shuttled downhill ride would start from The Springs, descending on
the NorthSouth Track before branching off into steeper territory and on to Upper Luge. Riders could exit on to Strickland Avenue for shuttle pick-up. 

What’s the timeframe? 

The City of Hobart have allocated $400,000 for stage one development. At this stage there has been no definite date of delivery but with COVID-19 restrictions still in place, riders are most likely in for a wait before they can hit the dirt.

You can find the full report here.