Feature

All about Fox Creek Bike Park

What do you know about Fox Creek Bike Park, just outside Adelaide on Peramangk Country, South Australia?

Australian Mountain Bike 17.02.2022

Words: Jackie Schapel

Photos: Jack Fletcher

It’s hard to say if this story would be the same if the site and surrounding region hadn’t been devastated by bushfires in 2019, but as is the resilient nature of Australians, it was a way to build back better, supported by a grant from the Government of South Australia and the Australian Government. Right now, the Adelaide riding scene is privileged enough to see trails old and new literally rise from the ashes.

Last year AMB checked in with the re-opening and ongoing rebuild of Fox Creek Bike Park. Simply put, progress is coming along swimmingly. Driven by ForestrySA and their partners, much of the direction is coming from Joe Mullan at Rocky Trail Destination. They have ensured that some of Australia’s most talented trail builders have been engaged and the ongoing development is absolutely worth pencilling in for a 2022 visit.

Commercial plantations and mountain biking go hand in hand in the Australian mountain bike scene, and kudos needs to be given to ForestySA for bringing the mountain bike trails to the fore, as the forest gets reborn from the ground up – trails and infrastructure included.

“ForestrySA is committed to increasing community engagement and recreational participation in our forests. Fox Creek Bike Park is the pinnacle of our sustainable multi-use forest ethos,” Monique Blason from ForestySA told us. Forestry, or tree farming, takes a long time to get going. But letting the trail builders come in as the burnt forest is replanted and planned out means Fox Creek is a functioning bike park again already, without waiting 10-15 years for tree growth.

Fox Creek then and now

For me, Fox Creek was one of the places I started riding mountain bikes. Some 15 or so years ago it was a way to meet new crew, learn to ride some cool trails and see what the mountain bike scene was all about. It had a mix of Pine forest and eucalypts and a few sketchy jetty jumps as every good early 2000s riding spot did.

Fast forward to 2015 and I swapped the rolling Adelaide foothills for Hobert's rugged mountains and typically nippy weather. Whilst having places like South Hobart, Maydena and Derby at my disposal I’d still get a hankering for a few laps with my mates down Fox Fast or Steep. Another five years passed and it was time to reverse the move and come back to a COVID lock downed mainland – meaning an even longer wait to get back to the rolling hills of Lenswood.

So what makes Fox Creek such a special place in the ever-growing suite of riding destinations across Australia?

Location, Location, Location

Situated just 30 minutes drive from the Adelaide CBD and a cheeky 45 minutes from Adelaide Airport, (remember planes?) with Fox Creek Bike Park you can be catching a shuttle to the top of the hill in less than an hour after leaving town. If stretching the legs out is more your style you can ride your bike via the road and re-live a Tour Down Under stage or gravel grind along the Mawson Trail. The time take is all on you and how hard you want to go, but for those with a solid endurance base, you can comfortably tap out a pretty epic 4-hour loop without too much trouble.

By car, you can wind your way through the hills and visit any number of bars, pubs, restaurants and cellar doors. And once you finally reach the Lenswood area you’ve still got plenty of options to keep you fed and watered. If you're visiting for a holiday, there are a number of places to rest your head.

All about shuttles

One of the points of difference for Fox Creek Bike Park as a community bike park is the shuttling services. There are now three different companies with shuttle options varying from the off-road 6-seater buggies accessing the fire roads within the park to the more traditional style of bus and trailer option. Either way, it's about a 30 minute return from top to top depending on how fast you’re dropping down the hill.

This means from a rider's perspective you can punch out 10 or so runs a day quite easily and not have to worry about the old car shuffle, with a mate whinging about how many runs they have or haven't got in.

Think the buggies are more your style? These will allow you to have various collection points on the hill so you can select your trails accordingly without having to do full runs to the bottom.

Take me to the top

The Fox Run powered by Bicycle Fix | www.thefoxrun.com.au

Escapegoat Adventures | www.escapegoat.com.au

Tell me about the trails!

As of the start of 2022, Fox Creek Bike Park will have approximately 50km of trails open and a newly minted skills park soon to launch. The trail selection covers over 20 different trails from white all the way through to double black downhill trails.

Locals will recognise some old favourites like F.A.M.E, Long and Patterson’s Curse – think of a rowdy, blown out rocky, rutted trail and you're there. Trails like this are linked up with some new editions full of flow built to complement existing runs nicely.

These older trails are the one’s that riders like Troy Brosnan and Connor Fearon raced against each other on when they were just 13 (and already riding faster than any of us wished we could).

“The bike park here pushed me and my limits back when I was junior. I was learning my skills, thanks to having so many different tracks in the one area – and they were difficult! And they still are.” Hearing a rider like Troy Brosnan give kudos to the Fox Creek trails for building his armoury of skills is no small thing. “It's a great place to come, it's a very relaxed vibe out here. You can go from riding a real easy trail to stepping up to a much harder trail, even the tracks we race downhill on.”

They have evolved over years of wheels and weather. Raw, techy and achievable for most riders at their own pace, the trails become pleasingly challenging even for seasoned bikers to ride at pace, which Connor Fearon appreciates:

“It has always been one of my favourite places to ride. A trail like Patto’s is a bit more natural and rough, left to be formed by the riders – it’s a bit tricker to get down but that’s why I like it. It’s so good to see Fox coming back stronger than ever and I’m pumped to see the new trails."

Most weekends you’ll also find pro athlete Shelly Flood ripping turns, leaving berms and mere mortals to eat her dust:

“Fox Creek is a great place to come and read, either trail rides or for downhill runs. We usually start our rides by trail riding, doing 20km, and then finishing with some downhill runs,” Shelly said. “There's so many people out shuttling on the weekends, and families are getting involved as well. The new skills park is going to be sick, and I've heard rumours that a new downhill run is going in – which will be great!”

New trails, new you

Allen's Orange Whip is one of the hallmark new additions that's been built as part of the redevelopment. An adaptive mountain bike trail, it's also the first 'bike park' style trail of its kind in Adelaide. Created to allow for adaptive mountain biking, old school mountain bike legend and recent Paralympic athlete, Grant Allen, was integral to its design and development.

“It’s been a massive honour to have this trail named after me, I was overseas when I heard it announced and to come back and ride it and find it to be the main access point to the rest of the DH trails, as well as being its own fast, flowy trail its own right is awesome! It’s transformed what was such a mediocre way to get down the hill into something absolutely everyone can enjoy and access” says Grant.

The trail is comprised of big tables, deep berms and hip jumps as snake you down the hill, creating a smile as wide as can be. Joining up with the equally fun and fast Blue Groove it's clear to see just why this one is a favourite for trains for young and old. If there was an arrow missing from Fox's quiver, it was these trails. If there was an arrow missing from Fox's quiver previously, it was these park trails like this.

The cross-country trails are beginning to form once again with the Western side of the park having seen the most devastation. Riding with local pinners Tess Manning and Griff Knight we took off on a 20km loop.

“I've been riding here for years, ever since I was really young. I hadn't ridden here much since the fires came through, so it's great to have it back open,” Griff said when we stopped part way up the climb.

“I really enjoy the different challenges you can have here,” added Tess. “Like climbing up here, or riding the flow trails – it's great.”

We end up at the top of the hill – perfectly timed to stop for a pizza.

Accessing the top of the park can be done via two main climbs. Middle Earth will snake you through the valley, via the somewhat mythical regrowth of burnt eucalypts, suddenly opening up to look over the vast rolling hills to the east. A favourite with the eMTB crew, this is one of two ways to self-shuttle without assistance (well via a vehicle anyway!). The other option is a bit more direct, climbing via Dream Weaver where you’ll re-join at the upper Precinct. The toughest choice you have here is to decide to lap down again or ride the extra 5 minutes up for pizzas, beers or a wine tasting at the impeccably placed Anderson Hill Wines and Cellar Door.

JAC'S TOP 3 FCBP TRAILS

F.A.M.E

It’s wild, a little blown out and so much fun!

Patterson’s Curse

Everyone needs some exposed off-camber to feel that little bit more alive

The Outcrops (for the vistas over Adelaide)

A cruisey trail with some absolutely stunning views of Adelaide.

So what's Fox Creek Bike Park look like?

The beauty of this bike park is that it can be all things to all people. On our visit, we met some little groms on their first-ever day out and ran into locals that were back doing shuttles after a full weekend of riding and racing at the South Australia Enduro State Championships. We found a slightly misty-eyed returned local who’d spent months on the road and was just SO stoked to be back riding and laughing with a mate.

On the days we were ripping with the pro riders you could see even after months racing overseas, how much fun they had sessioning sections and relaxing back into their hometown Adelaide vibe. I even managed a small loop of the upper XC trails with my 3-year-old son aboard his Kids Ride Shotgun seat. You know you’ve put some kilometres in your legs when you then have to haul around an extra 18kgs of whooping, laughing toddler.

All in all, the existing selection of trails is excellent and will only improve as the redevelopment nears completion.

Where to now?

Fox Creek Bike Park is on track to add more trails and infrastructure, including the addition of contemporary visitation facilities to round out an already great destination, which is part of the goal of ForestrySA, as Monique Blason told us.

“We actively explore and champion ecotourism and are continuing to seek fresh opportunities for community use and enjoyment at Fox Creek Bike Park.”

On the ground this translates to a redevelopment that has created two main precincts. The Upper Precinct forms the main visitation area and the Lower Precinct now encompasses an expanded parking and shuttle area. Joe from Rocky Trail Destination and the team at ForestrySA have been hard at work bringing the next stage to fruition.

“The upper precinct development is coming along nicely and will include a ‘Trail Hub’ that will house the more standard offerings like toilets, water stations and bike washes. We are excited to add some added features like fire pits, ebike charging stations, a local business pop up zone and a HUGE skills park.” Joe says.

The goal is to create one of the largest skills parks on offer in Australia with features designed to allow riders to improve their skills incrementally. This means incorporating beginner, intermediate and advanced lines using purpose-built structures. Think container drops, wall rides and whale tails! Situating the Trail Hub just above the skills park allows families to create a base for the day, with mini shredders in the skills hub and the bigger shredders tagging each other out at the top.

All these trails and facilities will attract locals and visitors alike, providing a well needed fire post fire and pandemic boost to the local economy and community. Already the project has created new jobs, including for local lad, Kyle, who is now cutting his trail building teeth on the new skills park with Next Level.

And then, there’s the hero trail under development… currently codenamed ‘Kangaroo Creek Epic’ this ‘scenery and shred’ trail will descend 7kms along a creek line and across suspension bridges to the beautiful Kangaroo Creek reservoir outlook, with a 9.5km return on the other side (with shortcut options along the way). This long loop alone will be worth any interstate trip!

FOX CREEK BY NUMBERS

- Started in the 1990s
- 960 hectares of land
- 30km from the Adelaide CBD
- 50km trail
- 41 Trails
- 190m of Vert
- 21 small to medium businesses coming together for the redevelopment employing 34 people
- 22 different trails
- 3 shuttle companies
- 5 wineries
- Emus, kangaroos, lizards and kookaburras!
- And…..endless loops to create!!!

Eat, Sleep, Ride, Repeat

Even as locals we needed more than a couple of days to fully cover the existing trail network, and even with an eMTB you’d be under the pump to ride the entire park in one day on your first outing. If you’re making the trip to Adelaide to check things out we’d recommend at least a few days stay at Fox Creek. There are numerous accommodation options on offer nearby and more to choose from as you fan out from the park. From camping to luxury accommodation there’s something for everyone.

You’re also in very real danger of getting distracted by all the food and beverage offerings in the Lenswood and greater Adelaide Hills region. From longstanding producers to the buzz from the burgeoning Adelaide Hills natural wine scene there’s plenty of ways to replenish the calories from a few full days on the bike. As all good cyclists know energy in, energy out – right?!

To keep the very tiny shredders happy you also have the option to get up close and personal with some native Australian critters. Gorge Road Wildlife Park is just 15 minutes from the bike park and is a great way to keep those less inclined to ride, or just tuckered out from a big day on the bike very entertained. Koala cuddling and reptile encounters are just some of the activities the park has to offer.

Come as a posse of mates, with your family for a riding weekend away or even solo to ride and recharge. Stay right on the bike park fence at Fox Farm House or lux it up at Pavilions at Lenswood. You never know, you might even end up doing runs with some of the world's top downhill racers or trying to hold the wheel of Australia’s brightest young XC racers. The flora and fauna are staging a comeback and they are equally matched by the huge smiles on the riders faces.