Riding the Mount Remarkable Epic Trail in Melrose, South Australia

We aren't short of trails to ride here in Australia. Mountain bike trails being built in cool places is not a new phenomena. Great trails have helped put countless places on the mountain bike map for decades. One such town that has well-loved trails and a great reputation is Melrose, in South Australia. Melrose is about 2.5 hours outside of Adelaide, on the door step of the Flinders Ranges. Melrose is far enough away to feel like a proper escape, so most people who go to visit will likely spend a couple of nights, if not more. Melrose is the oldest town in the Flinders Ranges, and still serves the large pastoral holdings in the area.

About 20 years ago, Melrose had around 20km of trails cut in lovingly by hand. The trails took flowing lines through the hills on narrow benches, and won acclaim from many who visited. The Melrose Fat Tyre Festival (held in June) still floods the town with mountain bikers and their families who book the place out year-on-year. The problem is, there hasn't been quite enough great mountain bike trails for all but the true Melrose fans to make the trip out and stay a while.

That all changed on October 29 when the Mount Remarkable Epic Trail was opened, adding nearly 38km of new singletrack and two totally new trail riding experiences. The trail was built by Trailscapes as part pf the Remarkable Southern Flinders Building Better Regions Fund, which is a $10 million investment partnership between Commonwealth and State Governments. The project was facilitated by the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife, with other project partners including the Nukunu Wapma Thura Corporation and local councils. On the opening weekend I had the opportunity to go down and ride with trail builder Garry Patterson.

In the shadow of Mount Remarkable

I drove to Melrose from Adelaide on the Friday afternoon before the trail was opened to the public. From Adelaide I made my way through the plains and pastural leases. Flocks of birds darted in front of my hire car as I drove north from South Australia's capital and small towns came and went. Each town had a mix of charming old stone buildings, and some that could use some attention. I drove through a few stands of cypress pine, and past brilliant red gums beside the road until eventually the horizon was filled with the bulk of Mount Remarkable. This mountain is sacred to the Nukunu people, as it was key to supporting life via the gorges on the western slopes of the mountain. Melrose is nestled right at the foot of the mountain, with the summit towering at 961m.

Melrose is a two-pub town, along with a brewery, a cafe, service station, camp ground and a number of privately listed places to stay. I pulled into The North Star and went to the Jacka Brothers Brewery for dinner – it's a short walk around the corner. The site uses an old flour mill and converted cellar for meals and functions, with an expansive beer garden. The gins and beers on offer come from the greater region – proving to be an ideal way to sample the products from producers of the region. A strong New England IPA was the perfect partner to a freshly cooked pizza.

On the slopes of Mount Remarkable

The Mount Remarkable Epic Trail has its trailhead right in town, with maps and toilets right out the front of The North Star pub. The trail leads off from the camp ground, and quickly winds into The North Face climb after a trip past the war memorial with its view across Melrose.

Garry Paterson meets me at the memorial and we take off. It's a long climb ahead, and we are taking on one of two loops – the Bale Out loop. This takes in the iconic North Face climb on Mount Remarkable, before diving into a 6.5km descent to the new Willowie trails. This is a network of about 20km of green and blue trails, connected to Melrose by a rail trail.

We pedal off on easy gradients, using a few more techinical short cuts up the switchbacks that Trailscapes have built into the terrain – this is perfect for Garry on his Bosch equipped Ibis Oso eMTB, and it's fun on my Trek Fuel EX as well.

The climb has a couple of steep faces to tackle, but Trailscapes worked to keep the average gradient around 4%, so more often than not you're traversing between switchbacks. And after about the first third of the climb, you can see the trail cuttings ahead moving around the spurs of the mountain. It's a unique sight, and one you will often experience in high mountain ranges, but less frequently on Australian trails. The whole time, the pasture lands are a huge expanse below you, as you edge higher and higher.

As we get higher we cross major scree slopes. One even has parts of a plane wreck from a crash around 1980. Rock is an ever-present feature on this part of the trail, and criss-crossing the scree slopes isn't something you'll often do away from alpine peaks. At one location you can look up to see more benches – or down to see where you have come from.

We reach the trail head for the Bale Out loop, a 6.5km blue rated descent down into Willowie trails. I follow Garry down as he tips into the berm, and while the trail was fresh, we did ease of the brakes a little to get a feel for the trail speed.

While not overly steep, as a consistent descent (ok, with one traverse) it's ease to get some speed up, where the features start to come up a little faster. From small doubles to rock hits just off the main line, the options are there if you want to take them. With a couple of steeper sections, Trailsscapes have built linked berms carved into the hillside, where the trail switches back on itself, seemingly with one corner atop the other, to navigate down the steep slope.

As we get lower on the trail we move from rock to dirt, and leave the grass trees and eucalypts to brown dirt and cypress pines. Riding into the Willowie network we push our bikes into berms, over rollers and off some of the features that the trail team have created – before an easy spin of about 5km back into town and to the pub.

This loop is about 28km, made up of a extended but manageable climb and a long descent, before an easy run back to town. You can throw in some trails at Willowie as needed, which also has toilets and shelter if you need a break.

Tackling the Mount Remarkable Epic Trail

After a few too many Coopers, a pub meal and a ghost tour the night before, I woke up early on Sunday to ride the whole trail. At about 38km and with 1500m of climbing, I had no qualms about completing the distance or the climbing – but this trail shouldn't only be viewed this way. It is one big loop, and once you are past the Bale Out descent you are fairly committed to the circumnavigation of the summit.

The opening climb was as glorious as the day before, and I stopped a few times to take in the view and talk to a few other riders riding the trail. From the top of the Bale Out descent, it was all new. And quite quickly the scenery changed. As the trail pushes around the spur, the tree cover becomes denser and a few more wildflowers were evident. The trees are a little lower, as no doubt the wind shapes their growth.

The trail criss-crosses the top, before starting into the descent. A few rocky step downs and rolling jumps will keep your eyes on the trail, but the view across Mount Remarkable National Park on your left is worth pausing to look at. As I approached a big drop away berm, the descent really gets started, with a committing line on the outside and quickly adjust to a staunchly grounded inside line, as the trail makes short work of dropping the altitude gained previously. The trail moves from dirt to rock and back again, with big supportive berms at the switchbacks. After a small rise the trail dives into a series of stacked berms in red dirt, right at the top of a gorge.

The trail pushes on, changing its character again as it cuts into the grasslands that surround ancient eucalypts. Kangaroos hop away as they here me coming, and once I crest a small ridgeline the trail takes me out to the end for a huge view across the valleys, while the hulking mass of Mount Remarkable is to my right.

Coming back from the viewpoint I push my bike into some of the fresh berms, finding flow as the trail winds down the hill country. It cuts a line through a grassy field before entering the gorge and a narrow trail that has mostly been built by footfall over decades and centuries more than trail tools. The trail mostly stays on the highside of the dry creek line, but occasionally dives into the rocky base to cross sides, before exiting.

These gorges are of huge significance to the Nukunu, as they hold water after rain. It is a beautiful area and one I am told is a true highlight when the creek is running.

I cross onto a minor vehicle track, before moving into the final piece of the trail – the handcut mastery to take me back to Melrose. A light ascent cuts into the dirt walls of the lower slopes, but at times I hve to drop the saddle and slide off the back of my bike as the trail cuts into the face, staying high of a cypress here, or moving around a boulder there.

The bench is narrow and my focus is tight – this is completely different to anything else I have ridden on the trail until this point, and it continues in the same fashion. As the trial winds around the contours of the southern edge of Mount Remarkable, the trail's character changes with the gradients. At times mellow and rolling on gentler grades, I can look around and soak up the scenery. But the trail still has steep sections both up and down, taking more attention on the here and now.

Eventually, I reach the town trails and join Throwing Copper, which brings me right back to where I started. I've ridden the trail in a little over 3 hours riding time, and I think most should allow about 4 hours of riding time depending on fitness. I have been out for a lot longer than that, as there is a lot to stop and look at.

The Mount Remarkable Epic Trail stands out to me as it is so different to a lot of trail in Australia. While we are one of the luckiest countries around for purpose-built mountain bike trails, quite often they need to be constrained to the limits of a mountain bike park, or within an ecological boundary to prevent straying into sensitive areas. Via many partnerships between parks, traditional land owners and other stakeholders, this trail takes a different path. It's neither a trail designed to be shuttled, nor an awkward point to point route. It's a trail that takes you on a jounrey around a mountain that is of immense significance to the traditional land owners, and it is a trail that gives you so much back.

At times the trail is hard, the opening climb may see you heading uphill for the better part of an hour. But the views are some of the best delivered on an Australian mountain bike trail, more akin to the exposure you may experience on a backcountry ride in New Zealand's Southern Alps, or in the mountain chains of Europe. The machine built trails with features and stacked berms add some thrills, and the brown dirt flow sections will give you some respite. The ancient trail adds wonder to the route before the engaging nature of the final singletrack that takes you home across the steep and shallow foothills of the mountain. This is one of the most complete mountain bike trails I have ridden in Australia, and I expect it will enthral any rider who takes it on.

If you want to get out of the park and into the mountains, this is a trail for you. I enjoyed riding it on a trail bike and I would feel comfortable riding it on my 120mm cross-country full-suspension given my experience on that type of bike. But it would also make a brilliant eMTB loop, with the pedal assist keeping the power down on the scree and giving some extra support on the back sections. You can hire one from Over The Edge in Melrose – call ahead and book if this is your plan.

The rest of my day in Melrose was spent with the opening ceremony, shared with dignitaries from every stakeholder involved in the project. As the ribbon was cut, I looked around the small crowd, spotting about a dozen other riders who had just ridden the trail. While recognition needs to go to those who made this trail a success from either a position of funding, planning, negotiation or building, as I catch the eyes of some fellow riders I can see that to them, as to me, that's not their current point of focus.

We are all reflecting on our recent ride. A route that traces a line around a mountain of huge cultural significance, for a ride that is equally committing and rewarding. We have been some of the first to be able to ride it, and that's a privilege I hold close.

Distance and elevation: About 36km and 1500m climbing and descending.
Ride time: From 2+ hours for an eMTB burn, to 5-6 hours. Expect to stop for pictures.
Trail type: Everything, from raw trail, to machine built flow and hand cut singletrack.
Best bike: A trail bike that you are comfortable on, or XC bike for the experienced XC rider. A trail eMTB is ideal.
Food and water: Take your own – I took 2.7L of water and snacks for half a day. There is no resupply option.
Bail out options: Just one, the Bale Out loop near the top of the first climb.
More information: Melrose Mount Remarkable