12/05/2026
Hi All, this is some more of the explanation notes that were posted in November '22 when the MTB Plan was first published as a draft - Before it went on public display and eventually accepted by the NPWS.
Read with part 1 & 2 below plus the Glenrock MTB Plan
MTB Plan Explanation Part 3
When I first started writing this I thought it would be just an explanation of how everything fits together but as it went on I realised questions are already being asked and that this is a justification as much anything else.
I’ve already started writing the trail descriptions and explaining the map but I felt I should just leave that for a bit and explain more about the WHY.
So please excuse me taking a while to get this together.
With the proposed expansion of the MTB trail network the general public and other users are wanting to know why it’s necessary, we need good reasoning to justify building new trail in a National Park.
Well there are .good reasons and I think it will help people to make good, well informed, submissions if we all understand.
Given that the trail network was never really planned in the first place the connectivity, layout and directions have just evolved to suit what we had. We don’t even have a feature trail that everyone wants to ride and that the network is built around.
When we were consulting on the previous PoM we tried to achieve better outcomes but the NPWS wouldn’t allow it at the time.
This has only caused further problems - trails don’t provide what people want, rogue trail building continues, sustainability and conservation values suffer.
Everything is a compromise.
This is not how you built and maintain a world class park - Whether it be a National Park a MTB park or both!
We want to make it better.
The Stacked Loop System
Single-track trails generally can’t be ridden bidirectionally, trails of that nature a are too narrow and often don’t have adequate sight-lines to prevent head on collisions.
Trails need to be ridden in one direction only - So we need to have trails that loop around to bring you back.
At the moment we basically have one big loop with trails of varying standards throughout and we have people of different abilities, expectations and time constraints all riding the same - It’s little wonder people are creating their own alternatives.
Good trails within a park like this need to be able to be ridden as a loop with connections and options.
People park their cars and ride from there, or live in a location where they enter - they need to be able to get back to that spot.
By starting with a ‘Trunk Trail’, a basic loop that everything else branches off we can join all the loops together we then have loops that connect and ‘stack’ onto each other from there to offer those options in a way that achieves our Design Principals, as mentioned before.
To explain – Someone could start at the main trailhead – Gun Club Rd. Gate - start on the trunk trail, turn onto the Northern Loop section, ride some or all of its loops continuously, without back-tracking or crossing over trails, return onto the trunk trail, ride a bit more of it…. Then turn onto the Middle Loop section ride some or all of its loops continuously, without back-tracking or crossing over trails, return onto the trunk trail, ride a bit more of it…. Then turn onto the Southern Loop section and ride some or all of its loops continuously, without back-tracking or crossing over trails, return onto the trunk trail and ride the rest of it back to the carpark. As much or as little as they want and on trails to suit their ability or you can mix it up – Options.
Same for someone living locally or wanting to start from a different location - except they just enter at one of the other entry points (listed in the Draft MTB Plan) continue onto the loop and go around from there, utilising the Trunk Trail when they arrived at it and eventually returning to their entry point.
This also works really well for events that can just use a part of the network leaving the rest free.
Most of the new trail we are asking to build is to tie the loose ends, join the dots and connect it all together.
In this plan all trails ride in the clockwise direction to assist with navigation and to make a more intuitive ride experience.
Brunker road is separate from the main Glenrock Trails but the 2 loops there work the same.
The next big thing is that Glenrock doesn’t have a feature trail, the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ that everyone wants to ride – preferably a descent.
In the plan we have located the longest descent possible that is on pre-disturbed land. This is from near the start of Seismick and runs through the old Baileys orchard, north, to the back of the Treatment Works.
This is not only from one of the highest points to one of the lowest points but is also in a heavily pre-disturbed area mostly overgrown with lantana.
This trail then has options to return to the top or continue on to another loop trail.
As it says in the MTB Plan - This trail and all the Skills Ares are located in the Middle Loop section and in the areas of most previous disturbance.
This was very purposely done. It’s planned that while building and improving the MTB trails we will be doing remediation and rehabilitation work along the way – similar to what has been done in the Seismick area recently. The trail itself providing access to these areas - a win-win situation to improve the park in all ways and enhance conservation efforts.
We want to ride in real aussie bush – not w**ds!
Now – The demand for features.
Right from the very start riders have wanted features. Technical Trail Features (TTF) are an important part of all MTB trails.
Yes flat and easy is fine when people first learn to ride but the learning curve is so steep - that all seems so bland in no time at all.
The demand for features is so great that all over the world people are building things themselves – jumps, bermed trail, technical rock gardens and even wooden structure.
If we have an area where MTB is allowed but without TTF people will try to build their own. Not to any standard and in any location they see fit. Currently most unauthorised trails in Glenrock are built to meet demand for features.
Luckily the bigger features take so much resources, time and materials, that most people would rather go and ride what’s there.
In the MTB Plan the 3 ‘skills’ areas are set aside for this sort of thing - Dedicated corridors for ‘intensive’ MTB use.
They are all located in areas of previous disturbance and lower conservation value.
We can machine build proper features and trails with erosion control, drainage in a sustainable manner, way better than anyone can do with a shovel.
The idea is that if we provide a good MTB experience people won’t bother to build their own, may even walk away from other areas to come and ride the better stuff.
Then, hopefully these users come to support the park and it’s values, actively discourage any other rogue building.
These areas are also located close together, with easy access for machines, materials, vehicles for events and even an ambulance, if needed.
Adjacent areas of unauthorised trails and features would be closed and rehabilitated.
The MTB Plan does still provide for flat and easy trails as well.
In short this isn’t just a grab for more trails, it’s a plan to make everything work better –
- MTB trails that actually function as loops that people of all abilities want to ride.
- The conservation effort, especially w**d control, the biggest single problem in the park.
- To close and rehabilitate unauthorised trails and discourage the rogue trail building.
