Australian Mountain Biking Tour

A taste of the best mountain bike riding locations across South Australia and Broken Hill while driving on an outback adventure.

Facts

Where: Includes Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and Broken Hill with options to include Melrose and the Flinders Ranges (we drive between mountain biking locations).

Start: Departs Adelaide or Broken Hill.

Duration: 6 days and 5 nights with extensions available.

Size: Up to 7 people (contact us if you are a large group of more than 10).

Fitness: Good level of fitness required (regular mountain bike rider), average technical skills required.

Bikes: Bikes are included or bring your own.

We have: Recent model dual suspension or electric (E-bikes) mountain bikes, helmet and water bottle.

Variations: Final ride location will depend on level of experience, type of riding you like doing and if you want to combine your ride with other activities such as visiting wineries, craft breweries or wildlife parks.

Best time to ride: All year round in the southern areas. Autumn, winter and spring in the northern areas.

NOTE: If you are commencing the tour in Broken Hill, the activities are the same but you will be starting as per Day 4 on the itinerary below in the afternoon and finishing in the Clare Valley. From Clare Valley we can either return to Broken Hill or end the trip in Adelaide.

The Adelaide Hills are host to many great mountain biking destinations that are all easily accessed from Adelaide. There are mountain bike riding parks to suit all riding levels and all riding styles. But wherever you go you will be riding through great landscapes, native and plantation forests and vineyards. If you need to refuel, the Adelaide Hills are home to South Australia’s cool climate wines, and you are surrounded by many food and wine options, often with stunning views, or try the craft beer at a classic stone hotel.

The reputation of Adelaide Hills as one of Australia’s premier mountain biking destinations is growing fast and for good reason. So much to choose from. O’Halloran Hill, Craigburn Farm (Sturt Gorge Recreation Park), Eagle Mountain bike park, Mt Lofty and Cleland Conservation Park, Shepherd’s Hill and many more including South Australia’s mountain bike mecca at Cuddlee Creek (Fox Creek). The Adelaide Hills and wine regions are also host to the annual UCI World Tour and Australia’s greatest cycling race, the Tour Down Under.

We’ll use our local knowledge to help you optimise your visit to the Adelaide Hills and to get the best out of this mountain biking heaven without you needing to worry about the logistics. For the best Adelaide Hills experience combine your activities with morning mountain biking and an afternoon of visiting the wineries, breweries, wildlife parks or simply have a swim at the beaches of McLaren Vale.

The Riesling Trail and adjoining Rattler Trail contours through the picturesque Clare Valley wine region along a former railway line. It travels 35km from Riverton through Auburn to Clare. The Riesling Trail is a relatively easy trail but with its brilliant mix of great food and wine experiences, pastoral vineyard scenery and a rich heritage, there is something here for every rider.

With around 30 cellar doors – some operating out of stone cottages, heritage buildings, state-of-the-art structures and farm sheds, the Clare Valley provides a compact wine tasting experience. Several wineries are located close to the Riesling Trail so you can simply ride your bike directly to the cellar door. At Sevenhill we will visit the church and crypt and former monastery of St Aloysius. The vines were first planted at Sevenhill by Jesuit priests in 1851. Several wineries now operate small breweries, also worth investigating.

The Trail has a couple of additional riding loops that take you off the main rail trail and through the hills. The 10km Father Rogalksi loop is a good one. It takes you over the Hill and into the Polish Valley (the region attracted many German and Polish immigrants) home of the very lovely Pikes Winery, micro brewery and Slate restaurant.

Broken Hill (or the Silver City) is a great little city in the NSW outback literally hundreds of kilometres from the next town. It was once the world’s richest mining area for silver, lead and zinc and the mines are still very active today. The whole town has been heritage listed, the only complete city to be listed to date in Australia. It has great architecture, huge landscapes, interesting museums and is the home to a very active artistic community. The annual Broken Heel Festival, a spin off of the film “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” which was in part filmed in Broken Hill, is a colourful and extremely popular event in September, The annual St Pat’s Racing Carnival is also another good weekend to be in the Silver City in March.

Despite the isolation and small population, it has a very impressive mountain bike park, a tribute to the small mountain bike club that has built and maintains the park. There has also been work on the old tram line between Broken Hill and the nearby ghost town of Silverton 30 km away. This is also a rewarding and challenging ride. Both riding areas will require at least moderate levels of fitness and skills. The annual Broken Hill Mountain Bike Club’s Poker Race in May is a lot of fun and a must if you are are considering an Outback Beds Tours Mountain Bike Tour around this time. 

Day 1

Adelaide & Adelaide Hills

11 am collection from Airport or Accommodation. Travel to cycling location in the Adelaide Hills. Riding assessment and route discussion. 2-3 hours riding including picnic lunch. Visit to Adelaide Hills winery or craft brewery for cool down and post ride chat. Free night. Adelaide has many eating options for you to discover (we can point you to a few of our favourites).

Day 1

Day 2

Adelaide to Clare Valley

Collection from hotel at 10 am Travel to riding location in the Adelaide Hills for a morning ride. Picnic, cafe, winery or pub lunch (depending on riding location) Drive to Clare Valley (2 - 3 hours) Settle into accommodation. Generally we will book a historic cottage or similar. Something with lots of character but good bathrooms. Dinner at the popular Sevenhill Hotel

Day 2

Day 3

Clare Valley

Leisurely day riding the Resiling trail and visiting a few wineries along the way including lunch at a winery. Same accommodation as the previous night. Dinner at a local restaurant or pub specialising in fresh local produce.

Day 3

Day 4

Clare Valley to Broken Hill

9 am departure for drive to Broken Hill (4 hrs drive) Lunch at a local cafe. Mountain Bike tour of the Silver City or ride to the Sculpture Symposium. Accommodation is in a newly renovated miner’s cottage or the fabulous heritage listed Imperial Fine Accommodation.

Day 4

Day 5

Broken Hill

Morning ride at either the Broken Hill Mountain Bike Park or a ride to Silverton, a nearby ghost village 35km to the west of Broken Hill. Lunch will be at the Silverton Hotel (the hotel featured on many beer commercials that are set in the outback) or back in Broken Hill for the Mountain Bike ride. After lunch we can do more bike riding or some sight seeing. Free night to wander around Broken Hill and try one of the many restaurants or pubs. We will give you some of our tips or you can join us.

Day 5

Day 6

Broken Hill to Adelaide

Free morning for exploring Broken Hill and finding your own lunch before a 12 noon departure for Adelaide. (6 hr drive).

Day 6

Want to spend more days mountain biking or touring the region? Here are some suggestions but there are endless opportunities. We can combine our Mountain Bike tour with other activities as well. Lets us know your timeframes and interests and we can design a tour just for you.

1. Adelaide: Additional 1 day and 1 night. There are many opportunities for mountain biking in the Adelaide region. It would be very easy to spend another day and night in Adelaide or even more days to do some more riding in the Adelaide Hills. Perhaps a ride in the southern end of the Adelaide Hills and then ride down into the McLaren Vale to visit a winery, craft brewery or have an ocean swim.

2. Melrose: Melrose is beyond the Clare Valley Wine Region but before you get to the Flinders Ranges. Melrose is South Australia’s closest thing to a Mountain Bike Village. Ride the remarkable Mt Remarkable mountain bike trails. This will be an additional 2 nights a 1 full day of riding.

3. Flinders Ranges and home of the must see Wilpena Pound: We are getting quite remote now but entering the fantastic landscape of the Flinders Ranges. This will be an additional day of driving (return) and a 2 nights stay plus a 1 full day of riding. Add another night for a day of hiking up to St Mary’s Peak or an optional scenic flight over Wilpena, Lake Eyre or Arkaroola.

4. Burra: Burra is a quaint stone historic village which once was the host of a thriving copper mining industry. You will spend a day riding along a part of the Mawson trail before returning to Burra and having dinner at the fabulous La Pecora Nera. This will be an additional 2 nights a plus 1 full day of riding.

5. Broken Hill extra day: If you do the 2 rides in Broken Hill it is easy to spend another day sight seeing or relaxing in this Heritage listed town. Or you might want to do an overnight trip to the Darling River, take a lake boat ride for bird watching and sleep under the stars in a swag, or take an Aboriginal Heritage tour at Mutawintji National Park. This will be an additional 1 day and 1 night.

6. Wilkadene on the Murray River: Sleep on board and in the day, tour the river, do some canoeing, visit the craft brewery for some sunset ales before driving back to back to Adelaide following Australia’s most famous river, the Murray River. This will be an additional 1 day and 2 nights on the houseboat.

Personal cycling clothing
Personal insurance. Make sure that your travel insurance covers mountain biking.
Flights to Adelaide or Broken Hill.
Additional activities not specified in the itinerary such as scenic flights.
All alcohol (we will have a tour bar when we are travelling the Outback).
Mountain bikes – Bring your own or we rent modern dual-suspension mountain bikes, helmet, gloves for $45 per day (discounts apply for longer rentals)
E-bike hire – E-bikes are available at an additional cost of $45 per day (discounts apply for hiring greater than 5 days).

Our region is very large. The weather conditions in the south of the region can be very different from the weather conditions in the north, and the Adelaide Hills region can be different again. Our best riding seasons are spring, autumn and winter but you can ride somewhere in the region in all year.

Generally, we would avoid riding in the outback in summer but, if this is the only time available to you, we can still ride but have shorter days, earlier starts and do something else on extreme heat days. Any of our regions can have extreme heat days in summer and we will apply the same strategies as in the outback riding as well as reshuffling our schedule to avoid riding on extreme heat days.