Melrose in South Australia is one of those places but when you arrive there for the first time it’s a bit like being a kid in a candy store – all that sweet mountain bike MTB trail but no idea of where to start and how to piece it together. Over the course of this year’s Fat Tire Festival probably the most fun run I found is shown below. Starting from the campground it’s one scenic, enjoyable climb to the highest point on Hellrose followed by a fun descent, 2/3 of which was part of the Mini-D time trial course.

Going Up:

1. From campground climb Monument Trail
2. At monument, go through fence onto Farmers free wheeling fun track
3. Turn right onto Benchin
4. Turn right onto Hellrose, and keep going straight ahead at the T i.e. ride Hellrose clockwise

Coming Down:

1. Start at the highest point of Hellrose
2. Turn right onto Benchin
3. Short distance on Farmers free wheeling fun track
4. Veer onto Textbook 10%
5. Turn right onto Greener Pastures

Return:

1. Return to campground via trail that follows creek
2. Repeat the loop over and over!

This route is longer with a bit more pedaling to keep ya keen on the way down. From there it’s a cruise along the creek back to the campground from where you can do it all again until you’re unconscious or branch off onto other rides. Dodging Bullets is a great way to start and end the day too.

There are lots of other great trails at Melrose MTB trail heaven of course and many ways to piece them all together but if you ever do get there and want to have a fun fang on your Trail/AM bike…. well, you gotta ride this! 🙂