Leave the road behind and bomb, flow, hurtle or delicately pick your way through the great bike trails surrounding the Great Ocean Road. Choose from a variety of purpose-built mountain bike tracks then take a deep breath and plow headlong into a thrilling ride through the lush rainforest, pristine hinterland, native coastal bushland or along a historic rail trail.
Forrest is famous for its tangle of brilliant biking trails – 16 of them that traverse over 65km cutting through the bush terrain of the Great Otway National Park and Otway Forest Park.
Hard-core riders though to beginners can bike-hike through tall eucalypt forests, dry healthy scrub and dense fern gullies encountering everything from downhill runs, climbs and jumps to berms, logs and narrow gaps. The trails are designed around the township of Forrest and locals joke they all lead to the local craft brewery, Forrest Brewing Co.
Adding to Anglesea’s ‘Surf Coast’s Adventure Capital’ credentials is the Anglesea Bike Park Mountain Cross Park, located on Camp Road only 1km from Anglesea’s township. Designed in 2016 by legendary trail builder Glen Jacobs, it was Victoria’s first professionally designed Mountain (4X) Cross track.
With 4 x downhill tracks, two jumps tracks, short cross country loop and trails section this naturally sloped hillside trail takes you through Anglesea’s scenic bushland. Adrenaline junkies can perfect their tricks over well-designed mounds, rollers, jumps and table tops. Popular with families, this park is suitable for a range of skill levels and ages.
Eumeralla Mountain Bike trails are bounded by the Great Ocean Rd, Hurst Road and the Eumeralla Scout Camp. They offer a great mix of all ages and abilities cross country trails that traverse across appox 30km of heathland with plenty of fun jumps and roll overs.
Park at the Hurst Rd trailhead or otherwise bike-hike in from Anglesea or the Bike Park. Keep your eyes out for trail signposts with their difficulty rating and also for the lesser known trails used by locals outside of the formalised area (they are near the Anglesea football and cricket ovals).
Discover the tall forests, moss-covered historic trestle bridges, rainforests and magnificent lakes as you ride the picturesque 34km rail trail between Timboon, Cobden to Camperdown. And it’s just getting better – the rail trail will eventually connect to the coast at Port Campbell’s 12 Apostles Trail with construction anticipated to be completed by December 2022.
The Timboon to Camperdown trail is a wonderful all ages adventure. Ride past volcanic features, grazing farmland, wooded grassland, tall wet forest and into the wooded valleys. The heritage listed 1891 Timboon Trestle Bridge is a great place to enjoy a picnic and a photo opportunity by the picturesque valley formed by the Curdies River.
Trail users need to be aware the final section of the trail from Camperdown Station to Naroghid is on-road and includes a challenging (but spectacular) descent and climb between Lake Bullen Merri and Lake Gnotuk. Visitors are advised to wear bright-coloured clothing and switch on a rear tail light to make themselves more visible to other road users.
Forgot your bike?
Don;t worry, Ride with Us has a large selection of e-bikes, mountain bikes and children’s cycles, seats, and trailers for hire.
Whatever trail you choose mountain biking is always a Great Call on the Great Ocean Road.
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Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Great Ocean Road region the Wadawurrung, Eastern Maar & Gunditjmara. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise and respect their unique cultural heritage and the connection to their traditional lands. We commit to building genuine and lasting partnerships that recognise, embrace and support the spirit of reconciliation, working towards self-determination, equity of outcomes and an equal voice for Australia’s first people.
