The Mawson Trail Mountain Biking Trails

Starting just north of Adelaide and travelling to the Outback town of Blinman in the Flinders Ranges, the Mawson Trail is the ideal option for mountain bikers wanting to travel through South Australia’ s remote rural areas.

Close to nine hundred kilometres long, the trail includes little-used country roads, State forest and national park fire trails, farm access tracks and unmade or unused road reserves. It avoids traffic and bitumen roads and leads cyclists into the remote areas of the Ranges.

The trail takes riders through the Adelaide Hills, traversing forests, farmland and historic towns such as Lobethal and Birdwood. It passes the world-famous Barossa wine region to the mid-north towns of Kapunda and Burra and, from here, winds pass the towns of Hallett and Spalding through the Bundaleer Forest and into the Flinders Ranges.

The Mawson Trail is designed for mountain bike or sturdy touring bike use - it is not suitable for road bikes. There are several steep uphill sections and heavy rain on unmade tracks can make cycling very slow or impossible. However, spectacular views, abundant wildlife, unique flora and extensive vistas always reward the hard physical work.