1 mile
Distance
73 ft
Climb
-447 ft
Descent
00:10:14
Avg time

North Face Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park
    Wellington
  • Difficulty Rating
    Advanced rate
  • Voted Difficulty
    Black Diamond (3 votes)
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Trail Usage
    Biking Primary
  • Direction
    Downhill Only
    Popular direction shown
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Season
    All Season
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    Yes
  • TTFs on Trail
    Berm, Jump, Rock Garden, Wallride
  • Ride in Rain
    Yes
  • Global Ranking
    #3191 in Mountain Biking
  • Local Popularity
    90 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 20 in Trail Running
    • 5 in Hiking

This popular downhill route from the summit is sheltered from the southerly (hence the name) and built on top of typically rocky Makara Peak terrain.

The track is a step up in technical difficulty and challenge from Peak Flow. It starts off with a fast section with nice flow through a couple of bermed switchbacks, rollers and shaped corners weaving between native trees.

There are a couple of short pinch climbs through the middle section, the track surface gets fairly rough in places, and there are a couple of off-camber corners and rocky outcrops to negotiate. The last part of the track winds it's way down the hill via a series of flat and bermed switchbacks, some of which are quite exposed on the outside edge.

If you're comfortable with Peak Flow and want a new challenge, give it a go. The track doesn't get really steep, but there are a couple of sections intermediate grade riders may prefer to walk while they build their confidence and skills.

As of mid 2017, the trail surface has degraded to the point where it's quite rough in places, and the trail is now considered either a hard grade 3 (intermediate) or an easy grade 4 (advanced).

Access Info

From the summit platform, follow the signs straight down the hill. At the intersection with Zac's track via right - it's all well sign posted.

Local Trail Association
More Stats for North Face mountain bike trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -373 ft
  • Altitude min
    903 ft
  • Altitude max
    1,282 ft
  • Altitude start
    1,277 ft
  • Altitude end
    906 ft
  • Grade
    -6.5%
  • Grade max
    -40%
  • Grade min
    21.7%
  • Distance climb
    1,102 ft
  • Distance down
    4,075 ft
  • Distance flat
    541 ft
  • Avg time
    00:10:14
  • Avg reverse time
    00:12:49
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jan 8, 2021
Very Dry
Avg: 4.05 (24 votes)

view (4,916)
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  • Layers  w
  • Basemap 
  • Trail Style 
    • ?
  • Activity Type  
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Ridden Direction
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
  • > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
ContributeDetails
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
  • Description
  • Photos
  • Description & Photos
  • Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
  • most popular
  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches

LEGEND
Trail Difficulties
  • Access Road/Trail
  • White
  • Green
  • Blue
  • Black
  • Double Black Diamond

Trail Report Status
  • Clear / Green
  • Minor Issue / Yellow
  • Significant Issue / Amber
  • Closed

  • Land Owner Overlay
  • Wilderness (typically no bikes in USA)
  • BLM (public)
  • USFS (Wildlife sanctuaries darker than usfs)
  • State land
  • Indigenous
  • Military
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
  • Map Markers
  • trail Trail Head
  • photo Photo
  • place Directory Listing
  • region Riding Area
  • TTF TTF
  • Parking Parking
  • Viewpoint Viewpoint
  • Information Information
  • Warning Warning
  • Directions Directions
  • Sight Sight
  • Restrooms Restrooms
  • eBike Charging Point eBike Charging Point
  • Water Fountain/Source Water Fountain/Source
  • Gate Gate
  • Trail Sign Trail Sign
  • Table or Bench Table or Bench
  • Ladder Ladder
  • Stairs Stairs
  • Bridge Bridge
  • Boardwalk Boardwalk
  • Camping Camping
  • Cabin Cabin
  • Lodge Lodge
  • Bear Cache Bear Cache
  • Dock Dock
  • Ranger Station Ranger Station
  • Summit Summit
  • Other Other
      Directions to north-face-17347 trailhead (-41.288050, 174.707100)
      update trails status or condition

      North Face Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jan 8, 2021 @ 3:58pm
      Jan 8, 2021
      Dec 29, 2020 @ 4:53pm
      Dec 29, 2020
      		 Much rockier than years gone by!
      Nov 2, 2020 @ 7:36pm
      Nov 2, 2020
      Sep 25, 2020 @ 5:53pm
      Sep 25, 2020
      Sep 15, 2020 @ 8:40pm
      Sep 15, 2020
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 58 rides
      • 11 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 811 rides
      • 12 miles avg distance
      All
      • 4,430 rides
      •  

      Photos

      more »
      33 |
      Mar 5, 2019 @ 2:36pm
      Mar 5, 2019
      42 |
      Apr 18, 2017 @ 5:53pm
      Apr 18, 2017
      61 |
      Apr 18, 2017 @ 5:53pm
      Apr 18, 2017
      57 |
      Apr 18, 2017 @ 5:53pm
      Apr 18, 2017

      Routes with this trail

      titleratingdistance
      Makara Peak Grand Loop (intermediate & advanced)
      		8 miles
      Skyline (The Full Version)
      		24 miles
      Makara running route
      		5 miles

      Links

      Reviews / Comments

      No reviews yet, be the first to write a review or ask a question.
      Use trail reports to comment on trail conditions.


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      Videos

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      North Face Mountain Bike Trail | Makara Peak,...
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      North Face | Makara Peak Welliington
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