4,165 ft
Distance
612 ft
Climb
-421 ft
Descent
00:07:12
Avg time
Trail Supporters, Builders & Maintainers of Upswing Trail

Upswing Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park
    Wellington
  • Difficulty Rating
    Blue rate
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Trail Usage
    Biking Primary
  • Direction
    Uphill Only
    Popular direction shown
  • Climb Difficulty
    Blue
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • Season
    All seasons
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    Yes
  • TTFs on Trail
    Bridge
  • Ride in Rain
    Yes
  • Global Ranking
    #391 in Mountain Biking
  • Local Popularity
    100 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 80 in Trail Running
    • 100 in Hiking
  • Year Opened
    2017
  • Land Manager
    Wellington City Council

Upswing is the new climbing track that provides a much easier and more enjoyable way of getting to the summit of Makara Peak compared with Missing Link or Snakecharmer.

The first part of the track was built in 2016 by volunteers and corporate work parties. It climbs at a pretty gentle gradient through a series of eight switchbacks before crossing the 72 metre long Wild At Heart suspension bridge. The suspension bridge was planned by the Makara Peak Supporters, who also raised the funds and coordinated volunteers to assist Abseil Access with the construction of the bridge.

The bridge crosses high above a steep sided gully and native bush. There are viewing platforms and picnic areas on both sides of the bridge where you can enjoy the views of the bridge and the centre of the park.

The second portion of the track continues at a mellow gradient around the valley before joining about three quarters of the way up Aratihi. This section of the trail was digger and rock breaker built by TGL Contracting with funding from the Wellington City Council.

From there riders can continue for another 10 minutes of climbing to the summit or choose to head into the south west corner of the park via Upper Leaping Lizard.

Access Info

From the main carpark, head up Koru and Sally Alley. At the end of Sally Alley, turn right onto the 4WD track for 25m and then left onto Three Brothers . From St Albans Ave, head up Snake Charmer (4WD track) and drop into Sally Alley at one of the connector tracks.

Local Trail Association
More Stats for Upswing mountain bike trail
  • Altitude change
    191 ft
  • Altitude min
    850 ft
  • Altitude max
    1,054 ft
  • Altitude start
    853 ft
  • Altitude end
    1,044 ft
  • Grade
    4.584%
  • Grade max
    -53.167%
  • Grade min
    59.368%
  • Distance climb
    2,395 ft
  • Distance down
    1,612 ft
  • Distance flat
    157 ft
  • Avg time
    00:07:12
  • Avg reverse time
    00:11:54
  • view trail stats
Status:
on May 20, 2020
Ideal
Avg: 4.9 (11 votes)

view (9,815)
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  • Layers  w
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  • 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
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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
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  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
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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.
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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
  • Camping Camping
  • Cabin Cabin
  • Lodge Lodge
  • Bear Cache Bear Cache
  • Dock Dock
  • Ranger Station Ranger Station
  • Summit Summit
  • Other Other
      Directions to upswing trailhead (-41.293910, 174.708450)
      update trails status or condition

      Upswing Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      May 20, 2020 @ 5:58pm
      May 20, 2020
      Apr 28, 2020 @ 3:18pm
      Apr 28, 2020
      		 reporter Track care as there is a lot of debris on track following the park closure and recent storms
      Apr 23, 2020 @ 12:00am
      Apr 23, 2020
      Apr 8, 2020 @ 11:46pm
      Apr 8, 2020
      		 reporter Park closed to mountain biking during COVID-19 alert level 4
      Jan 28, 2020 @ 7:07pm
      Jan 28, 2020
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 90 rides
      • 10 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 1,774 rides
      • 11 miles avg distance
      All
      • 3,508 rides
      •  

      Technical Trail Features (TTF)

      Photos

      more »
      40 |
      Dec 7, 2019 @ 12:30am
      Dec 7, 2019
      21 |
      Sep 1, 2019 @ 4:33pm
      Sep 1, 2019
      20 |
      Sep 1, 2019 @ 4:32pm
      Sep 1, 2019
      20 |
      Sep 1, 2019 @ 4:32pm
      Sep 1, 2019

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titleratingdistance
      Makara Peak Intermediate Loop (feat. Upswing and Peak Flow) featured
      		7 miles
      Makara Peak alternative intermediate loop from Karori Park
      		8 miles
      Makara easy-ish loop
      		7 miles
      Makara running route
      		5 miles

      Links

      1 Review & Comments

      • + 0
      flag longliveenduro MTB - Augsburg (Jan 13, 2018 at 22:21)
       Wow!
      [Reply]

      Post a Comment



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      Videos

      more »
      Upwing - Looking fresh
      2:44 | 385 | Feb 28, 2017 , Wellington

      Nearby Trails

      Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park

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