3,162 ft
Distance
403 ft
Climb
-113 ft
Descent
00:10:41
Avg time

Varley's Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • E-Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park
    Wellington
  • Difficulty Rating
    Advanced rate
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Trail Usage
    Biking Primary
  • Direction
    Both Directions
  • Climb Difficulty
    Black Diamond
  • Physical Rating
    Hard
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    Yes
  • Ride in Rain
    Yes
  • Global Ranking
    #31682 in Mountain Biking
  • Local Popularity
    60 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 75 in E-Biking
    • 5 in Trail Running
    • 65 in Hiking
  • Year Opened
    1998
  • Land Manager
    Wellington City Council

Named after Gareth Varley and built by Johnsonville Cycles in 1998/99, Varley's is a classic two way Makara Peak trail.

As an alternative entrance into the park from Makara Road, it's one of the more challenging climbs in the park. The gradient combined with steep switchbacks and some rocky sections make it a genuinely challenging grade 4 climb. All but the strongest and fittest riders will be huffing and puffing by the time they reach the top.

When combined with Zac's and Wahine (in the back of Karori Park) it's a great downhill alternative for intermediate riders looking for something different than Peak Flow and North Face - just watch out for uphill riders and walkers connecting in from Skyline.

In 2017 the Makara Peak Supporters, with help from a number of corporate work parties, built an extension from the water tank down to Makara Road to bypass the very steep tarsealed access road.

Access Info

From the summit head down Zac's Track or T3. Uphill riders can either go up Makara Road or the really keen can go up Wahine at the back of Karori Park.

More Stats for Varley's bike trail
  • Altitude change
    290 ft
  • Altitude min
    799 ft
  • Altitude max
    1,089 ft
  • Altitude start
    799 ft
  • Altitude end
    1,089 ft
  • Grade
    9.167%
  • Grade max
    -27.171%
  • Grade min
    37.658%
  • Distance climb
    2,033 ft
  • Distance down
    987 ft
  • Distance flat
    142 ft
  • Avg time
    00:10:41
  • Avg reverse time
    00:04:22
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jul 4, 2019
Wet
Avg: 4 (5 votes)

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  • 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
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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
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
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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 varley-s trailhead (-41.283060, 174.716780)
      update trails status or condition

      Varley's Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jul 4, 2019 @ 3:37pm
      Jul 4, 2019
      		 reporter
      Jun 2, 2019 @ 6:10pm
      Jun 2, 2019
      Apr 28, 2019 @ 12:53am
      Apr 28, 2019
      Feb 21, 2019 @ 12:15pm
      Feb 21, 2019
      		 reporter
      Feb 16, 2019 @ 10:40pm
      Feb 16, 2019
      		 Good technical climb owing to surface erosion
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 8 rides
      • 14 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 147 rides
      • 16 miles avg distance
      All
      • 696 rides
      •  

      Photos

      no photos have been added for Varley's yet, add a photo.

      Routes with this trail

      titleratingdistance
      Skyline (The Full Version)
      		24 miles
      Some tasty tech runs - with a nasty climb
      		6 miles

      1 Review & Comments

      • + 0
      flag sminchnz (Jan 4, 2019 at 17:12)
       Really fun descent, super technical ascent.
      [Reply]

      Post a Comment



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      Nearby Trails

      Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park

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