3,162 ft
Distance
403 ft
Climb
-113 ft
Descent
00:10:13
Avg time

Varley's Details

  • 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
  • eBike Allowed
    Yes
  • Ride in Rain
    Yes
  • Global Ranking
    #31151
  • 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.

Local Trail Association
More Stats for Varley's mountain 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
    00:10:13
  • Avg reverse time
    00:04:22
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jul 27, 2018
Wet
Avg: 3.35 (3 votes)

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Layers winter
Trail Style
  • ?
Activity Type
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Directions to varley-s trailhead (-41.283060, 174.716780)
update trails status or condition

Varley's Trail Reports

datedescription
Jul 27, 2018 @ 6:57pm
Jul 27, 2018
Jun 15, 2018 @ 11:41pm
Jun 15, 2018
 A bit of mud about but riding well
Nov 27, 2017 @ 10:03pm
Nov 27, 2017
 Very dry and rutty, would not recommend until we get some rain.
Nov 27, 2017 @ 10:01pm
Nov 27, 2017
 Very dry and rutty, would not recommend until we get some rain.
Apr 22, 2017 @ 2:44pm
Apr 22, 2017
view all reports »

Photos

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Routes with this trail

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

Reviews / Comments

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Nearby Trails

Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park

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