Attaquaskloof Ox Wagon Trail

The MTB track found at Bass Lake Adventures is set in the seventy five hectare estate, on the 4×4 trail.

The 9km track boasts very technical sections, laden with a wide range of obstacles and can be extended by backtracking over certain areas.

The site is demarcated with information pointer boards with maps available at the Outdoor shop.

Visitors to Bass Lake Adventures can also look forward to the coffe shop on premises, try their hand at some of the other adventure activities on offer including archery and scuba diving, or take advantage at their accomodation offers.

If you’re in the Joburg area looking for a MTB Route close to home, Braamfontein Spruit should be the name that pops to mind.

This 60km + endurance ride runs from Melville Koppies in the South all the way down to Paulshof in the North and is also one of Joburg’s most prominent greenbelts, with The Spruit effectively being  a path that runs alongside the Jukskei river.

Virtually single track all the way, the route predominantly  follows the water course with minimal technical sections en route making this an ideal ride for beginner to intermediate riders, but with sufficient options and variety to be entertaining and challenging for the more advanced cyclists too.

There are various starting points that one can access this route along from Emmarentia Dam to Delta Park to Albert’s Farm with picnic spots along majority of the route which is also used by runners and aquatic athletes.

Users of the Braamfontein Spruit Route are advised never to ride the route alone for security reasons.

The Lebanon Mountain Bike Trails based in Cape Town, offer a great feature mix and are suitable for mountain bikers of any experience level.

There are four routes to choose from,the 7.3km Yellow Trail, the 10.1km Green Trail, the 17.1km Blue Trail and the 23.6km Red Trail.

The trails are open from 7am to 7pm, with permits essential and available for R25 per rider.

There are also shower and braai facilities available to cyclists.

Located between Middelburg and Groblersdal in Mpumalanga is the Ruby MTB Trail which runs over seven properties in what is known as the Forever Resorts Loskop Country.

This trail is a challenging ride with portions of technical track suitable for the more intermediate rider.

There are child friendly tracks, short cuts that avoid the more technical portions and options to extend the distance on farm roads, this trail starts at the Ruby Cliff Horse Ranch, a Forever Resort and ranges anywhere from 14km to 40km’s.

The trails are open seven days a week from sunrise to sunset with free access to those staying at the Forever Resorts in the area and R50 for day visitors with bookings via the Loskopdam Resort essential.

An array of other activities are open to all staying at the resorts.

The Misty Valley Mountainbike Park and Trail Centre is located near Machadodorp in Mpumalanga.

The Park features ten routes with varying difficulty to accommodate riders of all experience levels.

For those riders looking to take advantage of some moderate, well worn singletrack just 13km’s from Berea, then be sure to check out the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve.

Along your ride you may also come across zebra, bushbuck, impala and plenty of other wildlife found in the nature reserve.

With the trail route starting near the parking area, cyclists can look forward to a 10 km circuit that drops off and winds through a riverbed.

There is a gate fee payable on entrance with the gates opening at 6am and closing at 6pm.

The Norm-Hudlin trails are situated in Kragga Kamma, Port Elizabeth.

There are 3 route options to choose from, the 30km which is suitable for all skill levels, 15km or 10km.

The terrain is Singletrack, sandy patches.

Entry is R10 during the week and R20 on weekends.

Open to the public for more than thirty seven years, the privately owned Mountain Sanctuary Park is nestled in the Magaliesberg Mountains.

There is a 12km bike trails for MTB enthusiasts to tackle, with this specific trail forming part of the Magalies Monster race and is not for the faint hearted.

Cyclists can also take advantage of some of the other dirt roads with terrain ranging from easy like the Barnardsvlei Road to seriously physical such as the Breed’s Neck Mountain Pass

Other attractions include a braai and picnic facility as well as nature walks and walking trails.

Day visitors are welcome but bookings are essential as there are a limited number of guests allowed in the park daily.

Day visitors entry fee: Per person – R100; Children under 12 – R60

The Swartberg pass & Die Hel is a 57km one way MTB challenge near Prince Albert in the Western Cape.

This route is famous for being included in the 122km “To Hell and Back” MTB challenge and is for the Intermediate to Extreme rider.

Meerendal Trail has an easy to medium grading and is designed for riders of all levels of experience.

The route consists of three inter-leading trails – 5km, 12km and 18km, and can take up to two hours to complete.

Meerendal Wine Estate also features a 4km kiddie, 13km intermediate and 17km advanced route.

Situated in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands, nestled between and abundance of bird life and wildlife is where you’ll find the St Ives MTB Park and Trails.

The trail network, designed by Big Wheel Cycles have been mapped to be fun, flowing and perfect for all cyclists from beginners wanting to learn all about MTB to the more experienced riders seeking training and skills development.

The trails are graded by colour with the green trails classified as easy, blue trails suited for the more intermediate rider and the red and black trails for the experienced rider.

There are four trail routes to choose from, the 6.3km XCO Trail route which is green graded, the 1.2km Tom and Jerrys Canyon route graded as a blue trail, the 600m Speedway route which is also graded as blue and the 1.3km D/H & Pop Rock graded as red and black.

All riders cycling on the red and black routes are required to wear a full face helmet and all other cyclists are kept to the standard no helmet no ride policy.

The Bike Park and trails are open on Monday to Sunday from 8am to 5pm with cyclists registering at the hotel reception and bikes available for  hire for guests.

Visitors can also try their hand at the Trout and Bass filled dam free to hotel guests and a charge of R100 per person for day guests, the hiking trails in the area and food and drinks available at either the  hotel or for purchase to enjoy at the onsite picnic and braai areas.

Just a few minutes outside of Silverlakes is Rosemary Hills Farm.

The venue offers mountain bike riders three trail options, the 6km, 10km and 27km through beautiful rosemary fields, past dams and across streams.

The courses include forests, bridges, ruins, floating bridges across dams and drop-offs.

The latest edition to their venue is the 1km toddler trail which is free for children under the age of 6.

Entrance is R30 per adult and R15 per child.

This venue also has a coffee shop on site and kiddies play.

The Bottelary Hills MTB route runs over 20 farms in the Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy area just outside Stellenbosch. Funds from the MTB route are used to fund the conservancy.

There are five route options to choose from, The Red route which is 18.5km and is a medium to challenging ride with mainly jeep track and farm roads, the Yellow loop which is 6.5km and is graded easy to moderate,consisting of farm roads and single track, the Purple route which is 9.2km graded easy to moderate with mostly farm roads through vineyards, the 13km Green loop consisting of jeep track and farm roads and lastly the Orange 9.7km loop, ideal for beginners and consisting of jeep track and farm roads.

Day fees are applicable and available from the various starting points.

If you’re looking for some of the best flowing, fairly non technical singletrack just outside of East London, hand built by a passionate mountain biker, then 3 Silo’s MTB Park is the place for you.

Cyclists get to choose between three main trail options, the 20.5km Red Route and 18km Blue Route which include some technical sections and climbs and the milder 10.7km Yellow route.

You can look forward to terrain that includes singletrack, floating and wooden bridges, switchbacks, climbs and some stream crossings.

And not forgetting the kiddies, they get to go wild on the kiddies 7.5km Green Route which include shorten options of 2km’s and 4km’s and comprises of singletrack with mild climbs as well as a 80m floating pallet bridge on the 7.5km route.

The trails are also open to trail runners and walkers with a café on premises open from Wednesday to Sundays, 7:30am to 5:30pm.

The trails are open all day everyday throughout the year, with entry fee being R20 on the weekend and R10 during the week via honesty box.

GPS: S32°54’21.0”/ E27°52’10.0”

Mankele, established in 2007 and situated in the heart of Mpumalanga boasts a variety of outdoor activities for the whole family.

There are a variety of well marked trails to suit all fitness levels, the Adventure zone is a 2.4km flat track, 5km Blue Route suited to beginners, 4.5km Pink Route for the intermediate rider, 8.5km  Orange Route which is technical and used for Nationals Cross Country, 20km Green Route which is moderate to hard, 1.8km Black Route, 35km Red Route which extends off the Green Route, 55km Purple Route which is for the advanced riders, 1.8km Down Hill not for the average rider and Black Dot Routes along the way.

Other attractions other than accomodation include rafting and paintball.

Mankele is open seven days a week from 6:30am to 6pm, with a strict no helmet no ride policy

Located in the heart of Gauteng is the PwC Bike Park, one of the first international standard cycle parks in Gauteng.

There is something for the whole family from a tarred kids track for the littlies, junior mountain bike trail, pump track or multi tiered BMX track to four main trails for the older riders.

The Green Circle track is easy flowing, incorporating both single and jeep track and is perfect for new riders, the Blue Square track is faster and is more suited towards the intermediate rider with technical sections, the Black Diamond track is fast and challenging – perfect for the more experienced rider and the Double Black Diamond Track is laden with fast, dangerous single track suitable for the expert or professional cycling category.

The park has a number of Mountain Bikes, BMX’s and Kids Straddle Bikes available for hire, picnic spots and braai facilities on site, running trails as well as a jungle gym and jumping castle also available for the kids.

Fees are R20 for riders under five, R50 for riders under 12, R60 for riders under 18 and R75 for adult riders.

The park is open from Monday to Sunday, 6am to 6pm.

Virginia Trails is located on the Virginia Farm in Eston, KwaZulu Natal which is halfway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

MTB enthusiasts can expect some great purpose built single track found along the 80km of farm trails, designed to be fast and free flowing with a few technical sections along the way.

The terrain on each route varies and includes a great mix of sugar cane fields, grasslands, deep valleys, streams and dams with the whole trail network consisting of a East, West and North Loop which can be combined to form a number of varying routes, allowing riders the freedom to select their own route options and distances.

The standard route options include a 2km Blue Route and 2.5km Pink Route which is ideal for kids, the 8km West Green Route, the 12km East Green Route and the 28km North Green Route .

The trails are also used by hikers, there are shower, changing facilities and a small coffee shop on premises as well as a braai area, with accommodation packages available to those wanting to incorporate a visit to the Virginia Trails as part of getaway.

Trail usage bookings are essential via bookings@virginiafarm.co.za , and are open in the Summer from 6am to 6pm and during Winter from 7am to 5pm.

Daily rates are R45 per adult, R30 for Students and Pensioners and R20 for children under the age of 12 which covers the use of the trails, a bike wash and sage of the ablution facilities and braai area.

Just 2km outside Groot Marico lies Riverbend Farm which boasts a 28km self-determined or 30km trail.

The terrain is mostly Single and Jeep track with a few water crossings. This is for the more experienced riders and is graded as moderate to extreme.

By appointment only as this is private property.

The Jonkershoek/ Assegaaibosch Reserve MTB Trails are located on the slopes of the Jokershoek Mountains and consist of commercial forest plantations.

The plantations are regularly harvested, ensuring the trails are always changing, disappearing or being rebuilt.

There are two main trails – 15km and 30km, available to choose from and both start at the entrance gate.

The trails have an intermediate to technical grading.