X-Trax Trails

Sani Spoors, located in Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal, is home to a bunch of farmers who are passionate about mountain biking and came together to create a system of trails on the working farms, which catered for all skill levels known today as Sani Spoors.

Sani Spoors have seven tracks that visitors can challenge themselves on, the 17km Rainbow/Khotos Clamber which has minimal climbing but a few technical sections, the 7km Mzimkulu Run which has no ascent and is a flat and gentle ride, the 10km Milk Run which is made up of mostly pine forest and single track with a couple of climbs and rocky sections, the 17km Jackal Jol which has been compared to the Milk Run but has a few more climbs, the 3.3km Intshitshi Spoor which is a flat and gentle ride along the river, the 17km Heaven and Hell trail which boasts some of the most spectacular views with a few testing climbs and exhilarating downhill forest single track and lastly the gruelling 32km Ekhutuleni Elevation which is the most technical and exhilarating of all the trails.

All of the trails start at the Olde Duck restaurant on the Drakensberg Garden Road with a strict no helmet no ride policy.

Visitors can also opt to take on a trail running route, try the fine food and beverages on sale at the Olde Duck Restaurant while the kids feed the animals in the animal farm or try their hand at the specially created kiddies track.

All visitors need to fill in the required indemnity forms and pay the relevant fees at the Vanilla Rose gift shop which is on the same premises as Sani Spoors and the Olde Duck.

Daily fees are R45 per person, R135 per week or R450 for Annual Subs.

If you’re looking for a family orientated destination on the KZN North Coast, be sure to visit Sugar Rush Park.

With over 100km’s of MTB and running trails, designed by MTB champions Russell and Tyrone White, Sugar Rush Park caters for both amateur and experienced riders.

The Southern Trails have two trail options, a 5.3km Kids Route which is suitable for beginners with a mix of farm road, cane breaks and jeep track styled terrain. The Ladies route is 13.6km’s that is made up of a mild climb, single track, a suspended bridge and a few short climbs along sandy jeep and single tracks.

The Northern Trails is home to the 18.7km Mamba Route which is ideal for the intermediate rider with some standard technical features.

Other attractions to the Sugar Rush Park include running trails, hot showers, bike washes, a fully fledged restaurant  and toddler zone.

MTB Day passes are available at R40 with kids passes available at R30 per day. Opening times are from  Wednesdays to Sundays during the KZN school term, everyday during school holidays and on all public holidays except Christmas and New Year’s.

Gates (Oct-Mar): 5:30 am – 4pm
Gates (Apr – Sep): 6am – 4pm

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

This dirt road MTB trail which is the only road between Rustenburg and Hartbeespoort, is set in the magificent Magaliesberg countryside.

Cyclists can take advantage of a 50km plus distance ride starting from the  Hekpoort Petrol Station or tryout the 10km trail from Sugarbush Hill Cottages.

The  grading is intermediate to difficult, with riders choosing to use this route in training for the cycling events like the Magalies Monster –  you can also pre plan your ride options by referring to the Automobile Association’s Magaliesberg Map.

Other attractions include Sugarbush Hill hiking trails and a multitude of restaurants and shops to browse through and relax in.

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

B’sorah MTB Trails is spread out on one thousand six hundred hectares of game and cattle farm, situated between Hartbeespoortdam and Krugersdorp, an hour away from the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

The 22km route is made up of challenging climbs and downhill strips, jeep tracks and some technical aspects with turn-offs for shorter distances along the way. Cyclists can also purchase their own route map and create or extend your own route.

Other attractions to B’sorah Trails also include a variety of running and hiking trails, picnic areas and various accommodation offers on site.

Entry is R25 per person per day.

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.

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 J-bay bike park just outside of Jeffrey’s Bay caters for all level of riders.

There are six various routes to choose from, Route 1 is 1.5km, Route 2 is 4.9km, Route 3 is 8km, Route 4 is 8km, Route 5 is 1.2km and Route 6 is 2.8km.

Entrance is R40 per person and kids under 12 are free, open seven days a week, except during wet weather.
Other activities also include trails, jungle gyms and trampolines.

This forest track, circular route is a 19km moderate to hard ride which starts at the Krisjan Se Nek picnic site and winds its way through the Homtini Forest.

Permits are essential and are available from Thesen Island Office or the Goudveld Entrance gate at R35 per adult and R18 per child under 13.

In the forest at the foot of the Outenqiua mountains is where you’ll find the Farleigh Mountain Bike trails.

There are three circular route options to choose from, the 7.5km Green Route which is quite easy, the 20.1 Yellow Route which is more of a moderate ride and the 25.3km Blue route, also a moderate ride.

Permits are essential and can be obtained at the Farleigh Office, Thesen Island Office and Goudveld entrance gate for R35 per adult and R18 per child under 13.

Situated between Knysna and Plett you’ll find Harkerville forest.

There are four circular routes available which are perfect for some recreational mountain biking, the 14km Yellow Route featuring gravelled service roads, the 12 km Blue Route featuring forest slip paths and single track, the 15km Green Route and the 24km Red Route.

All four routes start and finish at the Garden of Eden and permits are required which are obtainable from the Garden of Eden Kiosk or Kranshoek Road Gate.

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.

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.

This 34km route is for the intermediate rider, with a 17km ascend on gravel zigzagging roads to the top of the mountain.

Guests can do this route for free but day visitors need to make prior arrangements.

Other activities include bird watching and hiking.

This 45km self-guided circular route consists of jeep tracks, dirt roads and concrete section with the start point located at Platberg Backpackers.

The grading is difficult to extreme with the route forming part of the Dirty Harry MTB Classic.

Overlooking the Clarens Valley is where you will find Bokpoort Cowboy Ranch.

The MTB options vary from difficult to extreme, boasting Huge climbs, Single Track and horse trails with four potential ‘route options’: the intermediate A-loop (10km); the tough B-loop (14km); the very challenging C-loop (18km) and the hike/bike D-loop (30km).

An array of other activities from horse riding, archery and more are also on offer – check out their website for more information.

Bookings are essential.

Sabie caters to both the novice and accomplished riders with 5 different MTB trails to choose from.

You have the easy 6km Yellow route, the 15km Green and 25km Blue routes for the intermediate riders and the 13km Black and 30km Red routes for the experienced riders.

All riders need to have a permit to access these routes, which are R30 for 1 to 2 days per person and R60 for 2 to 5 days per person.

Camp Shaka MTB trails has various trail options available from 7km to 35km.

The terrain varies from dirt road, tar road and jeep track and is graded as a moderate ride.

If you’re looking for some of the best Single track riding then Mount Anderson is the place to be.

There are three signature rides available, The Goldrush, The Serengeti and The Pedi Ruins which boasts rocky single and double track terrain.

These are guided rides with a minimum group size of 6.