by Susanna Mills

Since Christmas ’24, I have come to know and love the Wild Mersey MTB Trail Network in North Western Tasmania. Incentivised by maintaining a small exhibition of my handmade mtb trinkets and mosaic artworks at Gear Cafe in Railton, it has become a place of many happy MTB returns.

RAILTON:

Centred between the Towns of Sheffield and Latrobe, the village of Railton was established around 1860 and now features the rather well-hidden Cement Australia factory. It is bordered by the most beautiful, rich farmlands of NW Tasmania, forestry coups, the Mersey River and… magical MTB trails. Railton also has the mysterious Tassie equivalent of the infamous ‘Georgia Guide Stones’ - but I’ll leave them in Sykes Park, for an enticing future article ! Having explored most of the ‘easier’ blue and green trail loops upon the lower slopes of the high limestone hills called ‘The Badgers’ which are the backdrop to Railton village, one day I noticed that a ‘new’ trail had been hand-drawn onto the big trail map at New Bed Road trail head.

LIKE A SUPER HORNET !

Curiosity piqued, youTube trail video viewed, I was back there two weeks later to ride it- solo, unfortunately. I decided to park at the New Bed Road trail head, because the Goliath Park Trail head would have added an extra 10km out and back to an elevated trail that I was yet to explore. In less than a minute after hopping on my bike, I was right into my absolute favourite trail of this network- ‘Super Hornet!’ This is 0.54km of red-dirt, utter MTB bliss. With B-lines to everything, you start with a series of moguls and tabletop jumps, which get bigger and bigger as your speed increases until you encounter a large wooden A-Line launcher ramp that lands you (not me!?) perfectly pointed towards a series of sashaying giant berm wall rides which make you feel like a… uh, Super Hornet! Yew!

Flying out from the last berm takes you straight into ‘Easy Tiger’ and flowing like a two-wheeled forest imp into the trails hub. There is another helpful trail network map here, and this is the point where you turn right, and inexorably up, to the start of Raptor Ridge trail.

BACK TO SCHOOL ?

Now you can, at this very point, ride ‘Back to School’ (the up link to the Raptor Ridge trail hub) However, I prefer to ride just 150 metres further up the road, hopping onto Back to School halfway up, near the old quarry. (The first lot of stacked loops on this up link trail are very tight and annoying to navigate on an e-bike). From the road, getting back onto Back To School involves a very tricky, raw rock bridge which has lost its fortifying dirt- dismount and walk this section! However, the rest of it takes you around the interesting periphery of the old quarry; quite technical, but with much gentler corners.

RAPTOR RIDGE

The start of Raptor Ridge trail proper is at the crumbly top of the old quarry. Already, this trail hub presents a nice view, but it pales in comparison to the views that await you from the ridge! The trail starts out nicely enough, with contour cruising and the occasional up and over. Then, the stacked loops to carry you up the steep ridgeline begin in earnest. All these switchbacks are navigable on an eMTB, bar one or two that are rather steep and may force you to dismount. Regardless of the rider experience, these are masterfully built, works of (dirt) art ! The terrain gets rockier, falling away steeply as the trail clings to the contour in a thin ribbon of dirt. Rocks soon turn into cliffs and the trees start thinning out to reveal skyline and views, views, views! All too soon one has reached the crest. Now is the time to stop, have a bite to eat and admire an interesting rock formation that I have christened ‘Mafuta Mukadzi Dombo,’ *because it looks, how I feel on the bike some days !

Getting back on said bike, now following the other side of the ridgeline, our MTB trail intersects with the challenging Morgan Skyline hiking and rock climbing trail. But, you may not notice this, being too distracted by the magnificent views as you ride this section! You can see Mount Roland presiding over the town of Sheffield, and parts of Cradle Mountain and the Dial Ranges in the blue horizon.

The riding on this side is much. more. technical. There are many rock gardens and tricky rock rolls to navigate on a thin ribbon of dirt, on or off the saddle.

A series of dizzying stacked loops gets you even higher up this steep ridge. Compared to the other side, these ascending switchbacks are way more difficult- many are too tight to navigate on an eMTB with its longer wheel base. Soon enough though, the trail begins to descend through dense, grey undergrowth- this section of trail is lots of fun with some lovely berms and flow. Keep a sharp eye out for the best look out - it was the highlight of my ride! As I rested, a Wedgetail Eagle, native to Tasmania, was nonchalantly floating above the forest on an invisible current of air below me. The ocean gleamed like a shard of silver, a patchwork of velvet green farms and forests stretched out to hug the coastlines like a green quilt.

The ‘so duro’ exit trail down from this look out is rocky and treacherous. I got off and walked my bike down it for about 40 metres, but skilled, nimble riders will send it. From here, the descending just gets better and better, and you go faster and faster. There are a few built-in tech features, but they all have B-lines if you haven’t perfected the art of riding rock drops and getting airtime. ( Watch here>: Raptor Ridge downhill. )

FRANKY FLYER:

The vegetation thins out and suddenly you are back at the trail hub above the quarry. The trail gets really exciting here, as it traverses the rock face and the inner workings of the old quarry. I take the less technical ‘Franky Flyer’ - I’m tired and Franky is enough for me; ‘Echidin’ Me’ is much more technical and a hard no this time. Be careful on the small rock bridge exit from the quarry. Like the one on ‘Back to School,’ it has lost a lot of its original fortification and is now bouncy raw rock boulders; I chose to walk across it. Franky Flyer flows beautifully down, parallel to the dirt road. Where it intersects, you can either shorten and follow the road back up, past Super Hornet, or you can lengthen and take the trail offramp into ‘Green Mile.’

GREEN MILE:

This is a gorgeous romp surrounded by verdant forest giants. It is a beautiful way to finish this ride. The first section of Green Mile heads further downhill on a series of quark knuckle jumps, past giant eucalypts, gentle dirt moguls and a sweeping bend to an appointment with a pretty little waterfall. There’s a log to sit on, and an artfully cut tree trunk to slide your back wheel into as a bike stand in order to admire the Caroline Creek watercourse. Green Mile then proceeds to live up to its name as the trail gently weaves its way though a lovely tree fern forest. As the soil begins to change, so does the vegetation and the gradient. Built as a novice MTB trail, the climbs are gentle and there are no technical features to worry about. All too soon you’ll see the red clay dirt which announces that you’re almost back to where you started (aka Super Hornet). It’s just one more teensy bit of effort to get back up to the car.

Railton village beckons with a hot or cold beverage of my choice… by jove, I sure have earned it! Riding Raptor Ridge solo left me feeling both exhilarated and empowered.

Put it on your Tassie MTB riding list.

RAILTON ‘FAST FACTS’

GETTING THERE:

20 minutes drive from Devonport, Spirit of Tasmania Ferry Terminal

1 hour’s drive from Launceston city or airport, along the Bass Highway.

TRAIL HEADS:

New Bed Road (opposite Badger’s View Farmstay). Park in the parking area. Large trail map of Railton/Sheffield MTB network to help plan your ride. (18.5km ride, 2 hours) Goliath Park: Corner Crockers Street and Ennis Avenue. (28.5km ride, 3 hours)

BEST COFFEE !

Gear Cafe in Railton Village: 8.30am to 12.30 midday, daily.

ACCOMMODATION:

Camping off Esplanade Street in Railton, or Sherwood River Camp: both are dog-friendly.

Badger’s View Farmstay (opposite New Bed Road Trailhead) Four Square Short Stay, Railton Hotel

MEALS:

Burgers and Bikes, Limestone Bakery, Railton Hotel

OTHER ACTIVITIES:

Playground, Pump Track and skatepark at Goliath Park: admire the gorgeous murals!

Craft Beer tasting: Seven Sheds Brewery, off Crockers Street. Mystery ‘guide stone’ installation in Sykes Park, topiary gardens, tourist info. centre.

Hiking: 8kms of Challenging rock scrambling and climbing along Morgan Skyline (trailhead off Morgan Road)

*= ’Fat Lady Rock’ in Shona, first language of my home country, Zimbabwe.