New trails are popping up all of the time. With Whakarewarewa Forest being a working forest, blocks get cleared and trails get rebuilt!
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Last summer, one of the blocks closest to town was logged. This winter, the Rotorua Trails Trust were busy rebuilding. The Rebuilding is off to a great start with Turkish Delight being an absolute hit with beginners and expert riders alike.
Another block that was logged housed some expert riders’ favourite trail – Riff Raff. The trail was rebuilt as a RTT led build led by Matt Hunt who is a trustee. The Rotorua Trails Trust has taken lead of a few of the Grade 5 rebuilds. Out of the gate, Riff Raff is one of the rowdier builds, and I think over time it is just going to get harder!
Turkish Delight is a very fun Light blue/grade 3 trail that has some very good beginner tech. Everything is rollable, rock gardens, log rolls, skinnies and even some rollers to double up! This trail is great to ride slow or fast! Definitely check it out!
Riff Raff is a very exciting expert trail that has some fast sections, very steep sections, lots of off-camber, and some big features that you want your superhero tights on for!
This track is one of the more techy trails and is not for the feint hearted or those who are just getting into black/grade 5. You will most likely scare the pants off of yourself! But if steep, loose, technical riding is your cup of tea – you will love this trail!
Whakarewarewa Forest (commonly known as the Redwoods) is actually private land. The public is fortunate to be able to ride there for free with over 200km of purpose-built single track. The first trails went in in the 90’s, and the latest trails are being built as you read this. There is a huge pool of volunteers who help keep the trails maintained and managed by the Rotorua Trails Trust. There is a First Response Unit that is funded by donations organized by the Rotorua Mountain Bike Club. And there are a few great companies like New Zealand Mountain Biking that offer guiding and coaching services! Rotorua is a real mountain biking destination with trails for all abilities from novice right through to expert.
Check out our guided trips and if you are looking to up skill, check out our lessons
New Zealand Mountain Biking offers trips for a variety of mountain bikers. From half day lessons through to 8 day custom trips for hard core riders – we have you covered. Get in touch to see how we can make your experience in New Zealand one for the history books!
Don’t forget to get in touch to come mountain biking in Rotorua. We offer lessons and tours of up to 7 days!