An epic weekend adventure
The newly upgraded Haunted Hills biking park is making its mark as one of Latrobe City’s most scenic trails.
It’s time to prepare your bikes and get your adrenaline pumping at the Haunted Hills Bike Park.
Situated near Moe in eastern Victoria, the park includes over 15 kilometres of progressive trails that caters from beginners through to advanced levels. Haunted Hills is open all year round to mountain biking enthusiasts of all levels, with the natural surroundings offering beautiful scenic views to enjoy.
Dubbed as the hero track of the G7, the Haunted Hills Bike Park is the network of seven central Gippsland bike parks, which includes Maryvale Pines Bike Park, SWG in Glengarry, Erica Bike Park, Mt Baw Baw Bike Park, Blores Hill MTB and Avon-Mt Hedrick Reserve.
Families and biking enthusiasts gathered to celebrate Halloween at the Haunted Hills Spooky Epic Weekender in late October, 2023. The theme is an ode to the area’s mysterious history, which is steeped in spooky stories of strange noises and ghost sightings.
Latrobe City Council partnered with Rocky Trails Entertainment, Destination Gippsland, Haunted Hills Bike Park and Gippsland MTB to showcase the three-day event of epic mountain bike racing.
Riders, families and visitors were able to take advantage of the wide range of amenities available at the venue, including the asphalt surface pump track, toilet, BBQ s, shelters, car park and a wash down station.
The weekend racing also included the Pump and Flow Pumptrack Shootout, and the classic Cross-Country Endurance lap racing event – the Haunted Hills Shimano MTB Grand Prix.
“We had over 200 students who travelled across Victoria, including Geelong and Melbourne come up and participate in the Gippsland Schools MTB Schools Comp,” Jo Parker, National Event Manager for Rocky Trails Entertainment said. “This is the second year we’ve had this event and it’s doubled in size.”
The special edition of the Gippsland Schools MTB Schools Comp, held on the Friday, offered racing categories for years 5 to 12. The races are aimed at encouraging youth in healthy social and active recreation as well as a heightened appreciation of nature.
“There’s a large opportunity for people to come out and still ride it and understand it. It caters for riders of all abilities, which is the beauty of the Hills,” Jo said. “Families can come out, sit under the shelters and barbeques and still feel like they are close to their children.”
Nick King, Latrobe City Citizen of the Year 2023 and Specialist Trails Consultant, said the Haunted Hills Mountain Biking Park encourages the younger generation to get outdoors.
“Events such as these opens up avenues for students who don’t typically follow your mainstream sports like football, cricket and baseball,” he said. Female participation is up too, which is really great. Some of the girls shred down these trails faster than the boys!”
Nick, who is an avid mountain biking enthusiast, also mentioned the importance of showcasing the beauty of Gippsland through the mountain bike parks and progressing the sport.
“We are hoping to bring all the Gippsland mountain bike parks as one unified outdoor experience. There’s also great career opportunities for students through engaging in projects and events such as these.”
