We spent the past month traveling in New Zealand with our mountain bikes, and this article summarizes the Top 5 mountain bike destinations from our journey. Keep in mind there are some amazing spots to ride that we didn’t get a chance to visit, so this isn’t meant to be “THE” Top 5. Instead, it’s a list of the most memorable riding experiences we had that you should consider adding to your New Zealand mountain biking itinerary. Check out our highlight video featuring footage from all five destinations and then read on for more information about each of these “must ride” locations.
Everywhere we rode in New Zealand was a challenging and memorable experience. Here are a few tips to help plan a visit to our Top 5:
Number 5: Hanmer Springs
Located in the Canterbury region of New Zealand’s South Island, Hanmer Springs is a picturesque alpine village about 90 minutes by car from Christchurch. We traveled to Hanmer Springs to ride the St. James Cycle Trail, one of the 23 Great Rides in New Zealand. A recent storm and washed-out bridge led to a temporary closure of St. James, so we turned our attention to the local Hanmer trails. Hidden in the forest just behind the town center is an expansive network of trails that kept us entertained and challenged for two days of super fun riding.
Number 4: The Timber Trail
Another designated Great Ride, The Timber Trail is a 50-mile (80km) cross country adventure through the lush Pureora Forest Park on the North Island. We hired Timber Trail Lodge & Transport to shuttle us, picking us up in Ongarue and driving us to the start point in Pureora. Many cyclists break this ride into a two-day adventure opting to stay the night at the rustic Timber Lodge at the half-way point. If you’re fit and don’t want to spend a night on the trail, it’s doable in one day. We completed the whole thing in 4 hours and 50 minutes of moving time. Allow for extra time for some breathtaking photo spots along the many suspension bridges!
Number 3: Wanaka
About an hour’s drive Northeast of Queenstown sits the resort town of Wanaka offering incredible views of New Zealand’s Southern Alps and the lake that the town is named after. The Northern end of town boasts a tight network of trails in the Sticky Forest that eventually leads out to some superb cross-country riding along both banks of the Clutha River. A short 20-minute drive in the other direction will take you to Bike Glendhu, one of the most scenic and well-planned bike parks we’ve ever been to. We spent two days riding in and around Wanaka and loved every minute.
Number 2: Queenstown
Queenstown has emerged as a world-renowned destination for mountain biking thanks to the wide variety of trails across a broad range of terrain and difficulty level. In general, we felt our cross-country bikes were a little outgunned in Queenstown and we wished had our bigger travel enduro bikes along for this stop. However, there’s no shortage of options across multiple locations surrounding Queenstown. We made the wise decision to hire a private shuttle, and Finn at The Ride Guide did a fantastic job putting together an itinerary that included trails best suited for our bikes and ability. After bombing the flow trails of Coronet Peak, and racing the cross country track out to Arrowtown, we found ourselves wishing for extra days to ride in Queenstown.
Number 1: Rotorua!!
The expansive network of amazing trails in the Whakarewarewa Forest offers an incredible variety of terrain and difficulty level. Take advantage of the public shuttles offered by Mountain Bike Rotorua to cut down on some of the climb time. For the ultimate guided experience consider New Zealand Mountain Biking. Jamie does a fantastic job of highlighting all the local trails on his YouTube channel if you want to see more. We loved the long adrenaline-filled descents on some of the most meticulously maintained trails we’ve ever experienced. Miles of smiles! So good, it’s worthy of another dedicated video. Enjoy!
Interested in traveling to New Zealand with your mountain bike? Reach out and we’ll get you pointed in the right direction! Or if you’re from New Zealand and want to come ride in Southern California, contact us as we’d love to help make your visit a reality.
How good! So much good riding over here!!
Great to meet you, Jamie. Hope we get a chance to ride together at some point in the future. Can’t wait to get back to NZ!
Absolutely Brilliant! Thank you so much for sharing these gems with all of us 🌟 Remarkable cycling through a tremendous country!
Thank you, Shari! NZ would also be amazing to see on a road bike, but routes would have to be carefully planned. The roads were all in fantastic condition, but some stretches were very windy with limited shoulder to ride on.
Great information and videos. Love the site! See you on the trails.
Thanks for the kind words! I hope you can make the trip at some point. A true MTB playground.