This purpose-built mountain bike park is fast, flowy and a joy to ride.
Barrington Bike Park is nestled on the mountainside above the much-loved campground at The Steps on the beautiful Barrington River.
Along with my husband and our two mountain bike (MTB) mad boys, we embarked on a much-anticipated shake down event with a few other families to test the newly finished trails.
After a short drive from our hometown of Newcastle we arrived at The Steps for our allocated campsite by the Barrington River. The sites are enormous by usual standards and the facilities were clean and new.
We set about making camp for the night before hitting the trails the next day.
The park was built by East Coast Mountain Bike Trails for owners Brian and Naomi. East Coast MTB are a small business from Newcastle that are doing amazing projects around the region. One of my boys was involved with the build so we were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of the new trails before the park opened to the public on 22 August.
Well, Barrington Bike Park did not disappoint! Brian turned up at our site the next morning with his brand new 10 bike Troopy trailer and we all piled in. A crazy mix of littlies, teens, mums, dads and even grand dads.
There was something for everybody here, with a pump track at the base, a lower and an upper trail head featuring a mixture of green, blue and black trails. Not wanting to tempt fate I naturally opted for warm-ups on the green trail. Brian gave us a thorough briefing and made sure we were well prepared for our descent, whichever trail we chose.
Our first ride down the green trail was a little loose in parts and needed some running in, but hey, that’s what we were there for!
All up it was flowy, fast and just a joy to ride with a few fun lumps and bumps for those more inclined to leave the ground than me!
After one more “warm up” and then another because I loved it so much, it was time to hit the blue runs. There are two blue trails and two black trails departing from the top.
I definitely found the blue trails faster and a little more challenging but definitely manageable. The trails running down the shady side of the mountain were a little wet in parts but we managed just fine and some mud on the bikes is just part of the experience. By the way, don’t fall off on “Stinger”, they weren’t kidding about the nettles.
As for the black runs, well I had to ask my kids to do that review. “How was it?” I asked, to which they replied “It was sick!”.
We finished that evening on an absolute high. A quick swim in the river (it was winter remember) then a hot shower before settling by the campfire for a roast and a few glasses of bubbles.
What a way to end the day... only to do it again the next!
A big shout out to our hosts Naomi and Brian. They were so welcoming and have put so much thought into their park to make sure their guests enjoy a premium service. Their passion for the environment and the land really shines through and you can’t help but admire the little piece of paradise they have created for us all to enjoy.
Fast, flowy and a joy to ride!
