Ride Location: Ironbark

It’s been over two years since our initial ride location article about Ironbark and a lot has changed in those two years. The trail network has progressed leaps and bounds, solidifying itself as one of the best spots to throw your leg over a bike in Brisbane. We spent a bit of time out there lately riding some of trails and have put everything you need to know about Ironbark right here….

How to get there

Ironbark Trails are situated within the Samford Conservation Park on Samford Rd approximately 18 km from Brisbane CBD in the North West of Brisbane. It’s a short drive past Ferny Hills and the car park is situated on the right near the skills park. The location of these trails make them extremely accessible for anyone wanting to get an afternoon shred in after work in summer, or a morning ride without chewing up the whole day.

The Trails

The development of this trail network has been largely due to the hard work of North Brisbane Dirt Dogs MTB Club, with more work scheduled to be completed shortly. Trails are maintained by both North Brisbane Dirt Dogs MTB Club and Northside Trail Care Alliance providing us with some of the best trails in Brisbane to ride.

There’s a good mix of trails to ride at Ironbark and it caters for riders of all skill levels, the best bike to ride in our opinion is a trail bike with 130-150mm of travel, but you can easily ride all the trails on an XC bike or long travel Enduro bike as well. There’s a skills park at the main car park which allows riders to practice, advance their skills or just ride around with their family. A beginner trail ‘Green Tree Snake’ leaves from the skills park and loops back in, making a great trails for new riders to enjoy.

There’s two blue trails or intermediate trails, ‘Kombi’ and ‘Ballbuster; both are a bit of fun and get better the faster you ride them. Easily the funnest trail in our opinion is ‘Whip Snake’ or the PMG Trail (strava), a newly completed gravity orientated trail with a mix of machine built jumps, berms and flow, with some rough and rugged single track. Rated black diamond or advanced, this trail is not for beginners but is a welcome addition to the trail network. The other black diamond trail ‘Sunset’ has long been one of the best trails at Ironbark, in the coming weeks it will be completely reopened with an extension being completed, providing a mix of machine built trail and hand built single track.

Facilities

Ironbark has everything you need to keep you riding longer and harder. Toilets are available approximately 200 metres down the road from the skills park at the reserve car park, water is also available at the same location. There is a trail map at the skills park and all the trails a marked, making it easy to find your way around and spend more time on the trails.

Best time to Ride

The best thing about riding bikes in Queensland is the ability to be able to ride year-round. Ironbark can be ridden year-round, with the most comfortable time of year being winter. If you are riding in summer on a hot day, mornings are always the best option to beat the heat.

Ironbark has progressed leaps and bounds in the last few years and that is largely thanks to the North Brisbane Dirt Dogs MTB Club and Northside Trail Care Alliance. If you are looking for somewhere new to ride then look no further, Ironbark has made it onto our list as one of the best places to ride in Brisbane. Do yourself a favour and grab your bike and some mates and hit the trails…..