Must-Ride Queenstown Mountain Bike Trails

7 Mile Bike Park

• Location: 7 miles from Queenstown on the Glenorchy Road.
• Difficulty: All levels. Tracks are graded 3-5.
• Best time to go: Open all year. Trails are best from October until May

7 Mile bike park is excellent for beginner and intermediate riders seeking progression. The flowy jumpy trails have something for everyone, from Cool Runnings for beginners, up to the more advanced Angel’s Edge, Satan’s Corridor and The Steeps. Jack B Nimble has a series of tabletop jumps, railing berms and step downs. Upper Kachoong, Gravitron, and IB55 set the speed for you and make it safer and more fun for you to ride.

McNearly Gnarly and Mini Dream

• Location: Queenstown. Access from Wynyard Crescent or from Hammy's Track in the Ben Lomond Trail network.

• Difficulty: Beginner to intermediate with Grade 4 advanced sections

• Best time to go: All year, although not advised after heavy rain. 

McNearly Gnarly is the intermediate flow jump line jewel in the crown of the Fernhill Trails. With 60+ jumps, in your four-minute lap down you get so much experience. Once you get your eye in you won’t even realise that you’re taking bigger and bigger jumps. And the tabletop jumps mean even beginners can land safely.

McNearly Gnarly is built by the trail building legends at Elevate Trail Building, who travel around the world building trails for the likes of Red Bull and Crankworx. In 2020 they extended Dream Track (a pro jump line) and McNearly Gnarly to Mini Dream, a track with slopestyle course features, popular with riders training for Crankworx.

Hot Rod. Hot damn!

• Location: Coronet Peak. Access from Rude Rock by Coronet Peak base station.
• Difficulty: Advanced. Grade 4
• Best time to go: Open all year. Trails are best from October until May. Avoid after rain.

Hot Rod extends the world-renowned trail Rude Rock. The two trails combined form 1,200 vertical metres of descending flow track all the way to the valley floor. The trail is rated advanced, but it’s accessible to intermediate riders, who can take it at a more relaxed pace.

This may be New Zealand’s longest downhill flow trail, but it’s so much fun, it doesn’t feel long. We’re talking really flowy, with big berms and fun features to keep you engrossed all the way down. Hot Rod is everyone’s dream.

Take the Coronet Loop for backcountry fun

• Location: A 50km circuit. Part of the. Access from Arrowtown.
• Difficulty: Intermediate to advanced. Grade 3 with Grade 4 sections that can be skipped. More challenging than the rest of the Queenstown Trail.
• Best time to go: Open all year. Trails are best from October until May. Avoid after rain.

This backcountry gem was added to the Queenstown Trail network in 2022. Wind your way across river crossings, past waterfalls, along historic gold mining tracks, past gold rush ruins, and through native bush, all with amazing vistas.

Locals recommend riding the trail clockwise, starting with a climb through beech forest up the bluffs by Bush Creek. This is a demanding circuit with several steep climbs, but the jaw dropping scenery and sense of wild backcountry more than makes up for the tired legs.

Ride Wharehuanui and the new Shotover Gorge Trail

• Location: Runs for 17kms from Arrowtown to Arthurs Point.
• Difficulty: Intermediate to advanced. Grade 2-4. Most of the trail is Grade 2. The only significant climb is out of the Shotover Gorge where there are some Grade 3 and 4 corners. Once the trail reaches the lip of the gorge, it's an easy-going Grade 2.
• Best time to go: Open all year. Trails are best from October until May. Avoid after rain.

The new Wharehuanui Trail opens up the north of the Whakatipu Basin. Begin the trail in Arrowtown, pass through Millbrook and follow Mill Creek upstream to its headwaters at the base of Coronet Peak. Here you can join the Coronet Loop, access the mountain bike trails off Coronet Peak via Hot Rod, take the Dan O'Connell Climb to trails in Mahu Whenua, or continue on as Wharehuanui runs below Coronet Peak and descends towards Arthurs Point.

Outside Arthurs Point the trail splits. The upper trail enters the village by Gantley’s Tavern. From Arthur’s Point you can continue to Queenstown via the new cycling route beside Gorge Road or join the Shotover Gorge Trail. Just past Nugget Point you drop down to Big Beach, where you can access the Lower Shotover Gorge via a historic mining tunnel through the bluffs. The trail zigzags up out of the gorge and heads downstream to the new Kimiakau suspension bridge to Tucker Beach Recreation Reserve. At that point, the trail connects with Tucker Beach Road and joins the Tucker Beach Trail back to the old Lower Shotover Bridge.

If you take the lower trail before Arthur’s Point, you’ll descend well graded switchbacks through native beech forest to restored wetlands in the valley floor, and on down to the Redemption carpark. Cross the road there, and you can head downstream on the Shotover Gorge trail without using the tunnel.

Shout out to the local legends who build the trails

The network of local mountain bike tracks is managed by the Queenstown Mountain Bike Club, who partner with the local council and a host of local businesses. They maintain the Ben Lomond Trails in the heart of Queenstown (formerly the Queenstown Bike Park), along with 7 Mile Reserve, the Fernhill Trails, Coronet Peak, and the Gorge Road and Wynyard Jump Parks. They collaborate with the Queenstown Trails Trust on Coronet Loop.

There are lots of ideas for cool trail links and extensions in the pipeline along with more downhill racing throughout the summer. The club is also pouring resource into trail maintenance. In summer 2023-24, the trails saw more than 200,0000 riders, so the club is keen to keep the iconic trails everyone knows and loves in great nick. If you’d like to help, head along to Wednesday night digs, where people get together to maintain the trails, followed by sharing chips and a yarn. You can also become a club member while you’re in town, with 14-day membership for only $25. The club has over 90 business partners in Queenstown, so you get access to a huge number of discounts. It’s the ultimate local’s card.

The Queenstown Trails network of off-road trails exploring the Whakatipu Basin is built and maintained by the Queenstown Trails Trust. If you love riding the trails, you can donate, become a regular trail supporter, or volunteer at events like the Queenstown Marathon and Motatapu that sponsor the trails network.

Plan your Queenstown biking adventure

Start planning your Queenstown biking adventure with our guide to biking in Queenstown. With advice for bikers new to Queenstown, families biking with kids, mountain biking for pros, gear hire, bike parks and top trails, we’ve got you covered.