Pewsey Vale

The Pewsey Vale MTB Trails, between the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley in South Australia, offer an extensive network of natural mountain bike trails around Pewsey Vale and the Mount Crawford forest area. The network has around 68 mapped MTB trails covering roughly 50 km, ranging from easier green singletrack through blue intermediate riding to black and double-black terrain. Unlike a heavily developed bike park, Pewsey Vale has a distinctly natural, old-school trail feel, with rocky singletrack, forest tracks, technical features, jumps, drops and plenty of interconnected lines to explore. Popular trails include Poppin’ Pimples, Sack & Back, Bi-Way, The Gauntlet, Across the Vale, Flow On and Boulders Bypass. Easier trails such as Bi-Way and Flow On provide options for developing riders, while The Gauntlet introduces features including berms, rock gardens and bridge features. Poppin’ Pimples adds a more gravity-focused experience with old-school jumps and rock drops, while the wider network contains increasingly technical terrain for confident riders. Pewsey Vale is particularly suited to intermediate and advanced trail, XC and all-mountain riders who enjoy exploring a less formal trail network. The landscape mixes forest, open grassland and farmland, and its relatively remote setting gives the riding a very different feel from Adelaide’s more developed metropolitan MTB parks. Local riding groups describe Pewsey Vale as one of South Australia’s lesser-known MTB gems, with natural terrain and rocky features forming a big part of its character. The network also sits within a much larger riding region around Mount Crawford, making it possible to build substantial loops using singletrack, gravel roads and access trails. Routes through nearby Kaiserstuhl Native Forest Reserve can add around 20 km of riding and incorporate trails such as Retrenchment, Potty Mouth and Can of Rings. RTS Tip: Download a current trail map before heading to Pewsey Vale — the large number of intersecting natural trails can make navigation surprisingly tricky on a first visit. Start with the green and blue trails to get a feel for the terrain before moving onto the harder rocky lines, and inspect unfamiliar jumps and drops before committing. The area is forest land and conditions or access can change, so check current trail reports before travelling and be self-sufficient with water, food, tools and spares.