Northern Farm is located just north of Johannesburg on the Diepsloot Nature Reserve. There are 25000 hectares of gently rolling terrain comprising wetlands, grasslands, forest and riverside. Northern Farm caters for all levels of rider with a growing network of stimulating trails.

History: Although the area was gazetted as a nature reserve in 1968, Northern Farm itself was established in 2003 and started with 23km of mountain bike trails. In the past 17 years it has grown into a significant non-profit community initiative, which operates on a ‘Conservation Through Recreation’ strategy. Proceeds from the recreational activities on the land, including mountain biking, equestrian, birding and hiking go back into local community upliftment projects.

Trails: There’s now 110km of marked, graded, maintained mountain bike trails at Northern Farm. It’s divided into five main routes as follows:

Pink: 8km
Green: 12km
Blue: 22km 
Red: 34km
Black: 68km

Northern Farm comfortably caters for all levels of riders, from beginners to experienced. The gently rolling gradient and gravel roads offer beginners an unintimidating experience that’s not easily found anywhere else in Gauteng. The Blue Route includes some basic singletrack and the Red and Black Routes offer intermediate and experienced riders plenty of stimulation, almost entirely via singletrack.

People: Gavin Hearn heads up the mountain biking management at Northern Farm. He is ably assisted by Bongani Zrere, the head trailbuilder. Both these men can ride damn fast as you’ll discover if you try to topple any of their Strava Segment KOMs! The other team members are William and Allan, who run the clubhouse facilities and Benjamin and Ernest, who welcome you with large smiles at the entrance. All of them work on trailbuilding and maintenance during the week.

Local tip: If you’re up for it, there’s a 32km section of continuous singletrack on Black starting from Grassy Knoll. You’ll be relieved to finally reach a wide road after that!

Safety: The parking area and trails are monitored by security and with the Lanseria Airport next door, emergency response is impressive as they use Northern Farm as a training facility.

Operating hours: 06h00-18h00. Northern Farm is only open to mountain biking on weekends and public holidays. 

Directions:

MULTIPARK PARKS