Trails: There’s more than 80km of marked, maintained singletrack riding at Taroko Trail Park. That’s just singletrack and excludes the gravel road sections on the beginner level trails! The trails are divided as follows:

• 5km Kids Track (opening January 2021)

• 10km Orange (family friendly)

• 20km Green (most popular)

• 30km Yellow

• 40km Red

Located in the Modderfontein Nature Reserve, the Taroko Trail Park allows you a fantastic feeling of wilderness freedom just 15 minutes-drive to the east of Sandton. The gently sloping land delivers some steady - but not steep - climbs followed by rewarding descents. The trails wind through a combination of vegetation, including grasslands, eucalyptus forest and indigenous riverside bush. On some trails you’ll ride past old abandoned bunkers which were used in the late 20th century for explosive storage by AECI. Don’t worry though, it’s very safe and it’s only explosive Strava segments on stimulating singletrack to look forward to now!

The Yellow and Red routes are almost entirely singletrack. The distances are deceptive though because a high volume of twisty singletrack requires loads of concentration energy. Both offer a rewarding ride for fit, ambitious mountain bikers.

In the rainy season there are some muddy sections, which are to be expected, but on the whole Taroko Trail Park drains quite well, making for good year-round riding.

Coming soon: With ample trails catering for the endurance-focussed rider, Taroko will soon be adding a new jump line and a pump track as well as more technical sections that include drop-offs, berms and rock gardens to cater for more skilled riders looking for a technical trails challenge.

People: The trails master is Shaun Oosthuizen, an accomplished, experienced mountain biker who is passionate about developing Taroko Trail Park into Gauteng’s leading trails park. He was recently joined by Matt Lachenicht. The rest of the trails team are Chris Mamafha, Ernest Magoro and Jacques Breet, along with a number of temporary workers that maintain the trails.

Local tip: If you’re an experienced, fit rider, give the Black section a bash at the southeast corner of the park. It’s more challenging singletrack that takes you through some old buildings and ruins, which makes for a fresh challenge and some Instagram pics with a difference..

Safety: The entire park is fenced and patrolled. It’s one of the safest places to ride a mountain bike in Gauteng.

Operating hours: Open daily from 06h00-18h00

Directions:

MULTIPARK PARKS