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MTB'g at Killingworth (Hunter Valley)
Hi all
I noticed recently that alot of land around Killingworth (Hunter Valley) is now under mgt by NPWS.
Are the mountain bike trails in this area still "legally" accessible to mountain bikers ? There used to be some great trails in this area.
I see that HMBA have now moved all racing to Awaba, but wanted to check if recreational mountain biking was still allowed on the preexisting Killingworth trails.
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Does anyone have any idea whether the trails at killingworth in the hunter valley are still "legAlly" rideable ?
Ah... erm... I was expecting sammydog to answer this one for you. I believe that Killy is closed in some sort of deal that allows access to Awaba but not 100% sure.
This Rob - I thought something like this maybe the case.
Sammy if you could confirm it would be gr8.
Sorry guys, completely missed this one.
Long story short, it isn't technically legal to ride killi at the moment.
Short story made long.....
The land is currently managed by the Hunter Development Corporation, a state govt department formed by the consolidation of the Honeysuckle Corporation and Regional Land Management.
These corporations buy up land for the purpose of developing in a somewhat planned fashion. The land holdings at Killingworth are huge and penciled in for industrial development. The land west of the freeway though (killi trails) is to be handed to NPWS eventually, at the moment it is being used as a bargaining tool for rezoning of land east of the freeway.
If you know Killi well, the rain forest trail right up the back, is actually already in NPWS tenure, the rest will follow but who knows when.
I have spoken to the Hunter Development Corporation and they are OK with the club using the venue for racing (subject to sorting out the insurance side of things, but thats not an issue). When it comes to the topic of people riding there things get a little grey and non committal from their end. I know there big beef is with the rubbish dumpers, trail bikes and 4wd's, not cyclists. So if you do go for a ride, park your car back on the bitumen. I would be extremely surprised if you were questioned for riding your bike in there, even if the police were present.
Last time I was in there the motos had taken their toll on the trails in a big way (one of the big reasons the club moved on) and no trail maintenance is occurring any more. Can't tell you how the road access is as I haven't been near the place in around a year.
This answers my question - I haven't been there fir a couple of yrs - I often head up to newy to visit family and friends and was going to check it out.
I think I'll stick to ourimbah & awaba.
What's the plans / timeframes (if any) for extensions to the xc loop at awaba ?
D
Awaba is currently a 6.7km loop (as of last weekend). It is expanding all the time. Next push will see us up to around 7.5km's.
The first planned loop will top out at around 9km's.
Then we plan the next trails that will be a little more technical and more hilly and some longer descents. A lot of stuff in the pipeline, including a skills park area, just need to get this first loop completed first.