3 Silos MTB Adventure Trails

About 3 Silos MTB Adventure Trails

Where: Smythelands Road, East London
Level: technical, but not difficult; beginners can handle it, though lots of climbs
Type of route: 87% single track (18 km, 15 km, 8 km)
Best: any time of year

These privately managed adventure trails are fast becoming the most popular trails for mountain bikers and trail runners in and around East London.

Which is why, in 2014, 3 silos was selected as part of the launch of 'The Big MTB Year event' that ran from December 2013 for a year, encouraging riders to visit selected trails around the country. It is a guide (available as an App) to 55 of South Africa's best-managed, marked trails.

3 Silos' trails lie in amongst blue gums, rivers, indigenous forest and natural veld. The team consistently rebuild, monitor and improve on the trails, so that you can count on a good ride. Fees are via an honesty box system, which means the trails stay open 24/7; yes, you can ride the trails at night, but keep your head lights on or the game will not see you.

Trails include a yellow (10.7 km), blue (18 km) and red trail (20.5 km). The longer trails each include a big climb towards the middle (the yellow trail bypasses the climb). The Red Route involves 19.5 km of purpose built single track with plenty of bridges, bumps, stream crossings, switchbacks, climbs and descents.

Their Kiddies Loop, aimed at children over 8 years of age, is now called the Green Trail, and includes a few short distance trails (2 km, 4 km and 7.5 km) – single track fun with the odd technical section, mild climbs, switchbacks, fence jumps, bridges, a 15 metre floating bridge and an 80 metre floating pallet bridge (find it on the 7.5 km trail).

Look out for 3 silos' 'Afkak hill'route. It incorporates a couple of tricky switchbacks, but is described as 'definitely rideable' provided you are cautious.

No helmet. No ride.

Expect to see blue duiker, bushbuck, nyala, jackal buzzards, crested eagles, blue wildebeest, impala, mongoose and dung beetles.