Hayterdale MTB Trails

About Hayterdale MTB Trails

Where: Kirkwood, next door to the Addo Elephant National Park
Level: easy to difficult
Type of route: various, all levels of rider, including the SA Cross Country or Downhill Championships course
Distance: 15 km - 45 km
Best: summer gets extremely hot
Tip: camping available at Hayterdale or you can camp at Addo Elephant National Park
Warning: the routes include heavy duty climbs, but the single track makes up for any challenge

Hayterdale trails are hand built, well maintained trails that include a good deal of single track. They feature in the new annual Hayterdale Classic, the Great Zuurberg Trek, and the XCO Downhill course (Addo hosts some of the most radical mountain bike events on the race calendar).

You will find Hayterdale Trails on the Zuurberg Pass, and its endless singletrack (not the smooth, constantly groomed kind) has made it famous. For the Hayterdale Classic the team has added a new 12 km route specifically for novice riders, with easy flowing tracks in the flat lands. But it is the two longer routes that get the experienced riders excited.

For normal everyday weekend rides there are no limits to the routes one can combine, anything from a 15 km to a 4-hour ride, including the ride halfway up the Zuurberg Pass, with views to match.

The trails are well marked but they are new, and riders often get lost if they don't know the terrain. Best to take along someone who knows the trails, but you need to watch the summer temperatures, which can soar above forty degrees celsius.

And you might want to take along sealant, as there are bound to be thorns, particularly off the track.