Aansluit MTB Trails

About Aansluit MTB Trails

Where: Aansluit Landgoed, Verkykerskop, Harrismith, Free State
Level: intermediate
Type of route: rolling terrain and stunning views; 30 km worth of track
Best: all year round; the area is given to summer electric storms, mainly in the afternoons

Verkykerskop is a little village within Aansluit Landgoed, an 800 hectare working farm and conservation area surrounded by the sandstone hills of the Klein Drakensberg, three hours' drive from either Johannesburg or Durban.

To get there take the R722 north from Harrismith.

Five roads meet at Aansluit. This part of the Free State is historically rich. For it is at Aansluit that monthly Nagmaal took place; the heart of the community life. The farm's camp site stands on the site of the initial farm house dwelling, a hartbeeshuisie of over 120 years of age.

Verkykerskop is a green living village; a cluster of antique shops, a general dealer and a coffee shop, all housed in historical farm buildings. People here are safe, as everyone knows everyone else

For bikers the area is a dream – rolling escarpment grasslands, flat-topped sandstone ridges and mountains, gorges, koppies and the odd wetland.

There are three dedicated bike trails:

The 7.8 km track is rather hilly, but off it branch further tracks that head off to cliffs.

The 6.8 km track heads to the old farmhouse picnic site.

Another 6.8 km track is a flatter and easier ride along the edge of the Meul River escarpment, perfect for beginners and those here simply to drink in the scenery.

The farm is full of gravel roads and further cattle paths ideal for the more serious long-distance rider. Combine these into a comfortable day's worth of riding.