Lifestyle: best mountain bike trails in & around Cape Town

LIFESTYLE

Best mountain bike trails in & around Cape Town

We spoke to 2022 Commonwealth Games XCO Bronze Medalist, Candice Lill to get the lowdown on where her favourite places are to ride. These are her words.

BANHOEK CONSERVANCY

When you go over Helshoogte Pass outside of Stellenbosch towards Franschhoek on the right they have built an amazing trail network with a lot of ‘purpose-built’ sections and obstacles including really cool wall rides and gap jumps and then also some rugged trails so a really good mix of everything. Also just a beautiful valley with sheer, rugged mountain faces. All of that being said, the train are not too steep or two difficult and most of the obstacles have ‘chicken runs’ which makes it accessible to riders of all skill and fitness levels.

BOSCHENDAL AND PLAISIR MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS

Really beautiful trails and what makes it so special is that you traverse across the face of the mountain and it feels as though you are ‘in’ the mountain. Aside from the amazing views the trails are really well-marked and there are loops of various distances offering something for every fitness level.

TOKAI MOUNTAIN BIKE PARK

These are my home trails and I ride there a lot. It is fantastic for all types of riders, from gravity riders to cross-country and marathon specialists. There is also such a variety of loop that caters for all skill and fitness levels. My favourite is the Bridle Path which is quite unridden and offers a beautiful switch-back descent.

TULBAGH VALLEY MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS

If you are after a full-day trip, this is the place. I discovered these trails about a year ago and it is not that well-known, everyone always wants to go to Stellenbosch and Jonkershoek but those Tulbagh trails are incredible, the farmers have built a really awesome network of trails. They’re all well-marked and graded, so the different loops offer something for all fitness levels. There are some serious climbs (which have featured in Absa Cape Epic stages) but also some amazing downhill singletracks through forests.

WELLINGTON

This is another firm favourite of mine. I have done many races there and the Welvanpas and Wild Boar Trails (to name a few) connect up to form some amazing loops. In fact, the whole valley is riddled with singletrack trails - you can easily do an 80km ride there with 80% singletrack. It is tough going but the descents are always worth it, whoever built those trails really did put a lot of thought into it. Cool Runnings 1 and Cool Runnings 2 are just high-speed, super fun descents.

Aside from the amazing views the trails are really well-marked and there are loops of various distances offering something for every fitness level.