Craigburn Farm MTB

Overview

Craigburn Farm is a 180-hectare addition to Sturt Gorge Recreation Park in the southern Adelaide foothills, about 13 km south of the CBD on the doorstep of Blackwood/Bellevue Heights. Once a working sheep property (de Rose family, 1920–1969; bought by the State Government 1969; folded into Sturt Gorge in 1985), it has been re-engineered since 2011 into one of South Australia's most-ridden shared-use trail networks — a former agricultural property turned modern, purpose-built XC venue with grey box grassy woodland (a nationally threatened community) revegetating around the singletrack [1][2][7].

The network is around 18 km of all-shared-use singletrack arranged in loops, almost entirely blue intermediate with two short black-graded options (Craigberms, Sticks and Stones) and a handful of green warm-ups (Lakeview, Surf and Turf, Walk the Dog). Builder TrailScapes (Garry Patterson) designed and machine-cut the network across three stages from August 2011 to March 2013, including the Australian first use of a Sutter Trail Dozer imported from the USA; technical rock sections were hand-built [3][4]. The result is fast, flowy contour trail with intermittent ancient tillite rock features — "Australia's premier gateway trail network" was the original brief [3]. Adelaide MTB Club (AMBC) runs its long-running Craigburn Farm 4-Hour endurance race here.

It's a free, sunrise-to-sunset park with no on-site facilities — bring everything in. Trails are shared with walkers and (in places) horse riders. Closed on Catastrophic Fire Danger days, and may be closed on Extreme days; rain makes the surface slippery but doesn't usually trigger formal closures [1][8].

Location & Access

• Address: Craigburn Road, Craigburn Farm SA 5051
• Region: Adelaide & Adelaide Hills
• Drive times: ~25 min from Adelaide CBD; ~10 min from Blackwood; ~45 min from Mt Barker
• Public transport: Train to Coromandel station (Belair line, ~20 min from Adelaide), then ~3 km ride/walk; bus routes via Coromandel Parade
• Parking: Free sealed/gravel carpark at the end of Craigburn Road; additional parking at Blackwood Football Club carpark (Cummins Street, accessed via Coromandel Parade) — ride around the white boom gate to enter the trails [6][8]
• Coords: -35.0368, 138.6027 (existing DB value — verified against Google Maps)
• Other entrances: Broadmeadow Drive / Black Road / Bonneyview Road (Flagstaff Hill); The Boulevard (Bellevue Heights) for the wider Sturt Gorge side [1]

Best Season & Conditions

• Peak riding season: Autumn (Mar–May) and spring (Sep–Nov). Park itself recommends these as the optimal climatic and scenic seasons [1].
• Wet-weather impact: Trails are slippery for a day or two after heavy rain but stay open — no formal wet-weather closure policy. Local etiquette is to skip if the surface is tacky to avoid rutting the contour trails.
• Fire-danger / total-fire-ban impact: Park is closed on Catastrophic Fire Danger days and may be closed on Extreme Fire Danger days [1]. Park sits in the Mt Lofty Ranges fire ban district [6]. Check parks.sa.gov.au or cfs.sa.gov.au before riding in summer.
• Snow / alpine season: Not applicable — Adelaide foothills.
• School-holiday surge: Weekends busy year-round; AMBC 4-Hour race weekend (date varies) is the busiest day of the calendar.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

• Land manager: National Parks and Wildlife Service SA (Department for Environment and Water — DEW); operationally administered from the Black Hill NPWS Office [1].
• Trail builder: TrailScapes Pty Ltd (Garry Patterson), Stage 1 Aug–Dec 2011, Stage 2 Aug 2012–Jan 2013, Stage 3 Mar 2013. Built using a US-imported Sutter Trail Dozer (Australian first) plus hand-build for technical rock sections [3]. Trail Solutions Australia and Environmental and Trail Services were also engaged by DEWNR on the wider Sturt Gorge network [9].
• Trail maintainer: DEW (operator) with ongoing community input via Friends of Sturt Gorge and Adelaide MTB Club (AMBC).
• Local club / advocacy: Adelaide Mountain Bike Club (AMBC) — runs the Craigburn Farm 4HR endurance race and uses the network for training and intermediate race routes [10].
• Volunteer / dig days: Coordinated through Friends of Sturt Gorge and DEW; no fixed public schedule.
• Phone: +61 8 8336 0901 (Black Hill NPWS Office visitor info & bookings); after-hours duty officer 0427 556 676 [1].

History & Background

• Pre-1849 — Kaurna country; hunting and gathering corridor [2].
• 1849–1850 — Archibald Jaffrey acquired 254 ha across multiple sections; leased for grazing [2].
• 1920–1969 — Edgar Alfred de Rose ran the property as "Sturt Hills" sheep station [2]. (The de Rose Trail is named for this family.)
• 1969 — SA State Government purchased the de Rose property [2].
• 1971/1973 — Sturt Gorge Conservation Park proclaimed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, ~618 ha (FOSG cites 1971 proclamation; Wikipedia uses 1973 establishment date) [2][7].
• 1980 — Listed on the Register of the National Estate for geological / scientific importance (sturt tillite, Cryogenian glaciation evidence) [7].
• 1985 — Craigburn Farm (180 ha) incorporated, taking the park to 692 ha (~70% growth) [1][2].
• 2011–2013 — TrailScapes builds the modern Craigburn Farm shared-use trail network in three stages (~21 km total across stages 1–3), funded by DENR/DEWNR. Heralded as "Australia's premier gateway trail network" [3].
• 2011–present — Trails see >400 weekly users from Stage 1 onwards [3]; AMBC adopts as primary southern Adelaide race venue.

Recent News & Updates (last 12 months)

• 2025–2026 — No major works or closures publicly announced. Network considered mature and well-bedded. (AMBC 4HR continues as an annual fixture.)
• 2026-05-20 — Research run confirmed park status: open, free, NPWS-managed, no infrastructure changes.

Sources

1. Sturt Gorge Recreation Park — National Parks and Wildlife Service SA — https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/parks/sturt-gorge-recreation-park — accessed 2026-05-20
2. History — Friends of Sturt Gorge — https://fosg.org.au/history/ — accessed 2026-05-20
3. Craigburn Farm Shared Use Trails SA — TrailScapes — https://trailscapes.com.au/projects/craigburn-farm-shared-use-trails-sa — accessed 2026-05-20
4. Mountain biking in Adelaide — Australian Mountain Bike Magazine — https://www.ambmag.com.au/news/mountain-biking-in-adelaide-429697/ — accessed 2026-05-20
5. Ranger tips: Sturt Gorge Recreation Park — Good Living (DEW) — https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/goodliving/posts/2020/03/ranger-tips-sturt-gorge — accessed 2026-05-20
6. Craigburn Trails — Adelaide MTB Trails — https://adelaidemtbtrails.com/craigburn-trails/ — accessed 2026-05-20
7. Sturt Gorge Recreation Park — Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturt_Gorge_Recreation_Park — accessed 2026-05-20
8. Craigburn Farm shared use trails — Adelaide MTB Trails (wikidot) — http://adelaidexctrails.wikidot.com/craigburn — accessed 2026-05-20
9. 6 parks for mountain biking in and around Adelaide — Good Living (DEW) — https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/goodliving/posts/2018/01/top-parks-mountain-biking-adelaide — accessed 2026-05-20
10. Sidewinder, Gunners Run, Sticks and Stones — South Australian Trails — https://www.southaustraliantrails.com/trails/sidewinder/ , https://www.southaustraliantrails.com/trails/gunners-run/ , https://www.southaustraliantrails.com/trails/sticks-and-stones/ — accessed 2026-05-20