There are so many day rides around the area that if you are a keen rider then you will be spoilt for choice! We can guarantee that you will be back for another Wanaka holiday to redo your favourites and explore some more of the local trails. There are tracks for all level of riders both in technicality and in distance. The Trailforks app is a good guide to follow and there is also a Wanaka trails app. There are plenty of bike shops in Wanaka and they also do bike rentals so no excuses to not get out and explore the area even if just for half a day.
All the lake edge trails that we have mentioned in previous blogs about walking in the area make very beautiful bike rides These are the easier flat-ish wide trails and even if you are looking for more challenging mountain biking you should take a spin on some of these just for the views.
The two areas that you have to pay to go are Bike Glendhu and Cardrona Bike Park. Both places have green trails as through to double blacks, they are family friendly as well as have plenty for the hard core rider and both well worth a day trip even to check them out. If you do go to Cardrona then the run all the way to the Cardrona Hotel pub in the valley floor is a real highlight plus watching the good riders from the lift is great entertainment.
The area known as Sticky forest has a great selection of trails and is very close to town so you can ride here from your accommodation if you want to get in a bit of scenic lake edge trail too. The choices are endless, trails of all levels weave there way through the trees, best to pick up a map from a bike shop or take a photo of the info board when you come across it. Lots of trails for all ability levels so plenty of exploring to be done in here.
The trails from the forest connect into an 8k loop called Hikuwai which is a marked single track circuit that goes from the Outlet camp ground to Albert Town and back, this is a great trail that runs above the Clutha river so is pretty as well as fun to ride. Another great loop of single track is Dean’s bank track, This is a fun 10km cross country loop which starts from the DOC campsite just over the Albert Town bridge again you get impressive river and mountain views from this circuit . All these areas of trails are dog friendly so you your bike buddy can come for lap too or you can make any of these into walks as the trails are multi use. Just a quick reminder that if you are starting / finishing rides from Albert town then check out Pembroke Patisserie or Hook before you head back to town, both great places to relax and refuel after a ride.
