Grab your mates and head to Victoria’s High Country – there’s one short week to go until the Indigo Epic trail officially opens to ride from 12pm on Wednesday 15 March 2023.
You’re in for a rollercoaster of a ride as the 56km Indigo Epic takes you on a helix loop trail adventure between Beechworth and Yackandandah on trails jam-packed with berms, A and B Line features, undulating climbs and stunning scenery. Check out the Indigo Epic fast facts below and start planning your ultimate High Country mountain bike getaway.
Indigo Epic Trail Fast Facts
Indigo Epic Trail length: Total trail length is 56km. You can also ride the 17km Beechworth loop and 39km Yackandandah loop as separate adventures
Trail grade: Blue/Intermediate
Trail type: All-mountain single track with flow descent elements and undulating climbs
Terrain: Dry Box Ironbark native eucalypt forest interspersed with wet, ferny gullies, cascading creeks and steep rock features
Percentage of hand-built trail: 50%
Percentage of machine-built trail: 50%
Homeward Bound section descent gradient: 3-4%
Trail features: Numerous A and B-line features including double, gap and hip jumps, step ups and rock features
Number of trail features: Heaps!
Machinery used to build the trail: 1.8tonne excavators and hand tool finishing by the TrailScapes trail crew
Total length of bridges on the trail: Approximately 235m of bridge
Amount of dirt moved: Approximately 13,000 cubic meters of dirt. That’s the equivalent of 5 Olympic swimming pools or 200,000 beer kegs
The TrailScapes building crew can’t wait for riders to experience “the unique way the trail’s been designed using a figure of eight loop. This is quite a different way to build a trail, giving riders multiple ways to ride it with lots of flexibility. Whether you’re riding the full trail or taking on one of the loops, bring a big sense of adventure and you’re in for an epic time.”
Building the Indigo Epic trail, TrailScapes experienced some of the region’s most stunning areas including “constructing bridges and stonework in the spectacular Nine Mile Creek section, building the steep challenging Wallaby Climb, sculpting the Homeward Bound descent and meeting the High Country’s local wombat, echidna and bird residents”.
Biking, Eating and Drinking
Off the bike there’s just as much action with delicious local produce, carefully crafted brews, bucket list walks and more. To give you the inside tips on must-do experiences in Beechworth and Yackandandah we chatted to Victoria’s High Country’s local mountain bike crew at Yack Tracks MTB Club and Beechworth Chain Gang MTB Club.
There’s so much to look forward to including…
Yack Tracks MTB Club President, Gav Klinger: “This area has brilliant local producers, like Yack Creek Distillery, Gum Tree Pies, The Guard coffee spot, Happy Baker, The Star Hotel, and Yackandandah Hotel just to name a few. People need to visit to get a feel for what this town has to offer. Not to mention the local mountain bike networks. Yack Tracks MTB Park has over 80kms of trail now and that doesn’t include the Indigo Epic, the Beechworth MTB park and the extensive Rail Trail network. Indigo Epic trail will open up so many opportunities for local people and visitors alike.”
Beechworth Chain Gang President, Lynn Frerichs: “This trail is a game changer for our region and is exactly what our mountain biking community needed. Its flowy goodness provides an excellent complement to the hand-cut trails at the Beechworth Mountain Bike Park which is full of fun granite rocky tracks that can be technically challenging for less experienced riders.”
“Beechworth and Yackandandah are some of the friendliest towns I’ve ever encountered, and Indigo Epic adds to the many offerings already available. In both towns, you can visit historic colonial buildings, learn about bushrangers, eat and drink fabulous locally grown food/wine/beer/spirits, check out spectacular sights and ride your road/gravel/mountain bike to your heart’s content. Victoria’s High Country truly has it all, there is something for everyone here!”
We can’t wait to see you on the mountain bike trail from 12pm on Wednesday 15 March 2023. Watch this space and follow us on Instagram and Facebook for all the insider info.
It's EPIC, it links the townships of Beechworth and Yackandandah and it's coming in early 2023.
IndigoEPIC is 56km of world class single track and the first year round EPIC grade trail in Australia.