Wild Mersey

Location

About This Trail

Three-town mountain bike network spanning Latrobe, Railton and Warrawee in Tasmania's north-west, with over 100km of trails across diverse terrain. Wild Mersey is a community-led mountain bike network in north-west Tasmania linking the towns of Latrobe, Railton and the Warrawee Forest Reserve, with shuttle access also up to Sheffield. Built by Dirt Art and World Trail and opened in stages from 2019, the network now extends to more than 100 kilometres of purpose-built single-track and represents Tasmania's third major MTB destination after Derby and the east coast. The network is split across three main precincts. Warrawee Forest Reserve at Latrobe is the family-friendly hub with the Wild Mersey Mountain Bike Trail Hub trailhead, easy green and blue trails, a pump track, skills loop and the Berry Patch. Railton is the technical heart of the network, with longer climb-and-descend loops, more advanced terrain through dry forest, and the iconic Goat Track and Drop Bear descents. Kelcey Tier and the higher backcountry sections offer more remote riding for experienced riders, and a longer point-to-point connector trail links Latrobe through to Railton, allowing riders to stage epic full-day rides. The terrain across the network is varied — open eucalypt forest, fern gullies, old farming country, ridgeline traverses with views over the Mersey Valley to Bass Strait. The grades skew slightly easier than Derby and considerably easier than Maydena, making Wild Mersey a popular destination for families, intermediate riders and groups with mixed abilities. The flow is sustained but technical features like rock gardens, jump lines and steeper black-diamond descents are stacked into the Railton end. Basecamp is split — Latrobe (population around 4,000) is the largest town and offers cafes, accommodation, the Henley on the Mersey events ground and proximity to Devonport (and the Spirit of Tasmania ferry terminal, only 10 minutes away). Railton is smaller and quirkier, branded as the "Town of Topiary". Bike hire is available locally and shuttles can be arranged through operators in Devonport and Latrobe. The trails are free to ride. Wild Mersey is rideable year-round but best between October and May. Its proximity to the Devonport ferry makes it many riders' first or last stop on a Tasmanian MTB trip.

Highlights

Facilities