Munda Biddi Trail

A 1,072km off-road cycling and bikepacking trail through the jarrah and karri forests of South West Western Australia, from Mundaring to Albany.

The Munda Biddi Trail is a long-distance, mostly off-road adventure cycling trail in the South West of Western Australia, running approximately 1,072 kilometres from Mundaring on the eastern fringe of Perth to Albany on the south coast. Its name comes from the Noongar language and translates as 'path through the forest', a fitting description for a route that spends most of its length winding beneath towering jarrah, marri and karri eucalypts, threading past granite outcrops, river valleys, wildflower heath and farmland before reaching the dramatic Southern Ocean coastline. When the final section opened end-to-end in April 2013 it was claimed as the longest continuous off-road cycling trail of its kind in the world.

The trail was conceived in the late 1990s and built progressively over more than a decade through a partnership between the Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) Parks and Wildlife Service, the Munda Biddi Trail Foundation and a large network of volunteers. The route deliberately follows a parallel inland corridor to the better-known Bibbulmun Track walking trail, sharing some of the same forests and trail towns but staying on surfaces and gradients suitable for bicycles. It has been progressively rerouted and improved since opening, with the current published length of 1,072km reflecting recent realignments.

Terrain and surfaces vary considerably along the route. The northern half from Mundaring through Jarrahdale, Dwellingup and on toward Manjimup is characterised by distinctive red pea gravel forest roads, disused rail formations and rolling jarrah-forest singletrack. The southern half, from around Manjimup through Northcliffe, Walpole and Denmark to Albany, runs across loamy soils and stretches of fine white sand, with more coastal heath and karri forest. Most of the trail is on natural surfaces and former timber tracks, with limited sealed road sections used only to link the trail through towns. Gradients are generally moderate but the cumulative climbing over a multi-week end-to-end trip is substantial, and the soft-sand sections in the south can be physically demanding.

The trail is supported by a network of twelve purpose-built timber campshelters spaced roughly 40 to 60 kilometres apart, allowing self-sufficient riders to travel hut-to-hut with a tent for backup. Each shelter has a sleeping platform, rainwater tank, picnic table, fire ring and pit toilet, and is free to use on a first-come basis. Between the huts, the route passes through more than a dozen trail towns including Jarrahdale, Dwellingup, Collie, Donnybrook, Nannup, Manjimup, Pemberton, Northcliffe, Walpole, Denmark and Albany, where riders can resupply, rest in commercial accommodation and access bike-friendly cafés and businesses through the Foundation's Biddi Friendly Business directory. The trail is divided into nine numbered map sections grouped into three stages: Mundaring to Collie, Collie to Northcliffe, and Northcliffe to Albany.

The Munda Biddi suits a wide range of riders. Day riders and families can sample easy graded sections out of towns like Jarrahdale, Dwellingup or Pemberton, while experienced bikepackers tackle multi-day stages or the full end-to-end traverse, which most riders complete in two to three weeks. The current end-to-end speed record is two days, twelve hours and fifteen minutes, set by Jack Thompson in November 2023. A mountain bike or rugged gravel bike with wide tyres is recommended; the trail is not suitable for road bikes. The best riding window is generally late March to November, with spring (September to November) and autumn (March to May) considered ideal. Summer riding from December to March is discouraged because of extreme heat, fire danger and seasonal park closures, and snakes are active in the warmer months.