It’s been a rollercoaster couple of years for Mystic Park and a trajectory followed eagerly by thousands of riders keen to understand how it will continue to operate in the face of uncertain times. Facing hurdle after hurdle and the threat of closure three times in as many years, Elevation Parks, the bike park operations subsidiary of trail building stalwarts Dirt Art, has now taken over management of the park from the Alpine Community Plantation. Many hoped this would represent a steady hand for the proverbial ship, and a way forward with hopes for a better riding and visitor experience as a whole.
We now have a glimpse of what that vision looks like with a new master plan detailing a fresh direction for the park, which includes 54km of new trails, development of a cafe, bar and bike hire facilities and a general feeling of an exciting and renewed offering which focuses on what we all love about Bright.
We sat down with Elevation Parks and Dirt Art Director Simon French for an update on where things are at after a frenzied setup period throughout the winter, and where they’re headed now the master plan has been released.
Built on a pine plantation, Mystic Mountain Bike Park has its roots in rough, rooty, hand-built trails, but the network has evolved to include some epic machine-built descents.
If you need a refresher on all that’s happened with Mystic Park over the past couple of years, we’ve got you covered.
Mystic Park On The Verge | Financial strain and concerns raised by HVP could lead to park closure
Mystic to adopt pay to play membership model
Mystic Memberships 12-Months In | Is the bike park in Bright on the right track?
Mystic Under New Management | Bright bike park to be run by the same folks as Maydena
A new direction for Mystic
Between when Elevation Parks learned they’d won the tender to take over the park from the Alpine Shire Council — which was forced to take over from the ACP after the lease with HVP expired — and being given the keys, it only had a few months to get on top of where things stood at Mystic and build the foundational infrastructure needed to run a bike park.
“The first couple of months have been focused on getting organised in terms of staff, systems and processes,” says French. “We’ve also been flat out with major trail overhauls, including all the key gravity trails like Hero, Shred Kelly’s and a bunch of the climbing trails.”
“Six trails are approved now ahead of the master plan we’ve just released,” he said. “We’re getting ready for a December launch of our bike school, hire fleet, food and coffee vans and all the infrastructure for the base area,” something French describes as a version of what’s on offer at Maydena.
The latest version of the Mystic Park trail concept plan with new approved trails and updated shuttle drops.
The plan itself included ten strategic points, which encompass a broader range of trails with emphasis on progression, safety, signage with a focus on accessibility, improved network connectivity, opportunities for community-led trail development, and designing trails with the harvesting schedule in mind.
Turning dirt on brand-new trails
Of the six new trails mentioned in the master plan, three are already underway and are as yet unnamed blue and black tech trails, respectively, along with an entry-level blue jump trail. All three are set in the pines, away from harvesting activities. Later, an intermediate jump trail and a machine-built blue tech trail will follow, which will link to the current chundery singletrack favourite, Old English. Naturally, it wouldn’t be a Dirt Art project without some seriously large jumps, and the lower Mystic Bowl will eventually see expert jumps crafted from the superior dirt located in that area of the park.
“The biggest piece of feedback we received from the (community engagement) survey we conducted was for a hub to be present at the trailhead — offering food, drink, and that sort of community feel… We want to be the coffee at the start of the ride and a beer after, before folks head into town for the evening,” French explains.
The Mystic lease covers a huge swath of land, and Elevation is looking at building Blue Tier-style riding experiences.
There are plans for a beginner-friendly climbing trail that offers access to a flow descent, as well as a lower-mountain uplift to cater to those wanting fast access to the top of that new area. The next major harvesting operation, which will commence in October 2025, will disrupt trails like Hero, Elevation, World Cup, and Shred Kelly’s Last Stand, among others.
“This will mean we can shut that section of the park during harvesting and operate an entirely different side of the hill until logging is completed.”
Old favs running like new, and brand-new adventures
Reassuringly the development of existing trail infrastructure is central to the future of Mystic Park, and the Dirt Art team wasted no time reworking existing classics over winter; with mainstays like upper Hero receiving a substantial rebuild in anticipation of the summer rush.
Also included in the longer-term planning is a number of what Elevation has termed ‘adventure rides,’ which take advantage of the Wandiligong side of the hill, culminating at the iconic Wandi Pub. These are described as a ‘Blue Tier style,’ undulating wilderness ride where riders may just get a single uplift and spend the day with plenty of descending.
In anticipation of the summer rush, Elevation has already tidied up Hero and Shred Kelly.
“There’s a massive opportunity to expand the park out, with six or so valleys and mountains which all come under the Mystic lease,” French says.
Hopes are that in the fullness of time, Elevation Parks will be situated to offer a Rotorua approach with private, all-day shuttling to give tailored access to the many promising new out-of-the-way trails in addition to the current services.
Safety and bike patrol
As part of the changing operational model, Mystic Park now includes the same level of safety patrol offered at Maydena Bike Park, with the goal of decreasing response times considerably for added peace of mind when riding there.
Elevation Parks has big plans for Mystic and you can be we’re getting sweat palms after reading through the master plan.
Given Elevation Parks is now the single commercial entity responsible for overseeing the direction of trail and infrastructure works, and the hope is this simplification will make for a cohesive product offering for the 50,000 or so riders attending yearly.
Naturally the Flow team are champing at the bit to see where this fresh investment and direction takes one of Victoria’s most loved riding destinations.
The post 54km Of New Singletrack, Bike Hire, A Trail Hub & More | Elevation Parks lays out vision for Mystic Bike Park appeared first on Flow Mountain Bike.
It’s been a rollercoaster couple of years for Mystic Park and a trajectory followed eagerly by thousands of riders keen to understand how it will continue to operate in the face of uncertain times. Facing hurdle after hurdle and the threat of closure three times in as many years, Elevation Parks, the bike park operations
The post 54km Of New Singletrack, Bike Hire, A Trail Hub & More | Elevation Parks lays out vision for Mystic Bike Park appeared first on Flow Mountain Bike. Read More Flow Mountain Bike
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