15 years of hard work and dedication came to a head on Saturday 19 July with the first soft opening of the Warburton Bike Park.
Over the opening weekend a total of 1100 excited riders gathered at the Wesburn Park trailhead to try the first 30 kilometres of mainly entry-level trails.
Experienced mountain bike enthusiasts wore exhausted smiles, mothers and fathers relished at the thrill felt by their toddlers in shotgun seats and adaptive mountain bike users were wide eyed with elation after conquering the trails.
Yarra Ranges Council mayor Cr Jim Child said it was a tremendous feat to have finally opened the trails.
“After years of planning and development, we’re thrilled to have opened the first 30km of the Warburton Bike Park network, and to be delivering this incredible asset for our community,” Cr Child said.
Yarra Ranges Mountain Bikers president Andrew Howieson said the opening was an incredibly important moment in his life.
“The genesis of this project dates back to pre-2010, so to be there on opening day and to be a part of that was probably one of the highlights of my life to date,” Mr Howieson said.
Parking attendants were on-site at the Wesburn Park trailhead, and trail conditions monitored by team members across the weekend.
The trails, built by contractors World Trail, were praised by riders both experienced and beginner.
Mr Howieson said the green trails were especially exciting despite being an experienced rider himself as they were “progressive, ahead of the curve” trails which incentivised new riders to grow.
In the past, Mr Howieson said green trails were often seen as a “tick the box” exercise and would not have much thought put into them by the trailbuilders.
But these new green trails were designed with care and attention – by including an optional jump or two, it meant beginner riders had the opportunity to tackle harder movements in a safe environment.
“So for beginner riders that want to get into riding and learn and progress, there’s not going to be many places in Australia that will rival Warburton in terms of the volume of green riding that we’ve got.”
Cr Child noted the significant support the council had received from the community and said it couldn’t have done it without them.
“The Upper Yarra Community Enterprise – that’s our local Bendigo community banks at Warburton and Yarra Junction – contributed $300,000 towards this project, so it had this strong community backing, not only in spirit, but also in monetary commitment.”
The Federal Government has also committed an extra $3 million funding for the full Southern Network of trails set to be completed in 2028.
The Warburton Bike Park is undertaking a staged rollout approach to allow more effective management of operations which is a common approach for new visitor experiences.
Cr Child noted there were concerns surrounding the threat of bushfires and other emergency events with the trails.
“There’s been some concern in the community in regards to the bushfire aspects and running this type of project in the summer months.
“But I have to emphasise that the five million dollars investment that was made at the minister’s request covered all those issues, traffic management, emergency management, everything.”
On 8 May emergency services partook in a large-scale multi-agency training exercise at Wesburn Park to prepare for the inevitable increase in callouts for the Warburton Bike Park.
The exercise replicated a scenario in which emergency services had to respond to a call out on the trails and draw upon their respective skill sets to perform the rescue.
The Warburton Bike Park has also passed the notoriously strict Environment Effects Statement (EES), an assessment of potential environmental impacts.
Cr Child said the Warburton Bike Park would bring a significant boost to the local economy.
“It’ll be good for the local businesses. I think it shows that the Wesburn Park can manage these types of events.
“But the other important thing is that going into the future this will open up for other visitation opportunities. So just don’t come to the Upper Yarra to enjoy the mountain bike destination. You can do all those other activities,” Cr Child said.
