Upcoming Operations: Timber Harvesting at Mystic Bike Park
Mystic Bike Park is located in a working pine plantation, and as such, mountain bike riding is a secondary use of the site. Mystic Bike Park would not be possible without the ongoing support of land managers, HVP, and the Alpine Shire Council.
With harvesting occurring in 25-30 year cycles, and varying plantation ages across the site, Mystic will always have periods of trail closure and renewal as harvesting activity is completed. While the loss of much-loved trails will always be a little sad, on the upside, we have an opportunity to build fresh trails that are just as good, and in many cases better than their predecessors!
In October 2025, a harvest operation is scheduled that will impact ~11km of trails in Mystic. This harvest is planned to commence in October 2025, and will be completed between March and May 2026. We are working closely with land managers, HVP to ensure that we can continue to operate a functional, fun, and safe bike park during the harvest period.
Read on for more info about the upcoming harvest, and how we plan to work around it.
What is actually happening?
In October 2025 harvesting is planned to commence in the area shown below
During this harvest period, all trails in this area will be closed (even if they are only partially impacted or unimpacted by the harvest).
During the harvest period, we will lose access to the Mystic Lane shuttle road (excluding a planned reopening for the summer school holidays). During the planned summer holiday reopening of the primary uplift road, we may have access to some trails in the harvest area, though this cannot be confirmed at this stage.
The planned harvest impacts ~11km of trails, though it is important to note that not all trails will be entirely destroyed, with only minimal impacts expected on some trails.
The planned harvest will impact the following trails:
- Hero: we anticipate that the harvesting impact on Hero trail itself will be relatively minimal. The upper section of the trail will be impacted by harvesting, though we expect this to not impact the trail heavily. The middle section of the trail will not be harvested. The final section of the trail (after the road crossing) will be completely harvested and closed. We intend to reopen Hero Trail asap after harvesting.
- Elevation: the upper section of Elevation will be partially impacted by harvesting, though this entire trail section will remain closed through the harvest period. The second section of the trail (after the second road crossing) will be completely harvested and closed.
- World Cup: the entire World Cup trail is subject to harvesting, and as such this trail will be closed.
- Shred Kelly: the entire Shred Kelly trail is subject to harvesting, and as such this trail will be closed. We have been working with harvest planners to minimise impacts on Shred Kelly where possible, ensuring that we can reopen the trail as quickly as possible.
- Up DJ: the entire Up DJ trail is subject to harvesting, and as such this trail will be closed.
- Down DJ: the entire Down DJ trail is subject to harvesting, and as such this trail will be closed.
- Curtain: the entire Curtain trail is subject to harvesting, and as such this trail will be closed.
- Corkscrew: the entire Corkscrew trail is subject to harvesting, and as such this trail will be closed.
- Lockdown: the entire Lockdown trail is subject to harvesting, and as such this trail will be closed.
- Hades: the majority of the Hades trail is subject to harvesting, and as such this trail will be closed.
- Avid Way: the entire Avid Way trail is subject to harvesting, and as such this trail will be closed.
UPLIFT SERVICE
What are we doing about uplift access?
For the past several months we have been working with land managers, HVP to gain approval for an alternative shuttle road for use during the harvest. We now have a viable option that provides an efficient turn around, with road upgrade works set to commence soon.
While the new proposed uplift will offer slightly less elevation, the proposed road will offer a fast turn-around, and access to some of our best trails (including a couple of brand new ones!). Importantly, our new trail development program has focused on developing a number of trails that will be service by this uplift drop off. From this drop off we will have the following gravity trail styles on offer during the harvest period:
- Blue Square technical
- Blue Square flow
- Blue Square freeride
- Black Diamond technical
- Double Black Diamond technical
Importantly, HVP has committed to reopening access to our primary shuttle road through the school holiday period – we thank them for their support in making this happen. By providing access through this period, we will be able to run our normal uplift service through the busiest period of the year.
THE TRAIL NETWORK
What are we doing about trail losses?
Approximately 11km of trails will be impacted by the upcoming harvest, though importantly not all of these trails will be completely impacted and permanently closed. A key consideration in our trail master planning process has been ensuring that we can replace trails that will be closed by harvesting, and that we can provide a functional, safe, and fun bike park during and post this harvest operation.
We understand that Hero and Shred Kelly are the busiest trails in the network, particularly for riders using our Uplift service. While Flowmingo provides a great intermediate flow trail experience, we know that people want jumps! With this in mind we are focusing on the development of the upper section of Flight School, which will provide an epic jump trail experience from Hazeldine road down (the location of our proposed temporary shuttle drop off). We are working to further extend a Blue Jumps trail up to Moran Road (the current drop off for Flowmingo) in time for our return to normal shuttle operations over the summer holidays.
Approximately 10km of new trails were developed on Emily Spur just prior to our arrival (Flowmingo/Old English/Stairway to Shreddin), and we have further added another ~5km of new trails since our arrival on site. This ~15km of new trail has all been strategically designed to offset the upcoming harvesting impacts. We have ~2.5km of new trails formally approved and currently under construction, which includes both freeride and technical trail styles. We have been working on plans for a further~25km of new trails for the past several months, based upon the draft trail master plan released in late 2024. Detailed design work for these trails is now underway, with construction planned to kick off following completion of our current new trail works (pending final land manager approvals).
The harvest operation will impact some of Mystic’s best tech trails, so we’ve been working hard to offset these losses. We have already built a number of new tech trails, and there will be more black and double black diamond trails prioritised in our new trail development plans. Importantly we are also focusing on blue technical trail options, ensuring the park has progression opportunities for a wide range of rider abilities.
We understand that riding for many of us is as much about the environment we ride in as it is the trails themselves. Tree cover plays an important role in providing shade and protection from the wind. With this in mind, we have prioritised development of trails in areas where there are more mature pine trees. Secondly, we have proposed a number of new trails in pines that are 3-4 years old, which will result in trails having a canopy and wind protection in the next few years.
NEXT STEPS
What happens when the harvesting is completed?
The harvest operation is currently planned to conclude in March-May 2026. Conclusion of the operation will mean we can reopen our primary uplift route on Mystic Lane. We anticipate returning to normal uplift operations by the easter school holidays, though this cannot be confirmed at this stage.
We have prioritised proposed new trail development so that we can re-establish access to both Hero and Elevation trails as quickly as possible. Our 25km of prioritised new trails includes replacing all trails that are lost, in many cases on a like-for-like basis. Some trails (such as Hades) will be replaced with alternative trails that are better located and improve trail network functionality.
It is important to recognise that once this harvest is complete, there is no major harvesting activity scheduled in the primary Mystic trail areas for several years. While the upcoming harvest is certainly going to have an impact on trails in the short term, significant work has already been done to offset trail losses. With a plan now in place for ~25km of new trails, Mystic’s future looks incredibly bright (excuse the pun!). The work done over the past couple of years will ensure that Mystic will remain an incredible place to ride during the harvest, and we are working hard to make sure that it will keep on getting better as new trails continue to be developed across future years.
YOUR SUPPORT
How can I help?
The upcoming harvest operation will result in the loss of ~11km of trails. The market value of replacing these trails is in the region of ~$600k. EMO will be required to cover all costs for new trail development. Park access fees and Annual Mountain Pass sales are the primary way we can work to cover trail replacement costs, so now it is more important than ever that people support the paid access trail model. More pass sales = more new trails, built quicker!
We will soon be launching a volunteer trail development program. This program will focus on hand-built trails. Support for this program will help us accelerate the rate that we can develop new technical trails to offset trail losses associated with the harvest.