Awaba MTB Park

Overview

Awaba MTB Park sits inside Olney State Forest on the eastern foothills of the Watagans, roughly 30–45 minutes south-west of Newcastle and ~90 minutes north of Sydney. It is the long-standing home of the Hunter Mountain Bike Association (HMBA, founded 1985 — the oldest MTB club in NSW), who hold an occupation permit from Forestry Corporation of NSW (granted 2007) and have built, maintained and self-funded the network since trail construction began in 2008. The park covers ~200 ha of forest with a mix of dry woodland, rainforest gullies and open eucalypt country.

The trail offering is built around three pillars: a 12 km hard-packed XC race loop (with shorter 5 km / 8 km inner loops via the Olney and Watagans cut-offs), a nationally significant 3.2 km downhill track ("Monkey", double-black) that climbs 3 km up Mount Faulk Road and is shuttle-accessed, and a beginner / development / adaptive precinct with progressive named loops (Cruze the Cockatoo, Whizzy the Wallaby, Spike the Echidna). A jump-flow trail called Wild Polly and a junior DH called The Faulk Line round out the gravity offering. The park made national headlines as the first-ever Hunter region host of the 2024 GWM AusCycling Mountain Bike National Championships (12–17 March 2024), running XC, DH, e-MTB, adaptive XC, adaptive DH (a national first) and short-track events.

The park is free to ride, year-round, with shuttles operated by Granted Ride (the HMBA's exclusive shuttle partner) on most weekends. Facilities are deliberately minimal — toilets and a gravel car park at the XC trailhead, no drinking water, no food on site — so this is a "bring everything" destination. Bring water, snacks, and basic spares.

Location & Access

Address: 275 Mount Faulk Road (via Jenkins Road), Olney NSW (near Freemans Waterhole / Cooranbong)
Region: Hunter / Lake Macquarie
Drive times: ~30–45 min from Newcastle CBD; ~90 min from Sydney CBD (M1 north)
Public transport: None practical — car only. Nearest train is Cardiff / Fassifern.
Parking: Free gravel car park at the XC trailhead, signposted from Mount Faulk Rd. ~2 km up Mount Faulk Rd, then 600 m up Jenkins Rd (dirt). Watch for kangaroos; Jenkins Rd is slippery when wet.
Coords: -33.0218, 151.4563 (verified — matches HMBA + Trailforks)

Best Season & Conditions

Peak riding season: Autumn through spring (Apr–Oct). Summer is rideable but hot and humid. Most popular ride-log month: June.
Wet-weather impact: Trails close after rain — the access roads (Mount Faulk Rd, Jenkins Rd) become slippery and clay-based trails hold water. HMBA posts closure updates on the park page and Facebook; closures typical for 24–72 h after heavy rain.
Fire-danger / total-fire-ban impact: Trails and forest may close on Total Fire Ban days during the NSW Bush Fire Danger Period (Oct–Mar). Check Forestry Corporation NSW + HMBA before driving up.
Snow / alpine season: Not applicable.
School-holiday surge: Weekends busy in autumn/spring; race days and Granted Ride shuttle days can fill the car park early.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

Land manager: Forestry Corporation of NSW (Olney State Forest) — under Forest Permit (HF55176)
Trail builder / maintainer: Hunter Mountain Bike Association (HMBA), permit holder since 2007; trail construction began 2008. Council partner: Lake Macquarie City Council (signage, infrastructure upgrades).
Volunteer / dig days: Run periodically by HMBA — listed on club calendar / Facebook
Donations / membership: https://hmba.asn.au/membership/ — HMBA membership funds trail maintenance directly

History & Background

1985 — HMBA founded by former Lake Macquarie Canoe Club members; oldest MTB club in NSW. Early events held near Charlestown Golf Course.
2007 — HMBA secures occupation permit from Forestry Corporation of NSW for what becomes Awaba MTB Park.
2008 — Trail construction begins; XC loop is the first major build.
~2009–2015 — Park grows as the Hunter region's MTB racing hub. 12 km XC + Monkey DH established as flagship trails.
2016 — Dedicated adaptive MTB trail completed — among the first purpose-built adaptive trails in Australia.
2018 — HMBA receives $450,000 NSW Government grant (part of $3.5M Lake Macquarie package) for ~15 km of trail extension, linking DH and XC, plus signage and parking upgrades.
21 July 2019 — New Development Trail officially opened.
2019 — Hosts Fox Superflow round (Rocky Trail Entertainment).
2023 — ~9 km of new singletrack approved by REF (Review of Environmental Factors), built ahead of 2024 Nationals: Wild Polly extension, internal gravity-to-DH climbing trails (so riders don't have to push up Mount Faulk Rd), and extension of the development/adaptive loop to serve as the National XC start loop.
12–17 March 2024 — Hosts the GWM AusCycling Mountain Bike National Championships — first time in the Hunter region. Includes elite XC, short track, XC relay, DH, e-MTB, and a national first: adaptive downhill championships. Pump Track Nationals component held at the Redhead pump track (also Lake Macquarie LGA).

Sources

Hunter Mountain Bike Association — Awaba page — https://hmba.asn.au/riding-with-hmba/awaba-mountain-bike-park/ — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 2: operator/club)
HMBA — About — https://hmba.asn.au/about/ — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 2)
HMBA — Club Contacts — https://hmba.asn.au/club-contacts/ — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 2)
Trailforks — Awaba MTB Park region — https://www.trailforks.com/region/awaba-mountain-bike-park/ — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 4; 403 to bots, browseable in browser)
Flow Mountain Bike — Awaba destination — https://flowmountainbike.com/destination/awaba/ — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 6)
Flow MTB — New trails at Awaba approved (pre-Nationals) — https://flowmountainbike.com/post-all/new-trails-at-awaba-aproved/ — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 6)
Momentum Is Your Friend — Awaba MTB Park — https://www.momentumisyourfriend.com.au/awaba-mtb-park/ — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 6)
Australian Mountain Bike (AMB Magazine) — Awaba bike track — https://www.ambmag.com.au/news/awaba-mountain-bike-park-bike-track-428831/ — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 6, 2015)
Newcastle Herald — Awaba expansion / $3.5M state funding — https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/5663167/lake-macquarie-projects-set-to-spin-after-35m-funding-announcement/ — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 6, 2018)
Newcastle Herald — All-abilities trail opens at Awaba — https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/6300997/new-mountain-bike-trail-for-all-abilities-opens-at-awaba/ — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 6, 2019)
AusCycling — 2024 GWM National MTB Championships — https://www.auscycling.org.au/nat/events/2024-auscycling-mountain-bike-national-championships — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 1, governing body)
AusCycling — Australia's first adaptive DH champions crowned at Awaba — https://auscycling.org.au/news/australias-first-ever-adaptive-champions-crowned-in-downhill — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 1)
Granted Ride — Awaba Shuttles — https://grantedride.square.site/awaba-shuttles — accessed 2026-05-19 (tier 1, operator)