Bare Creek MTB Park

Overview

Bare Creek Bike Park is a purpose-built, council-operated gravity / freeride park in Belrose on Sydney's Northern Beaches. It sits on the remediated footprint of the former Belrose Waste Management Centre (a landfill that closed in November 2014), giving it the unusual quality of a hand-shaped hill in an otherwise flat sandstone-plateau landscape. The park opened to the public in December 2020 after a multi-year design and build by Dirt Art under lead designer Tom Mallett, in collaboration with local advocacy group TrailCare.

The 1.6 km network is short by national-park standards but dense: every metre is shaped, jumped, or bermed. The brief from day one was progression — beginner-rollable flow lines through to a pro-only freeride line with mandatory gaps and large drops. Trails are sculpted from red clay sandstone fill, so the surface rides fast and tacky but is extremely vulnerable to rain and wind — individual trails are routinely closed by the volunteer trail crew at short notice. An asphalt pump track and a dedicated dirt-jump pad (with four progression lines) sit alongside the gravity trails, giving the park a session-style character rather than the cross-country loop of typical Sydney MTB venues.

The park is free, dawn-to-dusk in spirit but formally gated 7am–7pm, and serves both as the de-facto gravity training ground for the Sydney basin and as a destination day-trip for visiting riders. It's managed by Northern Beaches Council and was funded ($3.5M) via the NSW Waste Assets Management Corporation's Enhancement Fund — $2 per tonne of waste set aside during the landfill's working life.

Location & Access

Address: 2819 Crozier Road, Belrose NSW 2085
Region: Northern Beaches / Sydney
Drive times: ~35 min from Sydney CBD; ~25 min from Manly; ~20 min from Chatswood
Public transport: Limited — closest bus services run along Forest Way (B-Line / 280 family); the entry road is a long uphill walk-in from there. Effectively car/bike-shuttle only.
Parking: Free on-site for ~40 vehicles; overflow on nearby streets when busy. Sealed access road.
Coords: -33.7160, 151.2077

Best Season & Conditions

Peak riding season: Year-round, with autumn (Mar–May) and spring (Sep–Nov) the sweet spot — dry tack, mild temps.
Wet-weather impact: Critical — red clay surfaces close quickly and stay closed until they dry. Riding wet trails is explicitly forbidden as it damages jump faces. Status is published via @barecreektrailstatus on Instagram and the Trail Crew Facebook page.
Wind impact: Some upper trails close on high-wind days due to falling-branch risk.
Fire-danger / total-fire-ban impact: Not a primary concern (urban context, mostly cleared site), though adjacent Garigal NP bushland can trigger general access advice on extreme days.
Snow / alpine season: N/A (coastal Sydney).
School-holiday surge: Busy on weekends and school holidays, especially the pump track and beginner berms.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

Land manager: Northern Beaches Council (operations); site rehabilitation overseen by NSW Waste Assets Management Corporation (now Property and Development NSW).
Trail designer: Tom Mallett (Dirt Art lead designer).
Trail builder: Dirt Art Pty Ltd.
Advocacy / volunteer maintenance: TrailCare (community group, formerly active as Manly Warringah Mountain Bike Club's Trail Care arm). Volunteer Trail Crew manages day-to-day trail status, weather closures, and dig days. Independent volunteer-run website at barecreekbikepark.com and @barecreektrailstatus Instagram.
Donations / membership: TrailCare accepts donations / volunteers via their community channels (Facebook / Instagram). Northern Beaches Council customer service: 1300 434 434.

History & Background

The Belrose Waste Management Centre operated as a landfill from the 1960s/70s until November 2014, when it closed for tipping.
The NSW Government's Waste Enhancement Fund set aside $2 per tonne of waste during the landfill's operating life, raising $3.5 million earmarked for the site's future community use.
Northern Beaches mountain bikers (via Manly Warringah MTB Club and TrailCare) lobbied for over a decade for a gravity-focused bike park on the rehabilitated site, joining a Community Advisory Committee in 2008.
Earthworks and design started in November 2017, using ~80,000 m³ of sandstone to cap and re-shape the contaminated site.
Dirt Art (under Tom Mallett's lead) was contracted to design and build the trails in collaboration with TrailCare and Council.
The park officially opened on 10 December 2020 by the NSW Government and Northern Beaches Council.
Construction cost was ~$2 million; $1.5 million transferred to Council for ongoing operations.
The site has since drawn international rider attention and is regarded as the Sydney basin's headline progression / freeride venue.