Colquhoun MTB Park

Overview

Colquhoun MTB Park sits in Colquhoun State Forest near Kalimna West, roughly 8–10 km west of Lakes Entrance in East Gippsland. The trail network grew from informal local riding and was formalised through a collaboration between the Gippsland Mountain Bike Club (GMBC) and what was then the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) — the predecessor of today's DEECA. Tasmanian trail-builder Dirt Art was brought in to refine the network for sustainability and add the kind of bermed, flowing finish that's now standard in Australian XC parks.

The park's signature is the 15.5 km Scalectric Loop — a figure-of-eight cross-country circuit that strings together the best of the area's trails through open eucalypt forest. Standout named tracks include Lollipop ("raucously fun" gully descent), Lennies Track (winds through dense bracken fern), Roos Climb (switchback ascent), Howards, and Sinkhole. A small pump track sits at the trailhead car park for warm-ups and kids' laps. Look out for the hidden bike-art creatures the trail crews have tucked into the forest.

Trails run on sandy, free-draining soil, which makes Colquhoun unusually wet-weather tolerant for a low-elevation Victorian park. Riding is suitable for most ability levels — there's no big climbing (the network is essentially flat by gravity standards) and the flow lines are forgiving enough for confident beginners while still rewarding faster intermediate riders. It's one of the closest "real" MTB parks to Lakes Entrance, which makes it a popular family / holiday-mode add-on for visitors based on the lakes for surf, boating or rail-trail riding.

Location & Access

• Address: 9 Bruce Road, Kalimna West VIC 3909 (trailhead car park, ~100 m north of the Princes Highway)
• Region: East Gippsland (Lakes Entrance & Surrounds tourism subregion)
• Drive times: ~10 min from Lakes Entrance · ~30 min from Bairnsdale · ~3 hr 45 min from Melbourne CBD (~270–300 km east) · ~7+ hr from Sydney
• Public transport: None practical — V/Line coach to Lakes Entrance, then car/taxi/bike. Most riders drive.
• Parking: Free unsealed car park at the trailhead on Bruce Road; pump track adjacent. A second access point exists at the Forestech car park for the Reed Track.
• Coords: -37.834871, 147.9170063 (verified — matches Google Maps trailhead pin)

Best Season & Conditions

• Peak riding season: Year-round. Autumn and spring are the sweet spot — warm enough to be comfortable, low fire risk, no march flies.
• Wet-weather impact: Sandy, free-draining soil holds up well in rain — one of the better wet-weather options in Victoria's east. Mosquitoes get aggressive after wet spells, so bring repellent.
• Fire-danger / total-fire-ban impact: Park can close on Code Red / Total Fire Ban days during summer (Nov–Mar). Check VicEmergency / FFMVic before driving over.
• Snow / alpine season: N/A — low-elevation coastal forest, no snow.
• Summer heat: Summer is the peak hazard — very hot, with infamous March flies in Jan–Feb. Carry plenty of water and consider riding early/late.
• School-holiday surge: Lakes Entrance is one of Victoria's biggest summer holiday towns; expect modestly more traffic at the trailhead during Vic school holidays, but the trails rarely feel crowded.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

• Land manager: Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) / DEECA — Colquhoun State Forest is state forest, not a national park. (DEECA absorbed the old DSE that originally signed off the trails.)
• Trail advocate / club: Gippsland Mountain Bike Club (GMBC / Gippsland MTB Inc) — same club that maintains Blores Hill, Maryvale Pines, Haunted Hills etc. Colquhoun is geographically further east than the rest of GMBC's network.
• Trail builder: Dirt Art (Tasmania) refined and added sustainability/sophistication to the network after DSE approval.
• Volunteer / dig days: No public schedule found for Colquhoun specifically. GMBC runs working bees primarily at central-Gippsland sites; Colquhoun is more often supported via direct trail fairy donations on Trailforks.
• Donations / membership: GMBC memberships processed through AusCycling — select "Gippsland MTB" as your club. Trail Fairy donations can be sent via Trailforks.
• Club website: https://gippslandmtb.com.au/ (no dedicated Colquhoun trail page — site lists Colquhoun on its Trail Maps index but links straight to Trailforks)
• Club email: info@gippslandmtb.com.au

History & Background

• Trails were originally cut by local riders informally in Colquhoun State Forest. The Gippsland Mountain Bike Club worked with the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE — now DEECA via the FFMVic / DEECA reshuffle) to gain official recognition of the network, after which Tasmanian trail builder Dirt Art was contracted to upgrade the network — improving sustainability, adding bermed corners, ramps, jumps, timber bridges, and the figure-of-eight Scalectrix / Scalectric Loop that is now the park's headline ride.
• New signage with a detailed area map was installed at the trailhead during the formalisation upgrade, and most trails are now well marked. A pump track was added at the main parking area.
• GMBC has previously hosted club racing at Colquhoun, including a 3 Hour Enduro on 14 October 2018 and earlier club rounds on a 5.7 km circuit. Recent club race activity has been concentrated more at central-Gippsland sites (Blores Hill, Haunted Hills) than at Colquhoun.
• The wider Colquhoun State Forest also carries the Stony Creek Trestle Bridge (247 m long, 20 m high) — an East Gippsland Rail Trail landmark — and three walking tracks. Riders mixing the rail trail and the MTB park is a common Lakes Entrance itinerary.
• The land sits on Country of the Gunaikurnai people, who are the Traditional Owners of much of Gippsland.

Recent News & Updates (last 12 months)

• 2022-09-28 — Victorian Government public notice flagged ongoing illegal activity in Colquhoun State Forest: unauthorised tree felling, illegal firewood removal, rubbish dumping (12+ tonnes collected over six months) and waste burning creating fire hazards. Authorities increased patrols; reports go to 136 186. The MTB park itself was not closed, but the broader forest was flagged as under stress. (source) — older than 12 months but still the most prominent Colquhoun-specific news item.
• 2024–2026 — No major new trail openings, closures or events surfaced in public news for Colquhoun specifically. GMBC's events focus has been further west (G7 hub sites). Trailforks ride logs continue steadily, suggesting trails remain in serviceable condition.
• Note: GMBC website does not maintain a dedicated Colquhoun page, so condition reports tend to live on Trailforks ride feeds and the Gippsland MTB Facebook group rather than the club site. Worth a manual check before publishing date-sensitive content.