Fat Tyre Farm

Overview

Fat Tyre Farm is a volunteer-built mountain-bike network on a Travelling Stock Reserve (Crown Land / TSR) beside the New England Highway, roughly 18 km north of Armidale on the Northern Tablelands of NSW. The land — typical of TSRs in the Northern Tablelands — is managed at a tenure level by NSW Crown Lands / Northern Tablelands Local Land Services for historic droving use; recreational MTB access is permissive, with trails designed, cut, and maintained by New England Mountain Bikers (NEMTB) volunteers.

Despite the "Farm" naming, this is not a private fee-pay property — it's public Crown Land riding on a stock reserve, alongside the club's nearby Robbers Run downhill venue. The site sits well above 1,000 m altitude on the Northern Tablelands plateau, giving cool summers and frosty winters. Trails are a mix of flowing singletrack (Salmon Run, Yakkity Yak), a mini-downhill run, technical wooden features, skinnies, and A/B-line jump options (Full Bottle). Suitable for green through intermediate / advanced riders depending on line choice.

Fat Tyre Farm is paired with Robbers Run at the top of Devils Pinch / Black Mountain ~15 minutes' drive further north; the Robbers Run trailhead is at the Thunderbolts Cave car park, and a 2 km easy roll down the old highway joins the two. This pairing forms the core of NEMTB's "Where to ride" offering alongside their Armidale State Forest and UNE trails. The site hosts the club's annual Gravity Funduro race (held here 15 November 2025, with a 2026 edition slated for 28 March 2026 alongside a Robbers Run round on 28 February 2026).

A 2024 Trailforks status flag and ride reports noted overgrowth and reduced maintenance, however the November 2025 Gravity Funduro event confirms the venue is still being used by the club. Riders should check NEMTB channels before driving up.

Location & Access

Address (anchor): New England Highway, 17.9 km north of the Glen Innes Rd intersection, Armidale NSW 2350.
Coordinates: -30.485228, 151.643956 (already in DB).
Driving directions: From Armidale, head north on the New England Highway. Watch for an "old forestry saw on a post" on the left at 17.9 km — this marks the turn-off. Drive ~20 m up to a gate / cattle grid. Parking for 6–8 cars is 30 m left of the gate.
Drive times: Armidale ~20 min. Glen Innes ~45 min. Tamworth ~1 hr 50 min. Coffs Harbour ~2 hr 30 min.
Public transport: No practical PT. Drive only.
Pairing with Robbers Run: Robbers Run trailhead is at the Thunderbolts Cave car park, top of Devils Pinch / Black Mountain (~15 min north of Armidale). Riders can shuttle Robbers Run, then ride down the old highway 2 km flat to link to Fat Tyre Farm.

Best Season & Conditions

Altitude: Sits well above 1,000 m on the Northern Tablelands plateau.
Summer (Dec–Feb): Cool by NSW standards (mid-20s°C). Watch for storms and fire weather.
Autumn (Mar–May): Reliable conditions — Gravity Funduro is run in autumn.
Winter (Jun–Aug): Cold, with frosts; can be raceable but expect freezing mornings and possible mud after rain.
Spring (Sep–Nov): Generally good; Gravity Funduro 2025 ran in November.
Wet-weather: Soils can hold water; the 2024 overgrowth reports suggest reduced traffic and slower drying. Avoid riding soft trails to prevent damage.
Fire bans: TSR/Crown Land in the Northern Tablelands area is subject to NSW Total Fire Ban declarations during summer.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

Land tenure: NSW Travelling Stock Reserve (Crown Land), administered at the area level by Northern Tablelands Local Land Services (LLS).
Trail design, build, maintenance: New England Mountain Bikers (NEMTB) — Armidale-based volunteer club.
NEMTB contact: pres.nemtb@gmail.com
Website: https://www.nemtb.com.au/where-to-ride/fat-tyre-farm-robbers-run
Socials: facebook.com/nemtb.com.au, instagram.com/nemtb
Volunteer working bees: Listed on NEMTB news / events feeds.

DB managing_body already reads "New England Mountain Bikers (NEMTB)" — accurate as far as trail maintenance goes. Worth augmenting to capture the tenure: "New England Mountain Bikers (NEMTB) — trails; NSW Crown Lands / Northern Tablelands Local Land Services — Travelling Stock Reserve tenure".

History & Background

TSR origins: The site is part of NSW's historic Travelling Stock Reserve network — Crown Land set aside to allow drovers to move sheep and cattle between properties. Northern Tablelands LLS administers 350+ TSRs covering ~46,735 ha across the region.
MTB use began with NEMTB volunteers cutting and signing trails on the reserve, alongside their other Armidale-area trail networks (Armidale State Forest, UNE, Kookaburra Crest).
Featured in ambmag.com.au coverage as part of "Armidale Bike Track" reporting on the region's emerging MTB scene.
Annual NEMTB race series: Winter Series and Summer Series have used Fat Tyre Farm since at least 2012; Trailstar Enduro 2017 paired Fat Tyre Farm and Robbers Run.

Sources

NEMTB — Fat Tyre Farm & Robbers Run page — https://www.nemtb.com.au/where-to-ride/fat-tyre-farm-robbers-run — accessed 2026-05-19
NEMTB — Where to ride index — https://www.nemtb.com.au/where-to-ride — accessed 2026-05-19
NEMTB — Robbers Run page — https://www.nemtb.com.au/where-to-ride/robbers-run — accessed 2026-05-19
NEMTB — 2025 Gravity Funduro news — https://www.nemtb.com.au/news/2025-news/2025-gravity-funduro — accessed 2026-05-19
Visit NSW — Mountain Bike Trails Armidale — https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/armidale-area/armidale/attractions/mountain-bike-trails-armidale — accessed 2026-05-19
NSW Government — Mountain Bike Trails Armidale — https://www.nsw.gov.au/visiting-and-exploring-nsw/locations-and-attractions/mountain-bike-trails-armidale — accessed 2026-05-19
Armidale Tourist Park — Mountain Biking Armidale & the New England High Country — https://www.armidaletouristpark.com.au/mountain-biking-armidale/ — accessed 2026-05-19
AMB Magazine — Armidale Bike Track — https://www.ambmag.com.au/news/armidale-bike-track-428829/ — accessed 2026-05-19
Trailforks — Fat Tyre Farm region — https://www.trailforks.com/region/fat-tyre-farm-12108/ — accessed 2026-05-19 (403 to scrapers; browser-only)
NSW Crown Lands — Travelling Stock Reserves — https://www.crownland.nsw.gov.au/about-us/crown-lands-explained/travelling-stock-reserves — accessed 2026-05-19
Northern Tablelands LLS — Travelling Stock Reserves — https://northerntablelands.lls.nsw.gov.au/_old/livestock/stock-routes — accessed 2026-05-19