George Town MTB Trails

Overview

George Town MTB Trails is a council-owned, purpose-built mountain bike destination at the head of the Tamar Valley in north-east Tasmania, roughly 40 minutes' drive north of Launceston. It is one of the four pillars of the North-East Tasmanian MTB story alongside Blue Derby, Maydena and St Helens, branded by its operator as "completing the North-East Tasmanian mountain biking narrative." Around 100 km of one-way, World Trail-designed singletrack is split across two distinct, complementary networks.

Mt George Trail Network — ~16 km across 10 named trails, on Mt George immediately adjacent to the town centre. Gravity-focused with short, sharp descents (the longest is Buzzcut at −122 m elevation, the queen-stage climb is Keystone at +177 m). Sealed-road self-shuttle laps are possible (≈5-minute turnarounds).
Tippogoree Hills Trail Network — ~57 km planned, ~31 trails listed at full build-out (lower stage ~22 km opened Dec 2022; upper stage completed by World Trail in 2023). About 5 km south of George Town; descents are longer (Slab Hunter is 5.8 km) and shuttle-only.
George Town Pump Track — at the edge of town's main street, used as the warm-up and progression facility.

The network is the gravity / black-diamond-leaning sister to Blue Derby's flowy XC. Most Tippogoree Hills trails are black or double-black descents; greens/blues exist but are the minority. Both networks share riders' centres on Trailforks, downloadable PDF maps, and the same operator-branded website.

Location & Access

Town: George Town, Tasmania 7253 (north-east bank of the Tamar River estuary; head of the Tamar Valley).
Region: George Town / North-East Tasmania (DB region is correct).
Lat/Lon (DB): -41.1031, 146.8523 (correct).
Mt George trailhead: Mount George Road, immediately south-east of George Town town centre.
Tippogoree Hills trailhead: Lauriston Park, ~5 km south of George Town.
Drive times: ~50 min from Launceston Airport / Launceston CBD; ~3 hr from Hobart; ~50 min from Devonport ferry terminal (the Spirit of Tasmania).
Public transport: No direct services to the trailheads. George Town is reached by regional bus from Launceston; from there a car or shuttle is needed.
Parking: Sealed trailhead carparks at both networks. Overnight parking and camping in carparks are prohibited.

Best Season & Conditions

Best months: Year-round riding, but the sweet spot is spring to autumn (Oct–Apr). Tamar Valley summers are warmer and drier than Maydena's; winter is rideable but cold and the gully trails can hold water.
Wet-weather: George Town Council "may close trails for maintenance, unsafe conditions, extreme weather, or during adverse fire weather conditions." Check the operator website or Trailforks status before driving up.
Fire-danger days: Trails close for High / Extreme Fire Danger periods (typically Dec–Mar).
Surface: Purpose-built shale / loam mix with some rock features and "long rock gardens" on Mt George. Dries quickly after rain by Tasmanian standards.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

Managing body: George Town Council — owns, manages and maintains the network. Council's MTB Trail Crew handles ongoing maintenance.
Designed and built by: World Trail (lead builder/designer; head designer Glen Jacobs).
Feasibility & draft design: Dirt Art (contracted by Council prior to federal funding).
Major land contributor: Bell Bay Aluminium / Rio Tinto Group — significant portions of Tippogoree Hills trails are on company-owned land.
Funding: $4.4 million from the Australian Government's Community Development Grants Programme (announced 2019). Project championed locally by the George Town Chamber of Commerce.
Shuttle operator: Up Down and Around (private; bookings via Rezdy).
Contact: info@georgetownmtbtrails.com.au; phone +61 3 6382 8800 (George Town Council switch).
Address: Council office at 16–18 Anne St, George Town TAS 7253.

History & Background

Pre-2019: George Town Chamber of Commerce identified the economic case for mountain biking after observing the Derby effect. Council commissioned Dirt Art for a feasibility study and draft trail concept.
2019: $4.4 m federal grant secured under the Community Development Grants Programme.
20 May 2020: Media release announcing World Trail as builder; project scoped at "80 km of purpose-built MTB trails across two networks."
Jul 2020: Detailed design completed.
Oct 2020: Construction start.
Oct 2021: Mt George Trail Network officially opens — gravity-focused ~16 km.
17 Dec 2022: Lower Tippogoree Hills stage opens (~22 km / 21+ trails).
2023: World Trail completes the upper Tippogoree Hills stage; total network now ~100 km of riding across the two networks.
2024: Tas Gravity Enduro Series Round 1 hosted at George Town (16–17 Nov 2024).
2025: Rider survey opened in May; Tas Gravity Enduro Series scheduled to return Sat 6 Dec 2025 in a new "Jam" format.

SQL — applied below

UPDATE public.parks
SET phone = '+61 3 6382 8800',
 address = 'Mount George Road, George Town TAS 7253',
 features = ARRAY['Gravity','Shuttle service','Pump track','Purpose-built','World Trail designed','One-way trails','Bring your own water','Black/double-black focus'],
 updated_at = now()
WHERE slug = 'george-town-mtb-trails';

UPDATE public.park_facilities
SET present = false
WHERE park_id = (SELECT id FROM parks WHERE slug = 'george-town-mtb-trails')
 AND facility = 'toilets';