Haunted Hills Mountain Bike Park

Overview

Haunted Hills is a purpose-built, machine-cut MTB park on the rolling hills between Newborough and Morwell in Victoria's Latrobe Valley. It opened on 18 December 2021 after nearly a decade of advocacy from the Gippsland MTB club, and is positioned as the "hero" centrepiece of the G7 — a network of seven Central Gippsland mountain-bike parks (Avon Mt Hedrick, Baw Baw, Maryvale Pines, Somewhere Good, Mt Erica, Haunted Hills, Blores Hill). Trails are designed for full progression from green-circle beginners to advanced riders, with progressive jump and flow lines, an asphalt pump track shaped like a skull-and-crossbones, and a kids' skills loop.

The park leans hard into local folklore: the area was reputedly named "The Haunted Hills" in the 1800s when stockmen reported strange rumbling noises (later attributed to underground coal seams), with stories of ghost sightings, spooked cattle, and rumoured Indigenous avoidance of the country well before white settlement. Tombstone-shaped trail signage, trail names like "Damnation", "Dante's Descent", "Redrum", "Inferno" and "Trick Or Treat", and the park's siting next to the Yallourn Cemetery double down on the theme. The land is owned and managed by Latrobe City Council, with construction by TrailScapes and HCM Constructions, and ongoing builds and dig days driven by Gippsland MTB Inc.

After Stage 1's 13–15 km of singletrack, Stage 2 added a further ~12–15 km of trail and additional infrastructure (skills area, bike-wash, more shelters, fencing, expanded carpark), funded by a $1 million Regional Tourism Investment Fund — Stimulus grant. The park currently lists as 51 trails / ~29 km in our DB and is a regular host of Vic Champ Series rounds, the Vic Schools MTB Series, and the Rocky Trail Entertainment Shimano MTB GP.

Location & Access

Address: 354 Haunted Hills Road, Hernes Oak, VIC 3825 (between Newborough and Morwell)
Region: Latrobe Valley (within Gippsland)
Drive times: ~1 hr 45 min from Melbourne CBD (~145 km via M1); ~25 min from Traralgon; ~10 min from Moe
Public transport: Limited — V/Line trains to Moe (Gippsland line) then taxi/rideshare; no direct bus to the trailhead
Parking: Free sealed carpark on site, with overflow upper carpark used during events
Coords: -38.198895, 146.315665

Best Season & Conditions

Peak riding season: Year-round — purpose-built drainage means trails ride well through most of the year
Wet-weather impact: Some trails sensitive to rain; club asks riders to check status during/after sustained wet
Fire-danger / total-fire-ban impact: Open landscape; check VicEmergency for TFB / Code Red day closures
Snow / alpine season: Not applicable (low elevation, ~150 m)
School-holiday surge: Busy on weekends and event days; weekday riding usually quiet

Managing Body & Trail Builders

Land manager: Latrobe City Council
Trail builder / maintainer: TrailScapes Pty Ltd + HCM Constructions (build); Gippsland MTB Inc (advocacy + ongoing maintenance / dig days)
Volunteer / dig days: Coordinated via Gippsland MTB Inc
Donations / membership: Gippsland MTB Inc — https://gippslandmtb.com.au/
Project partners: Latrobe City Council, Gippsland MTB Inc, EnergyAustralia, Destination Gippsland, Australian Government, Victorian Government

History & Background

Name origin: The "Haunted Hills" name dates from European settlement in the 1800s, attributed to a low rumbling noise heard by stockmen (reputedly stampeding-cattle-like, but actually subsurface coal-seam activity), plus reported ghost sightings, "inexplicable accidents", and "spooked cows". Local lore says the Gunaikurnai traditional owners avoided the area, considering it haunted, well before white settlement.
Project origin: Concept conceived in 2012 by Gippsland MTB Inc co-founder Nicholas King (who later became Destination Gippsland's tracks-and-trails project manager) after a meeting with Latrobe City's mayor in 2011. Planning began in May 2019.
Funding: $976,000 Federal grant in 2018 for Stage 1; $1 million Regional Tourism Investment Fund — Stimulus Round for Stage 2 (announced October 2021). EnergyAustralia is a project partner — the park sits in former coal-country adjacent to the Yallourn power-station precinct.
Construction: TrailScapes + HCM Constructions, commencing early 2021.
Stage 1 opened: Saturday 18 December 2021 (~13–15 km of singletrack + asphalt pump track + trailhead facilities).
Stage 2: Construction commenced 2022; added another ~12–15 km of trail plus mountain-bike skills area, bike-wash, additional shelters/fencing/carparking. Currently complete (DB shows 51 trails / ~29 km).
Stage 3: Identified in the original masterplan as a further doubling of trail length; funding still being sought as of public reporting through 2022–2024.
Adjacent: Yallourn Cemetery sits next to the trail network — leaned into for the park's haunted theming.
G7 network: Haunted Hills is the designated "hero" track of the G7 (seven Central Gippsland MTB parks), promoted by Destination Gippsland as a multi-day touring drawcard.