Hiddenvale Adventure Park

Overview

Hidden Vale Adventure Park (HVAP) is a commercial mountain-bike and trail-running destination set on a privately-owned 12,000-acre Nature Refuge at Grandchester in the Lockyer Valley, roughly one hour's drive west of Brisbane and ~30 minutes from Ipswich. Owned by the Turner family and operated alongside the adjoining luxury retreat Spicers Hidden Vale, the park is a paid-entry network — $20 per day or $99 for a 12-month membership — and is the largest privately-built MTB park in South East Queensland.

The trail network started life as a marathon XC venue: when the 2011 Lockyer Valley floods destroyed the original Flight Centre Epic course in Anstead, the event relocated to Hidden Vale and the property's owners committed to growing the network. World Trail (Glen Jacobs et al.) was contracted to deliver a master plan targeting ~100 km of singletrack, backed by a privately-funded ~$2M build. The result today is an 80–110 km multi-use network of stacked-loop XC, marathon and trail-running tracks plus a growing gravity offering — long descents like 500 Above (385 m vertical, one of the longest in SEQ), Skyfall, Devine and Hippodrome are accessed via the HVAP "High 5" uplift shuttle.

What sets HVAP apart from the council parks around Brisbane is the integrated commercial offering: shuttles, e-bike and Merida bike hire, a skills area with bridges, see-saws and balance beams, coaching, signed-in trailhead access with up-to-date trail-condition reporting, on-site food at The Barn, and luxury / mid-tier accommodation through Spicers and Hide Away Cabins. It now hosts the Flight Centre Cycle & Trail Run Epic, the Spicers Trio (multi-stage XCM), and from 2026 the inaugural Norco DH Series — a grassroots downhill series capitalising on the new gravity tracks.

Location & Access

Address: 617 Grandchester Mt Mort Road, Grandchester QLD 4340
Region: Lockyer Valley / South East Queensland (also marketed as "Ipswich region")
Drive times: ~1 hr from Brisbane CBD; ~30 min from Ipswich; ~25 min from Gatton
Public transport: None — car only. Closest rail is Rosewood (Queensland Rail Ipswich/Rosewood line) then ~15 km by road.
Parking: Free sealed/gravel parking at the HVAP Trailhead; visitors sign in at the trailhead and receive a map before riding.
Coords: -27.5879, 152.6692 (matches DB)

Best Season & Conditions

Peak riding season: Autumn through spring (Apr–Oct). Cool dry months are best.
Wet-weather impact: Trails are clay-heavy in places; operator publishes daily/weekly trail status on the Trail Maps and Conditions page. Closures or "wet" advisories are common after heavy rain — riders should check before driving out.
Fire-danger / total-fire-ban impact: Summer fire risk in the Lockyer Valley — park can close on high fire-danger days at operator discretion.
Snow / alpine: N/A — sub-tropical SEQ location.
School-holiday surge: Yes — weekend shuttles can sell out during QLD school holidays and major events; pre-booking recommended.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

Land owner / operator: HVAP Pty Ltd, owned by the Turner family, operated in conjunction with Spicers Hidden Vale Retreat (Spicers Retreats group).
Trail builder: World Trail (Glen Jacobs and team) — built the master-planned network from ~2012. (Some local accounts also credit subsequent in-house build crew expansion for the gravity tracks.)
Volunteer / dig days: Commercial operation — no public dig days documented; maintenance is run in-house.
Donations / membership: $99/year annual membership funds ongoing trail maintenance; day-pass and uplift fees fund the wider operation.

History & Background

Origins (pre-2011): Property carried old cattle tracks and informal singletrack used by locals.
2011: Lockyer Valley floods destroyed the original Flight Centre Epic route at Anstead. The event was relocated to Spicers Hidden Vale for the 2011 edition. This sparked the wider trail-build vision.
~2012 onward: Turner family privately funds a ~$2M trail program, contracting World Trail to deliver a 100+ km master plan. By the mid-2010s, ~70 km of singletrack was in place with another ~30 km planned. (AMB Magazine, 29 Jul 2016.)
2010s–early 2020s: HVAP grows into the dominant SEQ multi-day XC/marathon destination, hosting the Flight Centre Cycle & Trail Run Epic, 24-hour and 3+3 races, and the Spicers Trio.
2020s: Gravity expansion — long descents (500 Above, Skyfall, Devine, Hippodrome) added with shuttle access; pump track and skills area built up.
2026: Inaugural Norco DH Series at HVAP — a grassroots downhill race series acknowledging the park's pivot from pure XC into a hybrid XC/gravity destination.