Jubes Bike Park

Overview

Jubes Mountain Bike Park (commonly "Jubes") is a small, purpose-built MTB facility at the back of Golden Jubilee Field in North Wahroonga, on Sydney's Upper North Shore. Opened in late 2011 it claims to be Sydney's first purpose-built MTB park. The site sits on a pocket of cleared ridgeline backing onto Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. It is managed by Ku-ring-gai Council in partnership with a volunteer-led TrailCare program.

The park is laid out as three discrete zones rather than a connected trail network: a skills development area with elevated timber bridges and rock features, a multi-level dirt pump track (beginner / intermediate / advanced lines plus a return loop), and four downhill-style jump trails of progressing difficulty (Spring Roll, Catapult, Dogit and Grand Slam) dropping from a shared start pad. A short flow / berm trail (Blue Metal) and a black-graded line (South Side) round out the on-site offering. The neighbouring Old Mans Valley fire trail / Jubes-to-Bobbin-Head link tracks provide longer pedal-out options into the Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai Chase NP reserves.

Jubes is best understood as a coaching / progression venue: short laps, walk-back access, lots of repetition. It is not a destination network — riders looking for distance head to Old Mans Valley, Manly Dam or the Royal National Park. What Jubes offers that Sydney has few of is a permitted, council-sanctioned skills area with proper jumps, where teenagers and progressing kids can session lines without being moved on.

Location & Access

• Address: Esk Street, North Wahroonga NSW 2076 (rear of Golden Jubilee Field, past the SES unit)
• Drive from Sydney CBD: ~30 km / 35–45 min via Pacific Hwy / M1
• Drive from Hornsby: ~6 km / 10 min via Pacific Hwy
• Closest train station: Wahroonga (~2.5 km) or Waitara — both on the T1 North Shore line; walk or short pedal
• Parking: free, at the rear of the Golden Jubilee Field car park — "drive the entire way through the carpark, making your way as far back as possible" past the SES Unit. A gravel access track leads down to the bike area.
• Alternate access: North Wahroonga Fire Trail (for riders pedalling in from the surrounding reserve)
• Lat/Long (DB): -33.700173, 151.09123

Best Season & Conditions

• Sydney's mild climate makes Jubes a year-round venue, but the surface is fine red/clay dirt that turns slippery and damages quickly when wet.
• Wet-weather closures — Council closes the park after rain and posts status on the Ku-ring-gai Council website and the Jubes MTB Park Facebook group. Riders are asked not to ride wet trails.
• Wind closures — Some features (notably the higher elevated skills bridges) are closed when wind speed exceeds ~25 km/h from particular directions.
• Summer fire-danger days — Standard NSW Rural Fire Service bushland access rules apply; the park can be closed in severe / catastrophic conditions.
• Best riding window: mid-morning to mid-afternoon, autumn–spring (cooler, drier surface). Avoid the first 24–48 hr after rain.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

• Land manager: Ku-ring-gai Council (Things to do > Sport and fitness > Mountain biking > Jubes Mountain Bike Park)
• Volunteer program: Council-run TrailCare program — community trail crew responsible for maintenance, condition monitoring and feature closures
• Volunteer leadership: Alison and Damian Underwood — long-time TrailCare leads who drove the post-2021 rejuvenation; they manage the @jubes_mtb_park Instagram and Facebook community
• Trail builders / consultants:
  • Synergy Trails — rebuilt the pump and flow tracks in 2013 (same crew that designed Old Mans Valley)
  • Keystone Trails (Sydney) — current TrailCare-aligned design / construction partner working with council and youth volunteers; transformed the park into a "progressive hub for local youth"
• Community channels:
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jubes_mtb_park/
  • Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/421529709152658

History & Background

• 2011 — Jubes opens, claimed as Sydney's first purpose-built MTB park. Original plans included singletrack to Clissold Quarry and the Grosvenor Trail but were curtailed after community opposition; final build was a constrained ridgeline pocket with ~800 m of flow trail and no jumps.
• Early 2012 — Closed for redevelopment after the original build suffered erosion.
• 2013 — Synergy Trails rebuilds the pump track and flow line; four jump trails added off a new start pad.
• 2010s — Park enters a period of patchy maintenance; Galston Community Association noted facilities and surface had become run-down.
• 2021–2022 — Local volunteers (Underwoods + youth) revive the park under council's TrailCare banner; Ku-ring-gai Living reports new community momentum and active partnership with Keystone Trails. Top priority publicly stated was funding an asphalt pump track to lower the entry-skill threshold.
• 2023–2026 — Ongoing TrailCare volunteer maintenance days, occasional open days; the park has stabilised as a council-run progression venue with an active volunteer base.

Recent News & Updates

• TrailCare working bees continue (publicised via the Jubes Instagram / Facebook group).
• Council still posts wet-weather and feature closures on the Jubes Mountain Bike Park page and Facebook group, typically updated by 2:30pm on weekdays.
• No major new trail additions reported in the last 12 months; community pressure remains for an asphalt pump track upgrade.

Sources

1. Ku-ring-gai Council — Jubes Mountain Bike Park — https://www.krg.nsw.gov.au/Things-to-do/Sport-and-fitness/Mountain-biking/Jubes-Mountain-Bike-Park (accessed 2026-05-19; 403 to WebFetch, content via search-result snippets and indexed crawl)
2. Ku-ring-gai Council — Jubes trail gradings PDF — https://www.krg.nsw.gov.au/files/assets/public/v/1/hptrim/information-management-publications-public-website-ku-ring-gai-council-website-environment/es-jubes-map_01.pdf (accessed 2026-05-19)
3. Ku-ring-gai Council — Mountain biking trails map — https://www.krg.nsw.gov.au/Things-to-do/Sport-and-fitness/Mountain-biking/Mountain-bike-trails-map (accessed 2026-05-19)
4. The Kuringai Examiner — "Jubes Mountain Bike Park" — https://www.kgex.com.au/jubes-mountain-bike-park/ (accessed 2026-05-19)
5. North Shore Mums — "A riding adventure at Jubes Mountain Bike Park in Wahroonga" — https://www.northshoremums.com.au/a-riding-adventure-at-jubes-mountain-bike-park-in-wahroonga/ (accessed 2026-05-19)
6. Galston Community Association — "2076 Jubes MTB Park" (Susanna Mills, 27 Apr 2021) — https://galstoncommunity.com.au/2076-jubes-mtb-park/ (accessed 2026-05-19)
7. Ku-ring-gai Living — "Community Spirit Shines at Jubes Mountain Bike Park" (Sep 2022) — https://kuringgailiving.com.au/community-spirit-shines-at-jubes-mountain-bike-park/ (accessed 2026-05-19)
8. Flow Mountain Bike — "Ruins to Radness | Golden Jubilee's story of cooperation and success" — https://flowmountainbike.com/features/golden-jubilee-ku-ring-gai-sydney/ (accessed 2026-05-19; 403 to WebFetch, indexed via search)
9. Keystone Trails — Jubes MTB Park project page — https://blue-contrabass.squarespace.com/projects/jubes-mtb-park (accessed 2026-05-19)
10. Trailforks — Jubes MTB Park region — https://www.trailforks.com/region/jubes-mtb-park-46601/ (accessed 2026-05-19; 403 to WebFetch)
11. Jubes MTB Park — Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/jubes_mtb_park/ (accessed 2026-05-19)
12. Ku-ring-gai Council — Contact us — https://www.krg.nsw.gov.au/Council/Contact-us (accessed 2026-05-19; council phone 02 9424 0000)