La Larr Ba Gauwa MTB Park

DUPLICATE ROW WARNING — read first

Two rows exist in parks for what is near-certainly the same physical park:

Field	This row (`la-larr-ba-gauwa-mtb-park`)	Duplicate (`la-larr-ba-gauwa-mountain-bike-park`)
id	`c3488b7a-2523-41cb-8eba-ad8ee7c700f2`	`93a1461c-0a7f-4441-82c8-0522efce1f36`
address	Picnic Gully Road, Harcourt North VIC 3453	Picnic Gully Road, Harcourt North VIC 3453
website	lalarrbagauwa.com.au	lalarrbagauwa.com.au
trailforks	region/la-larr-ba-gauwa-mtb-park-22320	region/la-larr-ba-gauwa-mtb-park-22320
latitude	-36.799271 (WRONG — ~22 km too far north)	-37.038423 (closer to Mt Alexander summit area)
longitude	144.286675	144.19768
managing_body	Mount Alexander Shire Council	Community-managed (La Larr Ba Gauwa Park Committee), FFMV, DEECA
fire date in season_notes	January 2026 (CORRECT)	January 2025 (WRONG)

Recommendation: this row (-mtb-park) is the one to keep on a merge — its slug is shorter / more idiomatic, its fire-date is correct, and its trail set is loaded against this id. However its lat/lng is wrong (Harcourt township sits at ≈ -36.9998, 144.2599; MTB trailhead per the operator's own contact page is -36.9995, 144.2860); the duplicate's lat/lng (-37.038423, 144.19768) is actually closer to the Mount Alexander summit / regional park footprint. Coords for THIS row will be corrected to the operator-stated trailhead during this run.

The real managing-body wording from the duplicate ("Committee of Management appointed by the Victorian state government, working with FFMV and DEECA") is more accurate than "Mount Alexander Shire Council" — sources confirm the council does NOT manage this park; a volunteer Committee of Management does. Will be corrected.

Do NOT auto-merge. Flag for user sign-off — separate task. This skill run only edits the -mtb-park row.

Overview

La Larr Ba Gauwa (pronounced "Lah Larr Ba Gower"; meaning "stones and mountain" in Dja Dja Wurrung language) is a purpose-built mountain-bike park on the granite slopes of Mount Alexander, in central Victoria's Goldfields region. The park opened in March 2018, was funded by the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP, now DEECA) and built by DirtArt — the trailbuilder behind Maydena Bike Park in Tasmania.

The trail network is 34 km of cross-country singletrack across 11 named trails (green to black diamond), set out as a one-way anti-clockwise loop system. Granite-based terrain means natural rock gardens, slabs and drops, complemented by built berms, tabletops and chutes. The park sits within the wider Mount Alexander Regional Park, includes a historic Oak Forest picnic area and the Picnic Gully Campground, and is signed-trailhead-accessed from Harcourt township via a purpose-built off-road path.

Riding it is free; the park is unsupervised and used at riders' own risk. Walkers and horse riders share the area on separate marked tracks. The site is currently closed (as of May 2026) following bushfire impact in January 2026 — see Recent News.

Location & Access

Address: Picnic Gully Road, Harcourt North VIC 3453
Region: Goldfields (canonical Visit Victoria region — Harcourt sits in the Goldfields wedge between Bendigo and Castlemaine)
Drive times: ~90 min from Melbourne (130 km via Calder Fwy); ~25 min from Bendigo; ~12 min from Castlemaine
Public transport: V/Line trains (Bendigo line) stop at Castlemaine and Kangaroo Flat; no direct service to Harcourt — car or taxi for the last leg.
Parking: Signed car park in Harcourt township on High Street (opposite the CFA). From there a purpose-built off-road path leads ~1.5 km via Market Street and Picnic Gully Road to the trailhead.
Coords (operator-stated trailhead): -36.9995, 144.2860 (from lalarrbagauwa.com.au/contact/). The current DB value (-36.799271, 144.286675) is wrong by ~22 km in latitude — will be corrected.

Best Season & Conditions

Peak riding season: Autumn, winter and spring. The granite terrain is dry and rideable when other VIC parks are wet — winter and spring are highlights.
Wet-weather impact: Trails drain quickly thanks to granite-based soil; brief surface-protection closures may be posted after very heavy rain — respect any closure signs.
Fire-danger / total-fire-ban impact: Park is closed on Code Red Fire Danger days (published park rule). The park is in the Northern Country fire district.
Snow / alpine season: N/A (low-elevation, ~350–700 m).
School-holiday surge: Modest — busy on weekends in spring/autumn but rarely crowded mid-week.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

Land manager: Crown land within Mount Alexander Regional Park boundary; managed by a volunteer Committee of Management appointed by the Victorian state government. Adjoining regional park is administered by FFMV (Forest Fire Management Victoria) and DEECA (Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action).
Trail builder (original 2018): DirtArt (Maydena Bike Park trailbuilders).
Funding (original): DELWP (now DEECA), Victorian state government.
Day-to-day operator: La Larr Ba Gauwa Park Committee of Management (volunteers — meet at least monthly). Note: the previous DB value "Mount Alexander Shire Council" is incorrect — the council does not manage the park.
Volunteer / dig days: Coordinated via the committee (no public schedule).
Donations / membership: Contact form at lalarrbagauwa.com.au/contact/.

History & Background

March 2018 — Park officially opened. Planning began in 2017 under DELWP sponsorship; construction by DirtArt.
Naming — "La Larr Ba Gauwa" means "stones and mountain" in Dja Dja Wurrung. The Dja Dja Wurrung people are Traditional Owners of the country. The trailhead shelter was designed by the Dja Dja Wurrung Aboriginal Corporation.
Setting — Granite slopes of Mount Alexander (744 m summit, ~350 m above the surrounding plain), 5 minutes off the Calder Freeway. Adjoins Mount Alexander Regional Park.
Late 2022 / 2023 — Trail and road-access restoration works after 2022 floods; Picnic Gully Campground also upgraded by the Committee of Management.
9 January 2026 — Bushfire (grassfire originating Fogartys Gap Road, Ravenswood South) burnt across a large proportion of the adjoining Mount Alexander Regional Park, impacting La Larr Ba Gauwa and the Oak Forest campground.
February 2026 onwards — Park remained closed; Committee of Management awaiting fire-ground assessment by FFMV and DEECA before public access reopens.
As of May 2026 (this research date) — No public reopening date confirmed in any source consulted.