Old Man's Valley Bike Park

Overview

Old Man's Valley (OMV) is one of Sydney's only legal, IMBA-approved urban mountain bike parks, tucked into a former quarry valley in the heart of Hornsby on Sydney's upper North Shore. Roughly 6–7 km of singletrack winds through bushland in a small but compact footprint, with three-minute access from Hornsby train station — a rarity for Australian MTB parks, which are almost always car-only. The network packs in surprising variety for its size: hand-cut and machine-cut singletrack, slick rock, rock-armoured ledges, timber boardwalks, a pump/jump track in the centre of the valley, and a dirt-jumps line midway down.

The trails were legalised, designed and built in 2013 by Synergy Trails in partnership with Sydney North Off Road Cyclists (SNORC) and Hornsby Shire Council, after years of underground/informal riding on the same ground. Trails are colour-coded green/blue/black under the standard system, with a strong blue and black skew — XC riders get rocky, technical natural lines and gravity riders get jump-friendly descents that punch well above the park's small footprint. Average usage is reported at ~300 visitors per week.

The park sits inside the much larger Hornsby Park master-plan area, which is converting the former quarry into a regional recreation hub ("Old Mans Valley Field of Play"). Major civil works began in early 2026 and are forecast to wrap up by May 2027. The existing MTB trails are explicitly being retained through that build, though riders should expect intermittent disruption to access roads and adjacent areas during construction.

Location & Access

Address: Quarry Road, Hornsby NSW 2077 (park at the end of the road)
Region: Sydney North
Drive times: ~40 min from Sydney CBD, ~20 min from Chatswood, ~30 min from the Northern Beaches
Public transport: Hornsby Station is ~250 m from the OMV trailhead (3-min ride or short walk via Dural Street → Quarry Road). The park is one of the very few in Australia genuinely accessible by train.
Parking: Free at the end of Quarry Road; overflow at Dural Street Car Park and surrounding Hornsby CBD parking (Westfield, Park&Ride, Waitara Station commuter car park).
Coords: -33.700173, 151.09123

Best Season & Conditions

Peak riding season: Year-round. Sydney's mild climate makes OMV all-season; autumn (Mar–May) and spring (Sep–Nov) are most pleasant.
Wet-weather impact: Closed after periods of heavy rain to allow trails to dry. Check Hornsby Shire Council website for current status before driving.
Fire-danger / total-fire-ban impact: All Council bushland trails — including OMV — close when catastrophic fire conditions are forecast for Greater Sydney (fire behaviour index ≥75). Summer (Nov–Mar) closures are common during heatwaves.
Snow / alpine season: N/A
Daily window: Open dawn to dusk only — no night riding permitted.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

Land manager: Hornsby Shire Council
Trail design / build: Synergy Trails (professional builder)
Trail club: Sydney North Off Road Cyclists (SNORC) — formed ~2008, IMBA/MTBA-affiliated, primary advocate and dig-day organiser for OMV. SNORC also has stewardship over Montview Dirt Jumps and Jubes Bike Park (Ku-ring-gai).
Volunteer / dig days: Organised via SNORC (snorc.org.au and Facebook /snorcmmtb/)
Donations / membership: SNORC membership via snorc.org.au

History & Background

Pre-2013: Old Man's Valley was an informal / "outlaw" riding spot for years, with sketchy hand-cut lines through the quarry valley.
2013: Hornsby Shire Council, SNORC and Synergy Trails legalised, redesigned and rebuilt the network as the Hornsby Mountain Bike Trail (often called Old Man's Valley by riders), under IMBA design standards. Park officially opened with green/blue/black difficulty grading.
2016: When WestConnex construction prompted partial filling of the adjacent quarry, the project incorporated MTB trail retention and expansion rather than closure.
2020s: Hornsby Shire's Hornsby Park master plan converts the broader quarry precinct into a regional recreation hub ("Old Mans Valley Field of Play"), including sports fields, buildings/amenities, and a new pump/jump track. The existing MTB trail network is being retained.