Silver City MTB Trails

Overview

Silver City MTB Trails is a 35 km purpose-built singletrack network on the outskirts of Zeehan — the historic west-coast Tasmanian mining town nicknamed "the Silver City" after its 1890s silver boom. The trails sit in the Heemskirk Reserve, traversing cool temperate rainforest, rolling buttongrass plains, and rocky alpine ridges up into the Heemskirk Range. The network opened in December 2022 as the southern half of the wider West Coast MTB project (the other half is Mt Owen at Queenstown). Combined, the two networks now make up over 85 km of trails marketed under one brand by West Coast Council.

Silver City is built around a stacked-loop format — riders typically progress green → blue → black anti-clockwise out of a single Heemskirk Road trailhead 500 m north of Zeehan. The historic, hand-built Oonah Hill trail (the first purpose-built MTB descent on the West Coast) has been folded into the new network as the original green flow line, paired with a new 4.5 km green climb (Despatch).

Trails were designed and built by Tasmanian operator Next Level MTB and funded by a Federal Government regional-tourism grant. Heli-biking onto the upper Heemskirk trails is available via Into The Wild Adventures, who run multi-day West Coast packages combining Silver City and Mt Owen.

Location & Access

Trailhead: Heemskirk Road, Zeehan TAS 7469 — approx. 500 m north of Zeehan town, 250 m north of the Trial Harbour Road intersection.
Lat/lon: -41.8767, 145.3237 (DB current — appears correct).
Drive times:
Burnie ~2 hr (north coast, via Murchison Hwy)
Devonport ~2 hr 30 min
Launceston ~3 hr 30 min
Hobart ~4 hr 45 min (via Lyell Hwy through Queenstown)
Queenstown ~30 min — Mt Owen network is within easy day-trip range.
Public transport: None. West Coast is car-only.
Parking: Spacious sealed car park at the Heemskirk Road trailhead. Additional toilets/parking/bike-cleaning at Headley Faulls Park (cnr Sticht & Cutten Sts, Zeehan town) as an alternative staging point.

Best Season & Conditions

Year-round access, but West Coast Tasmania has notoriously wet, cold weather. November–April is the most reliable riding window.
Wet weather: rainforest sections drain reasonably well due to gravel surface, but the alpine plateau (Stormsdown) becomes hazardous in cloud / high wind. Check forecasts.
Hazard: open mine shafts in the area — the Heemskirk Reserve is classified by Mineral Resources Tasmania as an Extreme Hazard Area. Riders must remain on trail.
No fire-danger or snow closures are routinely posted, but during summer fire bans normal Parks & Wildlife restrictions apply.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

Land manager: Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service (Heemskirk Reserve is a state reserve).
Operator / promoter: West Coast Council (mtb.westcoasttas.com.au).
Trail builder: Next Level MTB (Tasmania-based).
Funding: Federal Government regional tourism grant; project also supported by Tasmanian Government and West Coast Council.

History & Background

Zeehan – "the Silver City" — silver-lead discoveries in 1882 ignited a boom that by 1900 made Zeehan the third-largest town in Tasmania, briefly rivalling Hobart and Launceston with 26 hotels and its own stock exchange. The Spray Silver Mine and its still-extant 100 m tunnel sit on a side loop off the MTB network.
Oonah Hill (pre-2022) — original community-built single descent off the prominent hill above Zeehan. Locals' favourite, retained as the network's green-flow signature trail.
West Coast MTB project (announced 2020, opened in stages 2022) — conceived as a tourism-diversification play for a region in long-term decline since the closures of major mines. Federal/state funding allowed a fully professional build at both Zeehan and Queenstown.
Opening day: 2 December 2022 with public ride day and ribbon-cut.