Stockyard MTB-You Yangs
DUPLICATION FLAG (read first). This row almost certainly describes the same trailhead as drysdale-road-mtb — both centre on the Stockyards Mountain Bike Area at the northern end of You Yangs Regional Park. Coordinates differ by ~1.1 km because each row anchored on a different feature: drysdale-road-mtb is pinned at the Drysdale Road Carpark (-37.9258, 144.4426), the entry road; stockyard-mtb-you-yangs is pinned at the Stockyards Carpark (-37.9360, 144.4359), the actual trailhead inside the park ~1 km south. Trail attachments overlap almost entirely (11 vs 12 trails, same names). Per the user's "merge by default" memory, the recommendation is to merge stockyard-mtb-you-yangs into drysdale-road-mtb (re-parent trails, union fields, preserve facilities). The third sibling you-yangs-park-office-mtb is a distinct trailhead (Park Office / Branch Rd, Kurrajong Plantation) serving easier XC at the southern end of the park — keep separate. Do not modify Drysdale or Park Office rows in this run. This research run only edits the Stockyard row's metadata to keep the data tidy until the merge happens.
Overview
Stockyard MTB-You Yangs is the Stockyards Mountain Bike Area at the northern end of You Yangs Regional Park — the same patch of granite on Wadawurrung Country covered by drysdale-road-mtb. Set in a natural amphitheatre around a former granite quarry, it is the gravity-leaning half of the wider You Yangs MTB network: predominantly Blue / Black / Double-Black cross-country with three purpose-built downhill descents (Cressy Descent, Bandages or Glory, Turbulence) that share the same finish at the Drysdale Road carpark. The terrain rides like a coastal rock garden — Devonian granite tors and slabs, rock ramps, rollovers, berms, and natural rock features — quite unlike the loamy forest singletrack of Lysterfield or Forrest.
The Stockyards trailhead is the staging point for the You Yangs MTB Inc. monthly club shuttle days (~$50 member / ~$75 non-member, half-price under-15s, lunch included). On non-shuttle days it functions as a self-shuttle / pedal-powered XC and DH playground. Together with the Kurrajong Plantation area at the southern Park Office trailhead, the park totals 50+ km of purpose-built singletrack — all volunteer-built and maintained by You Yangs MTB Inc. in partnership with Parks Victoria and the Geelong Mountain Bike Club.
Free park entry; gates open 7:00am–8:00pm daily.
Location & Access
- Address: Stockyards Mountain Bike Area, accessed via Drysdale Road / Little River-Ripley Road, You Yangs Regional Park, Little River, VIC 3211 (northern Stockyards precinct)
- Region (proposed): Geelong — three sibling rows currently use three different region strings ("Geelong / Werribee", "Geelong / Greater Melbourne West", "Geelong / Greater Geelong"). Normalisation candidate, flagged for sign-off; not changed in this run.
- Drive times: ~55 km (45 min) from Melbourne CBD via Princes Fwy / Little River exit; ~30 km (25 min) from Geelong; ~25 min from Werribee
- Public transport: Little River station (V/Line Geelong line) is ~7 km away; no scheduled bus to the carpark. Practically car-only.
- Parking: Sealed Stockyards / Drysdale Rd carpark (Parks Vic). Capacity expanded as part of the 2025–26 upgrade (designated bays for vehicles and buses, accessible spaces). No fee. Periodic closures during the upgrade; check YYMBI Facebook for current status.
- Coords (DB): -37.935952, 144.4359091 — anchored at the Stockyards Carpark (the actual trailhead inside the park, ~1 km south of the Drysdale Rd entry off Little River-Ripley Rd). Verified against Google Maps.
Best Season & Conditions
- Peak riding season: Autumn–early spring (May–Sep). Parks Vic and Trail Voyage both flag autumn/winter as ideal — firmer soil, cooler temps for the exposed granite slopes.
- Wet-weather impact: Granite drains well; trails are largely rideable shortly after rain. Some softer linking sections may close briefly for erosion repair after heavy rain. The volunteer crew posts closures on the YYMBI Facebook page rather than the website.
- Fire-danger / TFB impact: Sits on a fire-prone granite hill in dry country. Park can close on Code Red / Catastrophic fire-danger days under Parks Victoria policy; check Parks Vic alerts.
- Snow / alpine season: N/A (sea-level granite; never snows).
- School-holiday surge: Summer weekends busy; arrive early. Shuttle days fill up fast — book via the club site form.
Managing Body & Trail Builders
- Land manager: Parks Victoria
- Trail builder / maintainer: You Yangs MTB Inc. (volunteer, not-for-profit) in partnership with Geelong Mountain Bike Club
- Volunteer / dig days: Listed via volunteersignup.org and the club's Facebook page; contact youyangsmtbinc@yahoo.com.au
- Donations / membership: Membership / donations via youyangsmtbinc.com.au; AusCycling licence required to ride event/shuttle days
- Existing
managing_body: "Parks Victoria" only — should be layered to include the club partners, matching the Drysdale row's wording.
History & Background
- Geological / cultural: The You Yangs are Devonian granite tors (~365 Ma) on Wadawurrung Country, rising above the Werribee Plain. Name derives from "Wurdi Youang" / "Ude Youang" — "big mountain in the middle of a plain". Matthew Flinders climbed and named "Station Peak" (later Flinders Peak) in 1802.
- Quarry: Stockyards trails wind around a historic granite quarry — the visible rock walls and rubble are integral to the trail character. Quarry Pit Track is named directly for it.
- Club: You Yangs MTB Inc. is a 100% volunteer-powered not-for-profit; trail building at the modern Stockyards network commenced in the mid-2000s. Receives no government funding — operates on volunteers, donations, and membership.
- Race heritage: Cressy Descent has hosted DH races; the All-Mountain Gravity Enduro ran here in earlier years.
Recent News & Updates (last 12 months)