The Creek Trails

Overview

The Creek Trails — formerly known as South Carters — are an intermediate-to-advanced mountain bike network in Wooditjup National Park, on the south side of Carters Road, about 3 km from the centre of Margaret River. The network is one of three connected MTB pockets in the park (The Creek, The Pines and the Wooditjup Trails / Compartment 10) and is the most rugged of the three: granite outcrops, plunging creek lines, tricky rock gardens, doubles, log rides and bridges. The majority of trails are blue, with a handful of challenging blacks; the DB inventory shows 40 trails (13 green, 21 blue, 4 black, 2 unrated).

The trails existed for years as a hand-built local secret. Through a partnership between MRORCA and DBCA (then DPaW), the network was formally signposted, mapped and opened to the public, with mechanically built features later layered on top of the original hand-built character. The Creek now sits within the broader Wooditjup network — riders can stitch together a 50 km+ day across the three pockets without driving.

Riding here is bushland singletrack: tight gum forest with intermittent granite outcrops, fast descents (Goobers Pool), flow lines (Classic Creek), tech (Western Suburbs) and jump-heavy options (Valley Girls, Trail of Discontent). A 10-minute pedal from Margaret River town via the Alfred Bussell Trail and Wadandi Track reaches the network — no car needed if staying in town.

Location & Access

Address: Carters Road, Margaret River WA 6285 (entrance to the former Wharncliffe Mill / now RAC Margaret River Nature Park).
Coordinates: -33.922292, 115.050116 (DB) / TrailsWA centroid -33.93266, 115.04670.
Access points:
Carters Road trailhead car park — main, signed, just south of the creek bridge.
Rotary Park (in town) via Alfred Bussell Trail → Wadandi Track (≈10 min ride from town centre).
Entry Trail starts just over the bridge on Carters Rd heading west, south side.
Drive times: Perth ≈ 3 h 10 min (270 km); Bunbury ≈ 1 h 20 min (100 km); Busselton ≈ 50 min (50 km); Augusta ≈ 50 min.
Nearest town: Margaret River (3 km) — full services, multiple bike shops, cafes, supermarkets.

Best Season & Conditions

Year-round riding, weather dependent.
Winter (Jun–Aug): Lower sections (creek lines) can get boggy; use the Winter Track alternative. Granite outcrops are slick when wet.
March to November is recommended for the Western Suburbs (rocky) loop, per MRORCA.
October to June suggested as the best running/riding window by margaretrivertrails.com (likely overlap given creek flow).
Summer (Dec–Feb): Excellent dry tack, but watch for fire-danger restricted-access days — DBCA can close parks on Catastrophic / Total Fire Ban days; check the park alerts page at exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au.

Managing Body & Trail Builders

Land manager: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), within Wooditjup National Park.
Trail club / maintainer: Margaret River Off Road Cycling Association (MRORCA) — formed October 2014 from the merger of the Margaret River Off Road Cycling Club and Margaret River Cycle Club. Maintains 40 km+ of regional trails (Creek, Wooditjup/Compartment 10, Pines, Middle Earth, Wadandi Track).
Pro builders involved across the wider Wooditjup network: Common Ground Trails (design & primary build) and Magic Dirt Trailworx (sub-contract build) — Creek itself is more hand-built / mechanically modified rather than purpose-built; the pro-built work is mostly on Compartment 10.
MRORCA contact: PO Box 1937, Margaret River WA 6285. Web: mrorca.org.au. Socials: facebook.com/mrorca, instagram.com/mrorca_mtb. No public phone listed — contact via web form. (no phone gap-fill possible)

History & Background

Pre-2014: Hand-built local network known as South Carters, used informally by the Margaret River MTB community for years.
Oct 2014: MRORCA formed via club merger; began formalising trail advocacy with DPaW/DBCA.
~2015–2016: The Pines (across Carters Road) were earmarked for harvest, threatening 9.64 km of trails. South Carters was renamed The Creek Trails, formally signposted, mapped and opened to the public to anchor the network while replacement trails were being planned and built nearby (Compartment 10 build led by Common Ground + Magic Dirt finishing 2016).
Late 2010s–present: Three networks (Creek / Pines / Wooditjup) interconnected and collectively branded as the Wooditjup Trails; Creek retains its rougher, older-school character versus the manicured Compartment 10 flow.