Winmalee

Summary:

Winmalee was the first track in the Blue Mountains I was able to complete as a beginner mountain biker, and I loved it. The track is a loop so you don't have to ride any of it twice, and the vegetation you ride through is quite varied.

At a little over 9km the loop is not too long for those still working on their fitness and building up to longer rides. There were a couple of hills I had to push the bike up - but these are not significant. If you want a slightly longer but overall easier ride I would recommend Falconbridge Point as a first ride.

Getting there:

I recorded my ride using the great android app My Tracks, and the result is displayed below. Heading from Sydney, follow the M4/Great Western Highway west to Springwood, and then turn off onto Hawkesbury Road towards Winmalee. Follow this about 5km then turn off left into White Cross Road, which you follow to the end where the trail head and a small gravel car park are located.

Review:

When you arrive at the trailhead - there is a helpful information board just inside the gate. This is a very easy track to follow, if it is your first time here you will not have to worry about getting lost.

The trail stars with some downhill, and after about 100m you are able to continue straight/right along Shaw's Ridge, or turn left to Blue Gum Swamp. As this is a loop track, you can go either way. I would recommend heading towards Shaw's ridge - this is the most common direction, probably due to the quite steep downhill as you descend from Shaw's Ridge down to the Blue Gum Swamp Creek return leg.

Shaw's Ridge is mostly rolling hills - and is a pretty wide, well maintained fire trail. There is one short steep rocky incline that I have still not been able to ride through after 4 attempts now - but apart from that this is easy riding. After about 4km you will come to a pretty steep decline with a few very sharp turns, so take it easy down this section. You will see why most people prefer to ride the track in this direction as you are descending this hill.

Once you reach the bottom you will follow the track across to Blue Gum Swamp Creek - and commence the return leg of the loop. This is my favourite part of the ride, the vegetation changes and even though it is still fire trail, the track is overgrown with ferns enough that it feels like single track. There are a couple of rocky creek crossing so take it easy, and have some fun riding through the water if it has rained recently. remember that there may be riders flying along here doing the loop in the other direction and walkers use this track as well.

There is an optional extension to the track at the start of Blue Gum Swamp Creek - you will see a sign pointing back to Shaw's Ridge (where you just came from), continuing along to Blue Gum Swamp, or you can take the alternate trail marked 'Bees Nest Hill' and 'Grose Head South'. I have not ridden the Bees Nest Hill leg, but understand it is very steep and involves pushing the bike up a 1km hill for most riders. Once you reach the hill it is only a short ride to a great lookout, and you can trek to Grose Head south (about an hour return) if you are particularly keen.

After the nice easy ride along Blue Gum Swamp Creek, you have a bit of climb back up to the intersection where you first went straight along Shaw's ridge. If you are not fit this may be a bit of a challenge, I still have to stop and take a breather and push the bike up one or two small sections here, but it is nice wide fire trail and not a long pull.

Overall I find this to be a great track and manageable for those just starting out. In hindsight I think Falconbridge Point would have been a slightly easier track for my first ride, even though it is a little longer. The variation of the track and vegetation make Winmalee a really enjoyable ride overall, and as it only takes about 40 minutes I will definitely be fitting this loop in as an early morning ride on the way to work in the future.

Map:

This map shows the basic loop from the trailhead, along Shaw's Ridge and returning via Blue Gum Swamp.

View 2011-10-31 16:24 in a larger map

Video:

A short snippet of video along the return Blue Gum Swamp leg of the loop. Apologies it is a little shaky, I was using the high tech method of holding my phone in my hand to record it.