Mogo Trails

Project: Adventure trail hub planning for Mogo and surrounds.

Funding: The project will be built using a $5 million grant from the NSW and Australian Governments’ Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund, and a $3 million grant from the NSW Government’s Growing Local Economies Fund.

Timeframe: April 2019 to mid-2024

Last updated: July 2023

Latest news: July 2023

Trail construction is progressing smoothly. Please refrain from using the fresh trails until they are officially opened. This will help ensure the timely completion of high-quality trails.

Details

We are working to:

  • plan and build an adventure trail hub in the Mogo area.

Benefits to the community:

  • increase in tourism-related business opportunities, particularly in off-peak times
  • increase in overnight stays
  • improved reputation for Mogo (and the Eurobodalla) as a tourist destination with many diverse experiences
  • increased opportunity for tourists and locals alike to immerse themselves in nature.

Nature-based tourism such as adventure trail experiences is a rapidly growing industry in NSW.

The Eurobodalla Destination Action Plan illustrates that for the year ending September 2017, NSW received nearly 28.3 million international and domestic overnight nature-based visitors who spent almost 129 million nights in NSW. Nature-based visitors accounted for 84% of international visitors to NSW, 37% of domestic overnight visitors and 23% of day trip visitors.

Eurobodalla is renowned for its natural environment. The region has a number of trails that weave through bushland, creeks, wetlands and rainforests. These informal trails offer potential to develop adventure trail tourism.

Trail locations

Council and Rocky Trail Destination prepared the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) for the trail network.

A REF was required before Forestry Corporation NSW (Forestry) could issue a permit for the trail network. This process raised some unique challenges due to the large footprint of the network.

Trail heads are planned across the network at four locations.

We estimate an average of 10 to15 riders per day accessing the trails from this trail head. This trail access will be formalised to ensure it meets international standards. Works will be low impact involving clearing the ground of any fallen trees or other debris. Formalisation will also manage water crossings to avoid erosion.

The two-way trail will be approximately two metres wide. The access point will have a barrier to slow cyclists before the roadway. We are also planning to make the end of the Curtis Road area no parking.

Discrete wayfinding signage will be installed Batehaven and Curtis Road trail head. Further signage will inform riders of traffic in the area and the need to follow all road rules.

For Deep Creek Dam network access there will be a trail head located at the corner of James Street and Annett Street. Riders will travel along the James Street Road reserve north before accessing the Mogo State Forest.

The trail head will include trail information and safety signage.

The Mogo Street parking will be extended to provide extra carparks. The trail head location will be on the southern side of the recreation park, next to Buckenbowra Road. This trail head will include trail information signage and access to trails.

The existing Maulbrooks Road trail head will be formalised.

This trail head will be a secondary trail head - it will include approximately 25 parking spaces, trail and safety signage. A pit style toilet is also planned for the trail head.

A trail head will be built near the Botanic Gardens at Deep Creek Dam. This trail will provide central access to the network east of the Princes Highway.

Project updates

July 2023

  • Trail construction is progressing smoothly. Next Level MTB team of 19 has up to eight excavators operating at any time.
  • Please refrain from using the freshly built trails until they are officially opened.
    Riding the trails before their scheduled opening will require the team to revisit the work on these trails, impacting other crucial tasks. Your cooperation will help ensure the timely completion of high-quality trails.
  • The Deep Creek Dam network has undergone several updates, incorporating valuable feedback from the Next Level Crew, who discovered that the soil in this area is great to work with. As a result of these updates, the revised network around Deep Creek Dam now spans about 90km.

April 2023

  • Trail construction is well underway with four crews from Next Level Mountain Bike working in the forest. Until the trails are officially opened, the area remains a construction site. This means a strict no access policy.

January 2023

  • Forestry Corporation NSW issued a permit for the trail network.
  • Council has reached a major project milestone allowing construction crews to get started: Forestry Corporation NSW approved the Review of Environmental Factors.
  • The Next Level MTB team are arriving to start construction from mid-January. We ask interested community members to respect all safety signage and keep clear of work crews. Please stay off all freshly built trails until officially opened. All project enquires should be directed to Council.

November 2022

  • Rocky Trail Destination completed the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) and submitted it to Forestry Corporation (Forestry) for assessment. Once approved, the trail builders will mobilise for construction. Next Level Mountain Bike will start construction approximately five weeks after REF approval (weather permitting).
  • Council started planning Mogo Recreation Park. We are working closely with the Mogo Village Business Chamber for delivery of a pump track and a new community facility. The Chamber is finalising pre-construction activities.
  • Members of the local riding community established the Batemans Bay Mountain Bike Club. Council is developing a website and information can be found by searching 'Batemans Bay Mountain Bike Club' on Facebook.

January 2022

  • Rocky Trail Destination and Next Level Mountain Bike are working with Forestry and Council to narrow down the trail corridors. The construction team will start walking the proposed corridors this month to assess the landscape for the final track alignment.
  • Council and Forestry will soon review the final design which will be used to progress environmental and cultural approvals. Ongoing trail refinement will continue until we’re ready to break ground – we’re aiming to get started on construction in March 2022.
  • Next Level Mountain Bike has been busy planning its work crews and procuring equipment to get ready for the trails' construction and machinery is set to arrive in Mogo in the new year.

September 2021

  • Council awarded the detailed design, construction and maintenance contract for the Mogo Trails to Rocky Trail Destination and Next Level Mountain Bike.
  • The brand name 'Mogo Trails' was adopted.

June 2021

  • Council was successful in attracting $5 million under Stage Two of the joint NSW and Australian Governments’ Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund. This new funding allows us to not only complete the 150 kilometres of trails, but also means we can extend the project on the south side of Mogo and add amenities.

December 2020

October 2020

  • The Mogo Adventure Trail Hub Project was awarded $3 million NSW Government funding through the Growing Local Economies Fund.

September 2020

  • Council endorsed the draft Mogo Adventure Trails Hub Masterplan for public exhibition.
  • The draft masterplan was on exhibition for community feedback from Thursday 10 September to Monday 19 October 2020.

February 2020

  • Council appointed specialist consultants Dirt Art to begin preparing the masterplan.

August 2019

May 2019

  • Council engaged specialist consultants TRC Tourism to begin preparing the Mogo Adventure Trails Hub Strategy.
  • Council and TRC Tourism facilitated two stakeholder workshops at the Moruya Golf Club. The workshops were aimed at understanding the issues and opportunities of a trail hub surrounding Mogo and attracted a diverse range of trails users and key stakeholders.

More information

For more information about the Mogo Trails, please contact Council's Project Officer, Shane Spicer, on: