So you live in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales and want to take your dirt bike for a ride? Well, we’ve found some of the best riding spots around.
Frontaer has done the research and seen where the locals are riding. Those in Byron Bay, Ballina, Bangalow, Lismore, west to Casino and even as far south as Coffs Harbour. There are dirt bike owners in all these towns who know where to ride.
As with anywhere you ride:
- Wear all your protection gear including a good set of riding boots.
- Be respectful of others using the tracks and local land owners.
- It can get seriously hot in summer so pack plenty of water.
- You may need to take additional fuel for your motorcycle.
- And finally – take a safety-first perspective and don’t ride alone.
So let’s get started.
Northern Rivers: Where to Ride Dirt bikes
It’s a shame a lot of the tracks have been closed down due to the hippies in the rainbow region. However, we’ve really dug to find out some top quality riding tracks that you can follow. In most cases, you will need to haul your dirt bike with a ute, van or on the back of a trailer.
We’ll break down this guide into several sections so you can get a fair idea on what’s local for you.
Byron Bay
There isn’t really anywhere to ride a dirt bike in Byron Bay given the high number of tourists that come into town. There isn’t even a motocross track in town because it’s all made way for development. Our advice? You’ve gotta get out of town.
Go to Lennox Head and you can get a beach permit to ride your dirt bike. From there ride south towards Iluka all the way.
Ballina
Head over to the Surf Shack Farm/Moto Retreat. It’s pretty well the best place in the Northern Rivers to let loose on a dirt bike even if it’s unregistered. This place is mad! The sorta place you’d bring a bunch of mates to for a weekend trip.
It’s located about 15 minutes south and you may want to take the ferry.
Lismore
There are places to ride dirt bikes once you get outside of town. Look for the unsealed roads and 4×4 tracks. Bungabee for instances is a good spot. Head over to the Kyogle Dirt Bike Club if you’re unregistered.
They run regular enduro races for both kids and adults, as well as organized group rides for casual fun offroad. One option if ou don’t want to be apart of the club is to head around Woodburn. There are some great forestry tracks down that way.
Murwillumbah
You can ride through some of the unsealed roads in the area. Private land owners may also let you ride on their land provided you source permission first.
There is talk of having an MX club opened in Murwillumbah but the greenies have stopped it multiple times.
Casino
Casino has an evolved dirt bike riding community and one of the better places across the Northern Rivers region of NSW to ride a dirt bike.
There is a group of riders that meets regularly as well as another group of MX riders. Put your name out there in some of the local Facebook groups and you’ll find some great connections.
Coffs Harbour
There are numerous dirt bike stores and riding tracks around Coffs Harbour. Head up into the hills and follow the following 4×4 tracks:
- Yaraygir National Park. Go from Station Creek to Orara East State Forest.
- Take the Boambee Beach run. Yes – you can ride registered dirt bikes on the beach here. There are other beaches open to motorcycles in Coffs Harbour including Corindi/Pipeclay Beach (aka Arrawarra), Woolgoolga Back Beach, Darkum Beach and Hearnes Lake Beach.
- Take the Sawtell to Gangalore Falls route through the rainforest. Will take 2 hours.
- Do a Coramba loop via Bella Spur Rd and Battery Rd which also takes about 2 hours on trail bikes.
- Ride along the Platypus Flat Trail. Essentially you start in Coffs Harbour and go offroad all the way to Nymboi-Binderay National Park
- For a real adventure bike challenge, ride the Rover and Commando Trails. Not for the faint-hearted but definitely very scenic.
- And for the ultimate adventure, the Mount Coramba route is a challenge both up and down. You’ll ascend 500m+ over the 23km route to the top of the mountain.
These tracks aren’t really designed for solo riders but you may come across 4×4 users during this time.
For more info on dirt bike tracks in Coffs Harbour, check out this free maps resource that has route information.
Tweed Heads
There was talk of trying to get an MX track officially opened in the Tweed Heads region but this hasn’t eventuated as yet. The Tweed Shire Council was working on it with the Tweed Valley Junior Development Motorcycle Club but as with all things, they like to drag it out.
Even if you build a private little dirt track on your own land, it’s apparently illegal.
Mooball National Park
You can take registered dirt bikes into Mooball National Park which is just west of Cudgera Creek which is north of Mullumbimby.
There tracks here are minimal both worth a quick play with the throttle open.
Bundjalung National Park
Head into the Bundjalung National Park and find incredible riding trails right on to the beach.
This is a great spot for a weekend adventure. You can go camping at multiple spots including Black Rock and Woody Head. Stay on the defined access tracks and look out for other road users. This route takes you almost down to Yamba.
Grafton
There are multiple good tracks in the Grafton area. Join the South Grafton Motorcycle Club or simply find some of these tracks yourself.
A lot of the unsealed roads such as Old Glen Innes Road and Tommys Trail are perfect. Terrain is typical open and fast-flowing gravel tracks.
Other places in the Northern Rivers
Our recommendations are that you head north. Getting up past Brisbane opens up the Sunshine Coast which has some great spots.
Likewise there are a few moto parks west of the Gold Coast worth checking out. You pay an entry fee and can ride your unregistered dirt bike or quad bike all day long.
With most dirt bike trips, it’s worth packing your camping gear and going for a multi-day adventure. Just find a new riding spot every day.
In summary
We hope this has shown you some of the best trail and adventure motorcycle tracks around the Northern Rivers region. Have you got any more tracks to add to this list? Then let us know in the comments below.