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Riding the Mawson Trail in South Australia

In April 2022, we had the pleasure of riding the Mawson Trail from Adelaide to Blinman. Over 13 days, we pedalled through ever-changing scenery, with each day as beautiful as the next. It was fun, challenging and one of the best trips I’ve ever done. If you are thinking about bikepacking the Mawson Trail, we hope this article and our Mawson Trail Guide App will inspire you and help you plan your adventure.

What is the Mawson Trail, where is it and who was this Mawson fellow?

The Mawson Trail is South Australia’s premier long-distance off-road cycling trail and it is a very worthwhile, beautiful and fun adventure. The trail was named after Sir Douglas Mawson, Australia’s greatest Antarctic explorer. Mawson survived a disastrous ice journey after losing a sledge of food and companions down a crevasse. He trekked for almost two months and was forced to eat his dogs and boots, suffered from frostbite and snow blindness, and poisoned himself by eating dog livers, which are rich in Vitamin A (too much causes all sorts of nasty issues!).

Now, I doubt that you will experience hunger and hardship anywhere close to this while bikepacking the Mawson Trail, but I hope you find a few challenges of your own that will give you some wonderful memories!

The Mawson Trail follows gravel roads, dirt paths and single track for about 880 kilometres from the Adelaide Hills to the tiny town of Blinman. It traverses some of the most rugged and spectacular tourist regions of South Australia including: the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa Valley, Clare and Gilbert Valleys and the mountainous dry outback of the Flinders Ranges. Often you’ll feel like you are in the middle of nowhere.

Our Mawson Trail bikepacking adventure

We rode the Mawson Trail as a group of four, arriving in Adelaide from Perth in late April 2022. One of our group members is an experienced road rider, but was very new to off-road riding and bikepacking. Before she started to train for the ride, she had never ridden a mountain bike. And although she several good days of practice in, she was nervous about riding off road for 13 days in a row.

The Mawson Trail is suited to almost any type of off-road bike. Two of us rode gravel bikes with 44 mm wide tyres and two rode hard-tail mountain bikes. Our bags were relatively light, as we booked accommodation in the historic towns and hence didn’t need camping or cooking gear.

In addition to riding the trail for fun, we were also doing research and taking photos so we could create the Mawson Trail Guide App.

Accommodation and camping on the Mawson Trail

Accommodation is limited in some of the small towns, so it’s wise to use the App as a planning guide and book well ahead. By staying in accommodation, we had the luxury of hot showers, big restaurant meals, comfy beds and a cold drink or two at the end of each day. If you want to camp, the App shows the many campgrounds and free huts to use along the way.

Riding Adelaide to Birdwood

We started our ride in North Adelaide after organising to leave our bike bags and extra luggage at a friend’s place. (You could ask your accommodation provider to store your extra stuff if you don’t have local friends—some are very helpful.)

After riding out along the River Torrens to the Adelaide Hills, we turned off the paved road onto the dirt, and soon hit the longest and steepest hills of the entire trip on Stone Hut Road. In the first 6 kilometres the trail gains about 600 metres of vertical height without a switchback to lessen the gradient in sight! We all had to push our bikes up the steepest, loosest section. Some of us pushed our bikes more than once. Luckily it was not a surprise for us, as we had been warned that this section was the most challenging riding of the entire trail. Well, it certainly delivered as advertised. We were lucky to have cool weather—it wouldn’t be much fun when it’s hot.

Once we finally reached the high point, we whistled down to Lobethal for a well-earned lunch, then rode on to Birdwood to spend the night. We had time to visit the excellent Birdwood Motor Museum before having a pub meal at the Blumberg Hotel, which was staffed by friendly locals.

A bit about the towns on the Mawson Trail

Most of the towns along the Mawson Trail have well under a thousand people living in them. The biggest one, Nurioopta, has under 6000. These historic towns are highlights of the trip. All are quite old by Australian standards and have rich histories from early copper mining, viticulture and farming days.

We were able to easily restock our food supplies in these small towns. This made bike packing along the Mawson Trail fairly easy – riders should not need to carry more than a lunch and snacks unless camping away from a town.

Riding through Barossa and Clare Valleys – Beautiful wine country!

Our new mountain biker got through the first day unscathed, but she was uncertain about what she had got herself into after pushing her bike up those initial nasty hills. But she is a strong rider and has a great attitude and we could see that she was rapidly gaining confidence.

The trails throughout the Mawson are mostly of a high quality and we feel that they are suitable for fit, competent, beginner-level mountain bike riders. There are a few loose and eroded sections and occasional road corrugations, but most of it is comfortable riding.

Over the next three days we rode through the famous wine districts of the Barossa and Clare Valley. This section of the Mawson Trail took us through pretty vine-covered hills with occasional patches of forest. In Tanunda, one of the pubs was giving scratch cards to those who ordered a certain beer. Between the 2 beer drinkers among us, we scored a deflated footy and a warm beanie, which came in handy on a few of those 2°C mornings. Tanunda and Clare both have interesting buildings, old churches and lots of food and accommodation choices.

A few cautionary notes about hazards on the trail

The infamous Mawson mud

It is important when planning your trip to note a few things that may ruin it. Many of the roads have a fine red dirt surface, which turns to clay and can be impossible to ride when wet. This clay, aka Mawson Mud, turns to a peanut butter like consistency that can clog wheels to the point where they cannot turn. Sometimes the mud can be too slippery to walk on. For us, although rain was threatening on several days, we watched the dark clouds skip around the horizon, but luckily no rain showers affected us. We did, however, find one very short muddy section that had not dried out as you can see below.

The awful caltrop, bindis or 3-cornered jacks

There are also several sections of the trail that are absolutely littered with caltrop, aka bindis or 3-cornered jacks. These nasty little seed pods have punctured and ruined many Mawson rider’s tyres. In the App we indicate where the worst sections of the trail for caltrop are. We avoided these sections, but one of us took a short ride on one of these infamous tracks to ‘see what it was all really about’.  He ended up carrying his bike for about 1 kilometre until he could get away from the pesky prickles! They are an unwelcome part of the Mawson Trail adventure.

And a bit on flash flooding

Another thing you should be aware of is flash flooding, which can can even cut off access via bitumen roads for a day or more.

Riding Clare to Hallett

Northbound from Clare, the Mawson Trail develops a more remote, outback-type of feel as it heads toward Burra. We encountered wide-open grazing and grasslands with views of rolling hills into the far distance. We started to see ruins of stone houses from early settlers, who tried to farm the land in the late 1800s and were defeated by the harsh, dry climate. In fact, in 1865, surveyor-general George Goyder marked up a map of South Australia with “Goyder’s Line”. This line delineated drought-affected country, and Goyder recommended that people not attempt to farm north of it. But many chose not to listen to his sage advice, enduring years of attempting agricultural pursuits only to be defeated and forced to abandon the land with nothing to show for it. They should have listened to wise old Mr Goyder.

The lovely town of Burra once had one of the largest copper mines in the world and it is still bristling with old buildings. Parts of it look like they are straight out of a cowboy movie. There is a well-stocked grocery store here and, at the time, one not-so-well-stocked pub. We were able to get a bottle of white wine for dinner from the barkeep at the pub, “as long as we weren’t picky as to type or flavour”. We weren’t.

Burra to Hallett was one of our favourite sections of the Mawson Trail. The trail climbs up through stunning grasslands then into rocky, dry, remote and very rugged country. We ate our lunch at Black Jack Hut. This modern hut, along with several others along the Mawson Trail, is shared with Heysen Trail walkers. It would be an excellent place to spend the night. It’s a few hundred meters off of the Mawson Trail, but the Mawson Trail App has the exact location.

Hallett is a tiny place. We spent the night at the Wildongoleechie Hotel, the only hotel in town. It has comfy rooms, excellent food and cold beer! Be aware that it is not open every day of the week, so call to book ahead if you want to stay there.

Hallett to Quorn – Now we’re getting into the Australian Outback!

The middle third of our Mawson Trail ride took us from Hallett to Quorn via many towns including Laura and Melrose. The trail goes mainly through moderately hilly grazing land and two forests – the Bundaleer Forest and Wirrabara Forest.

When we got to the Spalding Hotel, which our accommodation for the night, it had closed because one of the owners had covid. Lucky for us, their son was not a close contact and he was able to give us safe rooms and the chef came in especially to make the 4 of us huge, tasty dinners. There was nowhere else in Spalding to stay or eat that night, so we greatly appreciated their efforts. Thanks for looking after us, Will!

The next day we had lunch at another well-built stone hut, Curnow’s Hut. This hut is also maintained by the Friends of the Heysen Trail, a not-for-profit group that helps maintain the Heysen Trail.

Don’t miss the pastries and coffee at Rusti Kate’s Feed Lot!

We stayed in the cute towns of Laura and Melrose. Laura has flash accommodation units at the pub and Melrose has an excellent bike shop. We had the best home-made curry puffs at Rusti Kate’s Feed Lot in Wilmington. Once we were full of pastries and tasty coffee, we rode happily onward. Our next stop was Quorn at the southern end of the Flinders Ranges. Fortunately, nine days after leaving Adelaide all bikes and bodies were going well.

Quorn is an old railway town 39 kilometres northeast of Port Augusta that calls itself ‘The Capital of the Flinders’. It was once the crossroads of a lot of railway traffic in South Australia. Because of its old style charm, Quorn has been chosen as the setting for historic scenes in many movies.

After a huge pub meal, we wandered over to watch the Quorn Silo Light Show at sunset. The show is unusual and entertaining – definitely worth checking out. It’s a free, outdoors, starlit audio-visual celebration of the Flinders Ranges, the railway, local stories and heritage. It’s projected onto the huge silo beside the railway station.

Quorn to Hawker

Riding north from Quorn we found ourselves heading into the real outback. The mountains of the Flinders Ranges loomed beautifully on the horizon. The land was rocky, rugged and uniquely Australian. We rode our longest day of the trip, 112 kilometres, from Quorn to Hawker. The road quality was excellent and the weather was cool, so we had no problem with the distance. You could shorten the day by about 25 kilometres if you stayed in Cradock. There’s little in Cradock except for the pub. But it’s an excellent pub with great rooms, camping, good food, cold drinks and very friendly owners.

In the middle of nowhere, we came across a large, ornate marble grave surrounded in wrought-iron fencing for a Douglas Bruce, who ‘died from the effects of his horse falling on him’ in 1873. Poor Douglas was only 39 years old. The location of his grave is shown in the Mawson Trail App.

Hawker to stunning Rawnsley Park Station

Hawker to Rawnsley Park Station, our next destination, was very beautiful. A few kilometres north of Hawker the road became narrower and rougher, and the rocky ridges and mountains got closer to the trail. The Mawson Trail passes below the West then North edge of the colourful Elder Ranges. Along the North edge we rode on the Moralana Scenic Drive. This 28 kilometre stretch of road is shared with vehicles, which had caused really bad edge-to-edge corrugations. Hence, it was a bit of a suffer-fest riding this road! The Scenic Drive finally took us onto the delightfully smooth bitumen of Flinders Ranges Way. Even though that road rolls slightly uphill, we raced along through stunning countryside the last 10 kilometres to Rawnsley Park Station.

We spent the night in a modern and very pleasant holiday unit at Rawnsley Park Station (which we highly recommend!). Unfortunately, we couldn’t eat at the local restaurant, the Woolshed, as it was fully booked. It is such a popular place that you have to reserve a table weeks or months in advance during tourist season. Luckily for us they sold take-away meals. So after a short cycle over to the caravan park shop to buy beverages, we picked up delicious pizzas and chicken parmis and ate on the patio of our unit watching the sun set over Wilpena Pound.

Rawnsley Park Station to Wilpena Pound Resort via Arkoo Rock and the Cazneaux Tree

We had a short distance on our second last day, only 25 km from Rawnsley Park Station to Wilpena Pound Resort. This short ride left us plenty of time to explore the attractions between the two, plus take lots of photos. We hiked up to Arkaroo Rock to see the aboriginal art, photographed the famous Cazneaux Tree near Wilpena, and finished the day by hiking up Saint Mary’s Peak. This peak is the highest point of the rim of Wilpena Pound, accessed by a walking trail from the Wilpena caravan park. The App has a hiking map in the section about Wilpena.

Wilpena to Blinman – Our last day of bike riding on the Mawson Trail

Our final day of riding took us 66 kilometres from Wilpena to Blinman. This was our favourite day. The scenery was spectacular. Open grassy plains and sections of native Cyprus Pine reminded us of riding in Europe or Canada. From Wilpena, the mostly double-track trail has long sections of single track with some rocky sections. There are at least fifty minor creek crossings that were often narrow, rocky and dry. The entry and exit to some crossings is steep. Our beginner mountain biker was able to ride through all except 2 or 3 of them. By this time we could no longer call her a beginner!

About 17 km north of Wilpena we turned onto Bunyeroo Road, where we chatted to a few caravaners who were also enjoying the beautiful scenery. Bunyeroo Road is a high-quality gravel road that snakes through a gorge crammed with big River Gums before steeply climbing up to Razorback Lookout (my GPS showed a 22% gradient!). The view from the lookout over the valley to the Heysen and ABC Ranges was amazing. We took a tonne of photos here!

Soon after Razorback Lookout, the Mawson Trail leaves the road and follows more double track and single track north. About 18 km from Blinman it spills you onto the paved Flinders Ranges Way. From here we had a fast roll though more great scenery to Blinman. Our final stop was the North Blinman Hotel, where our celebration included huge meat pies, cold beer and gin and tonics.

What a great ride!

A few things we learned from the ride:

Bike Choice for the Mawson Trail

Gravel bikes or mountain bikes are suitable, as long as you have wide enough tyres. Our gravel bikes had 44mm wide tyres with some tread (WTB Riddlers) that worked great. Rear suspension on the bike is not necessary as the trail is not very rough. In addition, rear suspension requires more pedalling power and energy.

Water Availability on the Mawson Trail

You will mostly find reliable drinking water in towns and huts along the trail. The huts usually have rainwater tanks. You should treat or boil the water in hut tanks before you drink it. Also keep in mind that it’s possible a tank may be empty after a long dry period. Hence, it is best to carry whatever water you need between reliable supply points. You can check the App for the hut locations along the Mawson Trail.

Trail Quality

It’s mostly very good quality gravel farm roads and paths and you’ll encounter few cars. There are also single track sections and rough rocky bits. Overall we found that the riding was easy and suggest that fit people with basic mountain biking skills should have no trouble riding the Mawson Trail.

Note that trail conditions can change quickly when it rains. There are extensive section of red clay road that can become unrideable with heavy rain. The dirt turns into incredible thick and sticky mud that stops wheels turning and can end your fun!

It is also important to know which sections of the trail are full of caltrop seeds so you can avoid them. And you should also keep up to date on any severe storms that may bring flash flooding with them. And lastly, some of the trail crosses through private farmland, so remember to leave gates as you find them (i.e., open or closed).

Accommodation on the Mawson Trail

Some towns have many options, but some small towns, such as Cradock and Hallett, have just one place to stay and are not open every day of the week. So if you don’t carefully plan where to stay well in advance you may get caught out. The App describes each town along the Trail, and will inform you of accommodation limits.

When to ride the Mawson Trail

We recommend riding in autumn or spring, with autumn being our preference. You can ride in winter, but if you do you’ll need to watch the weather carefully so you can bypass the red clay roads that become impossible to ride when wet. Riding in summer is dangerous because water is limited and temperatures often soar to an unbearable 40°C+. Many huts and some camping areas are not open in summer months. Some places, such as Wirrabara Forest Reserve, are closed on total fire ban days.

A bit more about the Mawson Trail Guide App:

How the App works

• It works offline: meaning that it will keep on working when you have no mobile signal or internet. The maps will continue to show in all their incredible detail, so you cannot get lost.
• It shows your location on the maps. And the interactive elevation graph will show you where all the big hills are.

Is it just a map for the Mawson Trail?

• It’s so much more than just a map, the App is a full guide that describes towns, huts, water locations, accommodation, attractions and much more. It is a very useful tool for planning your ride.

Who made this guide?

• It was developed by Western Australians who just love bikepacking. In fact, our first bikepacking App was for the Munda Biddi Trail in Western Australia, which is very different to the Mawson, mainly in terms of geography. You can take a look at the Munda Biddi App here.
• Riders often contact us with information we use to improve our Apps, so please get in touch if you have suggestions or useful information to add. And of course, we love it when we get wonderful reviews on the App stores.

Where to get the App

• It’s available to download on the App Store and on Google Play. (We published the App in May 2022.)
• To download the Mawson Trail Guide App, go to our homepage then select your app store.

Happy riding!
Paul and Rhonda

External Links:

Historical climate and weather data for the South Flinders Ranges

Visit South Australia – The Flinders Ranges