Hyltons Pit
Situated off Brunswick Road, Aramoho, Whanganui opposite the Ravensdown Fertiliser Bulk Store. The Hylton’s Pit trails offer a mix of easy/intermediate Grade 2 & 3 mainly hand built cross country single-track. The tracks offer the rider a bit of everything packed into a series of linked tracks making up a 8.9 km loop overall.
There is also a 0.9km professionally built flow trail that runs from the top back corner of the park down to the Brunswick Road gate.
The tracks have been built and are maintained by the Whanganui Mountain Bike Club. The club has been granted the right to occupy the park by the Whanganui District Council.
OPENER (360m) The full 8.9km XC circuit begins through/ over the Brunswick Road gate and enters to the right off the access road. OPENER follows the bottom of the hill round to the Field Street access road where WANDERER splits off to the left and EAZY RIDER to the right.
EAZY RIDER (1.6m) is a beginner’s/kids loop and winds anti-clockwise around a mainly flat area to a small lake and back to the start of WANDERER.
WANDERER (1.5km) wanders up to a flat area and follows the righthand side of the flat area before dropping down into a G3 section and coming back up to the flat and back to join the main access road.
RETAINER (700m) loop commences at this point. RETAINER drops down to the old pit and climbs out using a section of the old Retaining Wall uphill track and crosses the main access road at the top to link into GRAFTER.
GRAFTER (460m) is a mix of G2 & G3. An easier option is available by exiting left onto the access road at the top of the hill before dropping down into the technical descent to the right. GRAFTER exits at the junction of two inner access roads. Head straight across the junction into SINNER.
SINNER (580m) commences with a short “grunty” access road climb re-joining the single-track off to the right approx. ¾ of the way up. The trail continues zig-zagging up to the top back corner of the park where the rider has two options:
SHREDDER (900m) to the left is a 900m flow trail which will take you back to the Brunswick Road gate and carpark.
GRINNER (700m) continues the XC trail and loops back down to near the junction of Grafter and Sinner. CAUTION is needed on the first downhill section – be prepared to GIVEWAY where the track CROSSES SHREDDER. The last section of this track is technical G3 and exits to the right onto an access track that links with COASTER. There is a signposted “Easy” exit that bypasses this section.
COASTER (740m) takes the rider back to the high point of the main access road. Follow that down to a right hand turn where the trail drops down to join the bottom section of SHREDDER (CAUTION needed here where the trail MERGES with SHREDDER). Immediately after the table top at the bottom of SHREDDER the XC loop turns left into THREADER.
THREADER (1km) begins with another short “grunty’ climb as it heads up to the old pit area. It then passes through END OF THE BEGINNING and continues to thread its way toward the main access road which it crosses into DRIFTER.
DRIFTER (720m) lets the rider lean into it and drift the corners as the loop leads on to the last section CLOZER.
CLOZER (540m) is part of the original trail system and was known as the PD Track and it is still the “sweetest” section in the XC loop. Near the bottom there is a righthand hairpin with the trail finishing onto the road from the Brunswick gate. Your loop is now complete😊
