Add Category
A town in regional South Australia is embracing mountain bike tourism to help combat its declining population.
The multi-million-dollar Epic Mountain Bike Trail opened late last year in Melrose — a town in the Flinders Ranges known for its proximity to Mount Remarkable.
Melrose cafe and bike shop owner Richard Bruce said it was not that long ago that the town was "potentially looking at the post office and general store being closed down".
Melrose business owners Richard and Kerri Bruce have seen a recent boost in trade. (Supplied: Flow Mountain Bike)
"We're not seeing those problems anymore — we're seeing that income coming to the community," he said.
"We're not in danger of these businesses closing down. In fact, we're seeing new businesses open up, like the new brewery up the road."
Mr Bruce opened his business in 2008 and he has seen a lot of change since then.
"We've always had a nice cruisy growth of around 9 to 10 per cent, and then obviously with COVID, people getting locked in the borders … we saw a bit of a spike and coming out of COVID we've seen that spike hold," he said.
"We're seeing people come up here from all over the country."
Melrose is 277 kilometres north of Adelaide, in the Flinders Ranges. (Supplied: Flow Mountain Bike)
What makes the trail 'epic'?
Garry Patterson was contracted to design and construct the 38-kilometre track and said it was "a pretty crazy trail".
"Lots of brilliant views, very tough terrain — it's exactly what you'd expect in the Flinders Ranges," he said.
"It was never designed to be an easy trail, otherwise it wouldn't be epic.
"It's meant to be a challenge — when you've finished this, you know you've really achieved something."
The Epic Mountain Bike Trail was a major component of the $10 million Remarkable Southern Flinders Agreement funded by the state and federal governments to promote regional tourism.
Trail builder Garry Patterson says the track has breathtaking views. (Supplied: Flow Mountain Bike)
Mr Patterson said the trail was extraordinarily popular.
"I've ridden all the different epics — I've built another one in north-east Victoria … completely different to this one — this one's just spectacular, the views, breathtaking," he said.
"You want something that's going to draw people internationally, nationally — that's what you're after, that's the end game."
Other destinations across Australia, like Derby in northern Tasmania, have also embraced mountain bike trail tourism, but Mr Patterson said South Australia's climate did offer some advantages, particularly during winter.
"Here, you can definitely ride this all year round, but having said that it gets pretty damn hot in summer," he said.
Tourism transition
District Council of Mount Remarkable interim chief executive Martin Borgas said Melrose had always been popular among bushwalkers and there had been a recent transition towards cycling tourism.
Council chief executive Martin Borgas says tourism in the area has undergone a huge transition. (ABC News: Brant Cumming)
"The Epic bike trail's been a long-term aspiration since the cycling conversation picked up, so it's been a good 18 months planning and 18 months of execution," he said.
"We've seen a couple of businesses spring up [and] people from outside of the area have also created opportunities for locals to consider starting a business.
"It's awesome to see with each extra caravan … visitor and cyclist that comes through … the energy and vitality of each of these regional towns really starts to pick up pace."
A recent snapshot from the South Australian Tourism Commission found there were 577,000 day trips and 761,000 overnight visitors to the Flinders Ranges and outback last year.