The Cascade Trail - Lake Mountain To Marysville

New for 2019 the Cascade trail connecting Lake Mountain Alpine resort with the village of Marysville is the closest alpine riding experience to Melbourne.
 

From Melbourne just past Healesville over the Black Spur you enter a mountain bike triangle going back to the beginning of our sport in the early 90ties. Narbethong and Granton where the kids back than held downhill competitions with Narby still now a favourite shuttlespot for the gravity and enduro scene.
Today there is also Buxton with some of the best single-track including the Cathedral downhill which is sure to put a smile on anyone’s face.

The latest build in this area the Cascade Trail which starts at the top at Lake Mountain Resort and makes its way down into Marysville.
Our day started in sleepy Marysville at 9.00am waiting for the first shuttle of the day to lift us up to Lake Mountain.

There are 3 distinct section on this trail:

First there is the Alpine section from the top of Lake Mountain Resort to the entrance gate about midway. This section is a real mix of alpine single-track and fire-roads similar to trails found in the Vic high-country like Mt Buller and is it is great to be able to ride stuff like this so close to Melbourne. As with all alpine areas be prepared for dangerous weather conditions including snow as it is quite exposed. On the upside this makes for some great views along this section of the ranges in this area. Snow gums are all along this section and you will cross plenty of small brooks full of mountain water on its way into the valley.

Then there is the section from Midway which was recently built by Dirt Art.
This section is the fun section of this track switchback after switchback challenging well-built single-track. If you like Buxton’s Cathedral you will love this part of the trail with its lots and lots of switchbacks for you to ride. When we were riding this trail, it was after a day of heavy rain and this part of the trail was quite greasy and slippery but still great fun as you can rely on the well-built switchbacks to rail you around the corners. In the afternoon these sections were already grippy and the experience was completely different berming down these bends. It  also can become quite dusty on dry days as can most trails in this area. We think a couple of days after rain this trail will be an absolute ripper.
If you do not care about views and want to concentrate on pure fun than only shuttle up halfway and stay on this section of trail.

Lastly is the flatter section along the river back to Marysville. A bit of a long slow ride back for us as we are not used to pedal this much on shuttle days (call us lazy but hey). Apart from a few cool spots to have a BBQ along the river there is nothing to exiting in this section (Lysterfield riding is probably comparable). You could take a fire-road out after the Dirt Art section this would bring you back to the shuttle quicker and would avoid this long pedal. Like this you might be able to fit in another shuttle up midway for another switchback session.

The finish is a few metres from the shuttle pick up, or the pup, depending on your fitness level.The Marysville Pub great spot to sit outside after the ride and talk about the day with your fellow riders

It has to be said (be warned) there is a lot more climbing involved as we first thought (it being a shuttle day and us being a bit lazy) and be aware that it will take you quite a while to ride the Cascade Trail top to bottom.(we have spoken to a few ebike riders on the way and they used up most of the power in one ride). We have heard that the fastest time is about two and half hours but it took us a lot longer. Depending on your ability I would think one run top to bottom and probably another run from midway is probably enough in one day for most. 
Credit to the excellent shuttle service and Darren our driver. His excellent knowledge of the trails and bike knowledge made our trip up a breeze and we might have even learned something along the way, so thanks again and we will be back soon.

https://www.lakemountainresort.com.au/event/mountain-bike-shuttles/

Ride on and stay safe
Team Wombat