ww.Bikeparks.co.za Misty Valley Review

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Situated outside Machadodorp and above Waterval Boven, Misty Valley sits on top of the escarpment, and the property promises some great views down over the adjacent valleys.

 

On a recent trip through the area we decided to stop by this new biking destination and get a taste of what they had to offer after seeing some marketing info that they had been putting out.

 

First off, they have probably one of the most impressive entrances to a trail/ bikepark we have ever seen, with a gatehouse, fancy walls, manicured garden and gateman. Driving into the reception through this nature reserve you get the same neat and tidy vibe, and they clearly value presenting themselves well.

 

This is definitely a very new riding destination, and when we visited, they were still in the process of setting up their dedicated MTB reception, which looks like it will be very nice as well, but in the mean time we headed to the normal resort reception to sign in and pay the nominal entrance fee, collect our number board and get some trail info. Sadly the last item was sorely lacking.

 

We have been assured that this will be rectified shortly with the new set-up, but apart from the main trails guy, who was out at the time, there was no-one who could help us with trail info.

 

There was a very nice sign describing the routes, of which there are many, but nowhere does it ever mention a distance for each trail. This theme continues on the website, which is a really bad oversight.

 

We were on a tight schedule and needed to know how long the trails were in order to pick a suitable length ride. Fail!

 

On the plus side, this is one of the first riding destinations we have ever visited that use the proper colour grading system to grade their trails. IE, Blue is not the name of the trail, it’s the difficulty; Hadrian’s Wall is a Blue Trail. Finally, someone is paying attention to international standards. They have snuck in a Red trail grading, but they explain their grading very well, so its not an issue.

 

Well done guys.

 

So we finally worked out that we should ride a blue trail called Hadrian’s Wall, which we were informed was the best trail currently open, as it seems some of their advertised trails are still under construction. Off we roll.

 

For the full review go to: http://www.bikeparks.co.za/review/Mistyvalley