The Noosa Hinterland by mountain bike
What Is the Noosa Hinterland Mountain Bike Journey?
Some rides you finish and forget. This one stays with you. Over three days you ride from the glassy waters of Lake Weyba, through the national parks, farmland and country towns of the Noosa Hinterland, and back to the coast. Night one is luxury glamping in an eco yurt at the foot of the striking Mt Cooroora. Night two is at Mayan Farm, a high-end eco retreat above Kin Kin, where private spas look out over rolling green hills.
It is our Guided Multi-Day Bike Journey: private to your group and guided by experienced mountain bike coaches, with your bikes fitted, your luggage moved and your table booked. You ride, and we take care of everything else.
We think it is one of Australia’s great cycling experiences, and the best way to see why Noosa is emerging as one of Australia’s great winter cycling destinations.
The film
Watch the Journey
Some rides are easier to show than describe. Our tour overview captures the beauty of the ride and the sheer variety along the way: glassy lakes, forest single track, open ridgelines, quiet gravel roads and the long dinners that end each day.
Why the Noosa Hinterland
Why Ride the Noosa Hinterland?
Noosa is known for its beaches. Head inland and it becomes a different place: volcanic peaks, national parks, working farms and small country towns, all inside the UNESCO Noosa Biosphere Reserve.
Linking them is the Noosa Trail Network, a web of shared trails used by walkers, horse riders and bike riders, now being developed by Noosa Council as the Noosa Biosphere Trails. Add forest single track, quiet gravel roads and long ridgelines, and you can ride for days from town to town without ever doubling back.
The journey runs year round, but winter is something special: cool mornings, mild days and clear skies. Our sister company Bike On explains why Noosa has become a winter riding destination.
How it works
How Does a Guided Multi-Day Journey Work?
You meet us at our shop in Noosaville, where we fit each rider to a premium e-mountain bike or mountain bike, or set up your own bike if you bring it. From there your guide, an experienced mountain bike coach, rides with you every day on a route built around your group’s pace and ability.
Your luggage travels ahead in our support vehicle, so you ride with a light pack and arrive to find your bags waiting. The support vehicle is never far away on the road, and your accommodation, dinners and the details in between are all arranged before you arrive.
Every journey is private and built for your group, so the days below are an example, not a fixed plan. Stays, stops, distances and extras can all change to suit you.
Taken care of
What We Look After
Bikes, fitted for you
Premium e-mountain bikes or mountain bikes, set up for each rider before you leave Noosaville. Or bring your own.
Mountain bike coaches
Guides who know every trail, town and story along the way, and can help you ride with more confidence.
Luggage and support
Your bags travel ahead in our support vehicle, which is never far away if you need a lift.
Stays and dining
Boutique hinterland stays and dinners built around local produce.
Day one
Day 1: The Shores of Lake Weyba
The journey starts gently. Once your bike is fitted, you roll out along the shores of Lake Weyba, the southern end of the Noosa Everglades system.
On a still morning the water is like glass. The paperbarks reflect perfectly, and the birdlife is rich: sea eagles overhead, egrets and herons in the shallows.
Sandy lakeside tracks, timber boardwalks and a suspension bridge carry you along the shore before the trail turns inland and disappears into the forest.
Day one, afternoon
Into the Forest and Up to Mt Tinbeerwah
From the lake you ride into the mountain bike trails of Tewantin National Park: flowing single track, berms and boardwalks through tall forest and palm filled gullies.
You come out near the top of Mt Tinbeerwah, a 265 metre volcanic plug, and walk up to its lookout for the first big view of the trip: the coast, the lakes and the hinterland peaks you will ride among over the next two days.
Then it is downhill, through forest and farmland to Pomona at the foot of Mt Cooroora.
Night one
Yurts Under Mt Cooroora, Dinner at the Distillery
Your first night is glamping at Noosa Eco Retreat at Pomona, in luxury yurts set on open lawns at the foot of Mt Cooroora, its rocky peak rising straight behind you.
Dinner is in town at Pomona Distilling Co, the local gin distillery, with its timber pavilion, garden bar and a menu made for hungry riders. Start with a gin.
Day two
Day 2: Country Towns and National Parks
If you are up early, start the day with a hike up Mt Cooroora, the 439 metre peak behind Pomona. It is steep, and the view from the top across the hinterland is worth every step. Or stay in and enjoy a slow breakfast at the yurts.
Back on the bikes, you ride out of Pomona on the Cooroora Trail through Tuchekoi National Park to the old railway town of Cooran, then climb into Woondum National Park: tall eucalypt forest on the ridges and rainforest in the gullies.
Day two, lunch
Lunch at the Mothar Mountain Rock Pools
By lunchtime you reach the Mothar Mountain rock pools, where Boulder Creek spills through a chain of pools in the forest. It is the perfect lunch spot, and on a warm day a dip is well earned if you are keen.
The pools are a significant cultural site for the Kabi Kabi people, so we ask everyone to treat them with care.
After a climb back over the range, the afternoon pays you back: long descending ridgelines and quiet roads through working farmland, all the way down into the historic timber town of Kin Kin.
Night two
Mayan Farm and the Kin Kin Hotel
Night two is at Mayan Farm, a high-end eco retreat of private villas on 100 acres in the hills above Kin Kin. Private spas look out over rolling green hills, horses wade in the dam and the view runs right across the valley. It is a hard place to leave.
Dinner is often at the Kin Kin Hotel, the restored 1915 country pub, where the farm to plate degustation is one of the highlights of the whole trip.
Day three
Day 3: Cootharaba Lookout and Back to the Coast
The last morning heads east toward the coast. On the way you stop at Cootharaba Lookout, where the view stretches across the Noosa Everglades system: one connected network of lakes, rivers and wetlands running all the way down to Lake Weyba, where your journey began.
From there it is rolling hills, quiet country roads and forest back to Noosa, with three days of hinterland in your legs.
Not ready to stop? Add a day on the water with our Stingrays and Everglades kayak tour on Lake Weyba.
Built around you
Make the Journey Your Own
No two journeys are the same. Treat these three days as a starting point and we will shape them around your group: longer or shorter days, different stays, favourite trails ridden twice, extra days at either end. See another example itinerary, or tell us what you have in mind.
Your bike
Ride one of our premium e-mountain bikes or mountain bikes, or bring your own. Mix it up if you like: a mountain bike one day, a gravel bike the next.
Your pace
Shorter days with longer stops, or bigger days with extra trail. Days are usually about 40 to 60 km, and the journey can run shorter or longer than three days.
Your stays
The stays in this itinerary are suggestions. Prefer somewhere else? We can plan the journey around other hinterland accommodation to suit your group.
Your extras
Add a massage, spa or sauna session, a guided walk, a non-riding day, or a kayak tour at either end of the trip.
Common questions
Guided Multi-Day Journey FAQs
You should be confident on a bike and have ridden a mountain bike off-road on mountain bike trails before. This is not an extreme mountain bike adventure. Most of the riding is on management vehicle tracks and quiet gravel roads, with some flowing single track, so think of it as one step up from a rail trail.
The main challenge is the distance and some of the more technical sections. Your guides are experienced mountain bike coaches, so they can help you along the way.
You are never far from help. Our support vehicle can shuttle you past a section or on to the next stop, your guide can coach you through trickier trail, and days can be shortened. An e-mountain bike also takes the sting out of the climbs.
Yes. Every journey is built for your group, so the days can be longer or shorter, the routes easier or harder, and favourite sections of trail can even be ridden twice.
You can also add a day at either end, a non-riding day, or extras like a massage, a guided walk or a kayak tour.
Absolutely. Bring your own mountain bike, e-mountain bike or gravel bike, or ride one of ours, fitted for you before you leave. You can even mix it up, with a mountain bike one day and a gravel bike the next.
The stays in this itinerary are suggestions. Tell us what you are after and we will plan the journey around other hinterland accommodation to suit your group.
Usually three days and two nights, with shorter or longer journeys on request. Days can be added at either end.
Riding days are usually about 40 to 60 km, set around your group’s pace.
Yes. Your bags travel ahead in our support vehicle, so you ride with a light pack and find them waiting at each stay.
The journey uses some public roads and paths, where Queensland law requires e-bike riders to be 16 or over and hold a drivers licence (learner or higher). Riders 12 to 17 may ride an e-bike only with a parent, grandparent or legal guardian riding with them.
If anyone in your group does not hold a licence, let us know when planning. Read more about Queensland e-bike laws.
Yes. Our Noosa Biosphere Overnight Gravel & MTB Experience is self-guided, with one, two or three nights in the hinterland. We plan your route, load it onto your phone and move your luggage, and you book your own accommodation.
The journey runs year round. Winter is a favourite, with cool mornings, mild days and clear skies, which is why Noosa is emerging as one of Australia’s great winter cycling destinations.
Plan your journey
Ready to Ride the Noosa Hinterland?
Tell us your dates, your group and how you like to ride, and we will build your journey around you.
