Mountain bikers were devastated when the iconic Red Hill dirt jumps in Beacon Hill were flattened. With a campaign to have them rebuilt underway, Aoife Moynihan explores the use of unauthorised trails.
In May 2025, Crown Lands bulldozed unauthorised dirt jumps at Red Hill Reserve in Beacon Hill, leaving mountain bike riders from across the Beaches and beyond sad, as the jumps had been used for over 25 years.
Wakehurst Independent MP Michael Regan has launched a campaign, including a petition, for the jumps to be authorised and rebuilt, after the biking community contacted him.
“According to local bike riders, they weren’t notified of the intention to demolish (the jumps),” Michael tells PL. “Crown Lands had demolished all the jumps that they’d created.”
Michael met with NSW Minister for Lands and Property Stephen Kamper late 2025 to discuss formalising and rebuilding the jumps.
“He is happy to formalise an agreement with council to take care and control over (the land) but we’ll need to go through a process,” Michael says. “There’s a precedent; we know it can be done,” he adds, referencing Bare Creek bike park in Belrose which council opened in 2020. Local mountain bikers help with park maintenance.
Michael met with local mountain bikers at Red Hill over the summer, who spoke of how important the dirt jumps were to them.
“It was great for their mental health and they talked about meeting there, creating the jumps, and hanging out with their mates. That’s where they found their connection,” says Mr Regan. “That’s where they found their tribe. That’s probably the best way to describe it.”
Land ownership makes the task of formalising trails difficult and Michael likens the Red Hill site to a ‘patchwork quilt,’ with some private land, some Crown Land and possibly National Parks he says, but he wants to do what he can to speed things up and make rebuilding the site easier.
“Hopefully, we can get some money out of the State Government to help rebuild the tracks,” Michael says. At the time of going to print, Michael’s Red Hill Dirt Jumps Circuit petition had close to 400 signatures.
Dirt jumping is not without its risks. In September, 2023, Manly Vale’s Fletcher Crowley broke his T9 and T10 vertebrae after landing a jump badly at Red Hill. Despite being a paraplegic, Fletcher has inspired all with his determined approach to rehabilitation, and he now jumps with a specially- designed wheelchair bike.
MP Michael Regan meets local mountain bikers Jadon, Kayden and Bailey at Red Hill
“Red Hill is where riders found their tribe.”
Michael Regan
While Fletcher’s accident does serve as a warning, advocates like Matt Ward say the litigation risk is much lower than the risk of injury. Matt works for Trail Care, a not-for-profit consultancy group advising the biking community. “Sydney has always been a dead spot in terms of trail delivery,” Matt tells PL. He was surprised when Red Hill was flattened as he had been in discussion with Crown Lands for about a year. “We put some proposals forward, and they said they’d get back to us,” explains Matt. “It felt like there was going to be some discussion. Then suddenly, the trails were gone.”
Matt says that the only viable solution is to deliver projects on individual land tenures, whether it be Crown Lands or National Parks. “Back in the early 2000s, a normal ride would take us over seven different land tenures,” says Matt. “But ultimately, managing all those cross-tenure relationships is not feasible.”
Trail Care has been working with Michael, and Matt says they have a team of experienced trail builders who are willing to donate their time. “If there’s an opportunity to build a new facility and hand it over to a club or to council, we’ll go in and build it free of charge,” says Matt, who spends most of his time doing maintenance at Bare Creek.
Sydney needs more trails Matt says
The Garigal Gorillas is the biggest cycling club in the country with up to 800 members – mountain bikers, road cyclists and BMX riders. Karl Brown is a committee member and the council and government liaison. He says there are about 40,000 active bike riders within a 45-minute drive from the main trail networks on the Beaches, and there are not enough trails. The Gorillas focus on gravity-style mountain biking.
“The general idea is people ride up the trails and then ride down through the bushland,” Karl tells PL. Mt Narra at Deep Creek in the bushland between Narrabeen and Ingleside is popular with the Gorillas and riders from further afield. Some Deep Creek trails have been there for over 20 years.
“Deep Creek is the heart and soul of mountain biking in Greater Sydney,” says Karl. “But Mt Narra is 100% unauthorised. We have support from the council to move things forward, but it is a painfully slow process.”
Garigal Gorillas club president Linda Benny (foreground) with friend Mandy Davis at Mt Narra
Matt Ward and Michael Regan are working together
Karl says the process is complicated as the land ownership at Deep Creek is split between council, Crown Land and National Parks. “There’s a lot of bureaucracy involved. I think everyone’s got the right intentions, but it’s just cutting through the red tape to make it happen,” says Karl. “It’s not easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthy.”
As for injuries and risk, Karl says Garigal Gorillas are affiliated with AusCycling, and members are covered for riding insurance, including public liability. “There’s not an insurance issue to ride the trails. But we want to set up training programs and hold races, which we can’t do on unauthorised trails.”
The Gorillas also help maintain Bare Creek and they built a dual slalom (side by side) course at JJ Melbourne Hills Memorial Reserve in Terrey Hills – home of Manly Warringah BMX Club and council owned land. Karl says it would have cost at least half a million had council paid a contractor to build what is now a council and community asset.
“The club has never asked for a single cent from anyone. Our members raise quite a lot of funds, and all that money goes back into (maintaining) the trails,” says Karl. “We’re not asking for a million dollars, like a new football field would cost.”
Northern Beaches Council told PL it doesn’t support building unauthorised trails and jumps on its land.
“The use and building of unauthorised trails and jumps can cause environmental impacts and can pose a safety risk to riders and the public,” council said. “The dirt bike jumps that were located at Red Hill were located on private land and NSW State Land. Council does not have authority over this land.”
Council’s Let’s Play! Open Space and Outdoor Recreation plan identifies the need for more places to ride and actions for new and improved off road cycling facilities. It says it is working through the actions as resources become available.
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