The best MTB trails in Lane Cove National Park

Bobbin Head is a large recreation area offering tons of attractions and facilities. It is a popular area to bushwalk, paddle, picnic, or go fishing, as well as dine, with educational opportunities. The public facilities here include barbecues, picnic tables, a children's playground, toilets, shelters and plenty of green space for a frisbee session or a cricket game. If you're hungry, there's a range of places to buy food like the Bobbin Head Inn Café, Waterside Bistro, and Empire Marina Bobbin Head. Head to the Bobbin Head Visitor Centre and learn through displays and video stories about local Aboriginal cultural heritage and the importance of the natural environment in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

Parramatta Valley Cycleway is a mostly flat shared walking and cycling route that follows the Parramatta River through western Sydney, connecting Parramatta Park with several riverside reserves, wetlands, and Sydney Olympic Park. The route is a lovely combination of dedicated paths, boardwalks, and quiet foreshore sections, with plenty of views across the river and surrounding parklands. The riverside scenery, native vegetation, and mix of urban and natural landscapes make it a picturesque and accessible way to explore the Parramatta region by bike or on foot.

Devlins Creek Trail follows the creek corridor through shaded bushland, linking narrower single-track sections with rocky creek crossings and sandstone terrain. Compared to the wider fire trails higher in the park, this route feels more enclosed, with dense vegetation and a rougher surface underfoot. Tree roots, rocks, and smaller creek crossings slow the pace in sections, especially after rain when parts of the track can become muddy or slippery. The trail also forms part of the wider Great North Walk network through Lane Cove National Park.

Devlins Creek is a sandstone creek system flowing through the upper sections of Lane Cove National Park before joining Terrys Creek to form the Lane Cove River. Along the trail, the creek passes through shaded bushland with rocky banks, shallow crossings, and small waterholes tucked beneath the forest canopy. Water flow varies depending on rainfall, with calmer pools in drier periods and stronger movement after rain. The creek is named after James Devlin, a nineteenth century landowner connected to the area.

Pennant Hills Trail follows a management-style bush track through eucalypt forest on the upper edges of Lane Cove National Park. The trail is wider and more open than the narrower river tracks below, with long stretches of dirt and gravel surface underfoot. Sections connect into older fire trails and parts of the wider Great North Walk network, with steady climbs and descents through the bushland. Wildlife such as wallabies, water dragons, and birdlife are commonly seen along quieter sections of the trail.

Parramatta River runs from the west of Sydney into Sydney Harbour, forming a major waterway through the city. In this section, the river is lined with parkland and mangroves, with calmer water and reflections along the edges. The surrounding paths bring you close to the shoreline in parts, with views across to the opposite bank and occasional bridges crossing overhead.

Escarpment Boardwalk forms a key section of the Parramatta Valley Cycleway, linking Parramatta Park with the river foreshore through a fully off-road path. The elevated boardwalk runs beside mangroves and below the escarpment, with some sections passing directly through the tree canopy above the river. Opened as the final missing link in the cycleway network, the structure sits close to the water while carrying both pedestrians and cyclists through an area that previously had no direct foreshore access.

I love riding along the Cycleway, especially the sections where they have separate the pedestrians from the cyclists