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Country Trail
https://www.hennopstrails.co.za/mtb-trail-2/
https://www.trailforks.com/region/hennops-hiking–mtb-trails-34145/
4/5
Best suited for:
Intermediate and Experienced riders.
What we love about it:
The singletrack, the scenery and the drainage. Almost the entire 40km is on singletrack that’s built into the existing gradient to ensure it’s highly stimulating. Most of the time you don’t see any kind of civilisation which makes you feel like you’re far from anywhere, but it’s really just a 30 minute-drive from Pretoria and 40 minutes from Joburg. And the drainage is probably the best of any Gauteng trails, making it a good option when there’s been a lot of rain.
The trails:
There’s essentially one long trail at Hennops, but it’s divided into six distinct sections:
Safari: 6km; 100m ascent
Sani: 6.4km, 138m ascent
Dragon: 4.5km, 80m ascent
Snake: 4km, 54m ascent
Kyalami: 3.7km, 28m ascent
Skeleton: 10km, 170m ascent
You can head back to the trailhead after any of the sections, but most conditioned riders complete the full selection. Some will skip Dragon, which is nice technical loop with some tight turns; and others might avoid Skeleton, which is the section with the most climbing and comes late in the ride.
All sections finish with Home Run, a 3km section to the trailhead.
The singletrack has been well built and it’s obvious that much rock has been moved to make way for firm, mostly predictable surface trail. The location sees Hennops Trails benefit from quite generous gradient, something relatively rare in Gauteng. The trailbuilder has made good use of the gradient and recently added around 5km in singletrack, mostly to Skeleton.
There’s a sprinkling of wildlife at Hennops that includes zebra and wildebeest and which is mostly seen on the Safari section – hence the name…
Hennops offers a bit of a wilderness environment, which means it’s best suited to Intermediate and Experienced riders who are self-sufficient and able to navigate with confidence.
The signage is good, but you need to pay attention closely if you haven’t ridden there before. One missed turn and you can find yourself on a 4×4 route or a hiking trail. It’s worth studying the route map before you ride to have some idea of what to expect.
The trails aren’t specifically graded, but are predominantly blue Green and Blue level based on the IMBA standards.
Before February 2022, the trailhead was at the farmhouse where there’s very good quality food and drink for sale as well as clean, adequate ablutions. Unfortunately the suspension bridge was washed away by flooding, so now the temporary trailhead is on the other side of the river with some cooldrinks available to purchase. There’s no bike wash at Hennops, which normally isn’t a major issue, but the wet summer and autumn of 2021/2022 make us wish for a bike wash there… Once the new suspension bridge is completed, the trailhead will return to the original location.
No matter how often you ride there, Hennops delivers a ride that’s challenging and rewarding. One of the most stimulating, scenic mountain bike trails parks in Gauteng.
R80 – Adult | R50 – school children
Trail Ratings
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