|

Kimberley Diamond Fields Gravel Loop

🏔️ TRAIL CONDITIONS TODAY
Updated 2 hours ago · 🗺️ Northern Cape (province average)
🌤️
18°C
Partly cloudy · Good riding
⚠️
Marginal — Rideable
Overcast with 0% chance of rain — likely dry but keep an eye on the forecast.
💧 Precipitation 0%
💦 Humidity 69%
💨 Wind 9 km/h
🚵 HOW ARE THE TRAILS TODAY? Tap your condition then submit
📌
RIDER REPORTS
What riders are saying on the trail
Loading reports…

The Diamond Fields Gravel Loop extends the Kimberley riding experience from the city’s heritage streets into the broader Karoo landscape that surrounds it — flat, accessible gravel road cycling through terrain that carries an extraordinary density of historical significance for a landscape that appears, on the surface, to be simply empty plains.

The Route

The 60km loop heads south and west from Kimberley on low-traffic gravel farm roads, passing the Magersfontein Battlefield — where on the night of 10-11 December 1899, General Methuen’s British column marching to relieve the Siege of Kimberley was ambushed by Koos de la Rey’s Boer commandos in one of the costliest British defeats of the Anglo-Boer War. The battlefield is a sobering and atmospheric stop on a gravel ride through this landscape. From Magersfontein, the loop continues toward the Modder River and back north, passing the remarkable Kamfers Dam on the return — a shallow pan just north of Kimberley that is home to one of the largest inland flamingo breeding colonies in Africa, with tens of thousands of lesser and greater flamingoes resident throughout the year.

Getting There

Start from Kimberley CBD — GPS: -28.7281, 24.7499. Download a Wikiloc or Komoot GPX track for the route before departing. Kimberley Tourism: +27 53 830 4117.

Trail Overview

📍 Location Kimberley, Diamond Fields, Northern Cape
📏 Total Distance 60km of trails
⚡ Difficulty Moderate
🚵 Discipline Gravel
🛤️ Trail Type Gravel Farm Road
🪨 Surface Compacted Karoo gravel and farm roads — flat to gently undulating Diamond Fields terrain — low traffic
🕐 Opening Hours Kimberley accommodation and restaurants (full city facilities),Magersfontein Battlefield Museum (en-route — Anglo-Boer War heritage site),Kamfers Dam (Flamingo sanctuary — largest flamingo breeding colony inland in Africa),Bultfontein Mine (active diamond mine — external viewing only)
🏘️ Nearest Town A 60km gravel loop through the historically loaded Diamond Fields landscape — past the Magersfontein Anglo-Boer War battlefield, the Kamfers Dam flamingo colony (largest inland breeding colony in Africa) and the Bultfontein diamond mine on the flat Karoo plains around Kimberley.

Trail Listings

Trail Name Distance Difficulty
Diamond Fields Loop 60km Moderate (from Kimberley — gravel roads through surrounding Karoo farmland — Magersfontein Battlefield, Modder River — returns through Kamfers Dam flamingo area)
Bultfontein Mine Extension varies Easy (informal — from Kimberley south to the active Bultfontein diamond mine area — flat gravel — historical mining landscapes)

Permits & Costs

  • Cost: Free — public gravel road network.
  • Where to buy: Year-round during daylight. Best April to September.

Amenities & Facilities

  • April to September. Avoid midsummer heat.

Contact & Getting There

Best Time to Ride: Kimberley (base) | Cape Town (960km) | Johannesburg (480km)

n

🌐 Visit Official Trail Website →

Rate This Trail

—
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
No ratings yet
5 ★
0
4 ★
0
3 ★
0
2 ★
0
1 ★
0

How would you rate this trail?

More Trails in Northern Cape

9 trails
MTB Easy

Keimoes Riverbank Trail

A flat 20km loop through the date palm groves

Keimoes is one of the Northern Cape's most unexpectedly beautiful destinations — a small Orange River…

20km
Gravel Moderate

Prieska River Ride

A quiet Orange River cycling base in the Northern Cape interior — Prieska's 35km riverside gravel loop follows the Orange River through date palm groves and Griqua heritage country on flat

Prieska is a small Orange River town with a copper mining heritage and a riverside landscape…

35km
MTB Moderate

Kalahari 30km Challenge

A 30km Kalahari savanna MTB challenge from the Eye of Kuruman — the world's most powerful natural spring pumping 20 million litres per day from a limestone aquifer. Red sand dunes

Kuruman is the main service town of the John Taolo Gaetsewe District of the Northern Cape…

30km
MTB Easy

Upington 15km Orange River Loop

A flat 15km riverside loop along the Orange River through Upington — the Green Kalahari capital — past the Kalahari-Oranje wine estates

Upington sits on the banks of the Orange River in the Green Kalahari — the stretch…

15km
MTB Hard

Springbok Granite Loop

The capital of Namaqualand sits surrounded by granite koppies and rocky desert plateau — challenging informal MTB routes through the unique Namaqualand landscape that forms the backdrop for one of South Africa's most scenically extraordinary riding regions

Springbok is the natural base for all mountain biking in the Namaqualand region — the Northern…

40km
Gravel Expert

Augrabies Falls Desert Dash

Augrabies town (10km) | Kakamas (20km) | Upington (120km)

A 172km+ gravel and desert epic through the Green Kalahari — the annual Trans Augrabies MTB…

172km
MTB Hard

Goegap Nature Reserve MTB Loop

Springbok (15km) | Cape Town (570km via N7)

35km of 4x4 track MTB through the Klein Koperberge granite peaks and desert plains of Namaqualand…

35km
Gravel Moderate

Port Nolloth Coastal Gravel Trail

An unusual flat coastal gravel ride in South Africa's diamond territory — Port Nolloth's gravel coastal roads run through restricted De Beers diamond concession country on the Atlantic coast

Port Nolloth is one of South Africa's most unusual small towns — an isolated fishing and…

25km
Gravel Moderate

Victoria West Karoo Loop

A peaceful Central Karoo gravel cycling base on the N12 between Beaufort West and Richmond — Victoria West offers open Karoo plains riding through one of South Africa's most fossil-rich landscapes with dolerite koppies

Victoria West is a quiet Northern Cape Karoo town on the N12 highway, positioned in the…

varieskm