Braamfontein Spruit Trail
10km of free urban singletrack along Johannesburg’s Braamfontein Spruit — popular for casual rides, commuting and family outings through parks and green corridors connecting Emmarentia Dam northward through the city.
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Breedtsnek
Gauteng’s most demanding cross-country epic — 79km through the rugged Magaliesberg with 1,826m of elevation gain across rocky passes and open ridges, reserved for fit advanced riders who can handle a full self-sufficient day out.
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B’sorah Long Route
30km intermediate extension through B’sorah conservancy near Broederstroom — longer bushveld loop with giraffe, zebra and impala on the trail, steady climbs and open valley views for riders wanting a bigger half-day effort.
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B’sorah Trails
40km of bushveld singletrack on a private game conservancy near Broederstroom — ride alongside giraffe, zebra and impala on flowing trails through rocky Magaliesberg foothills, one of Gauteng’s most unique riding experiences.
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Buffelsdrift MTB Trails
Over 85km of well-maintained singletrack 30km north of Pretoria — flowing bushveld trails with routes for every level from easy green loops to challenging black technical sections, one of the most extensive private networks in the greater Pretoria area.
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Buffelspoort Trails
Scenic 15km+ singletrack near Buffelspoort Dam with moderate bushveld climbing and rewarding dam views — a solid intermediate day ride accessible from both Pretoria and Johannesburg in under an hour.
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Cradle Moon Black Route
Advanced 15km technical extension at Cradle Moon game reserve — rocky singletrack, challenging features and wildlife encounters for skilled riders who’ve outgrown the standard loops and want a proper Muldersdrift challenge.
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Cradle Moon Trails
50km+ of game reserve singletrack in the Magaliesberg foothills at Muldersdrift — ride among zebra, impala and wildebeest on flowing trails from easy green loops to advanced black routes, 45 minutes from Johannesburg.
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Namaqua Coastal Sprint
The Namaqua National Park’s coastal section is the least-developed and least-visited part of the park — extending from the Skilpad plateau section all the way to the Atlantic coast in the Groen River area, where the succulent karoo biome meets the Benguela Current ocean in a landscape of extraordinary ecological richness and visual beauty. While the Skilpad plateau section draws thousands of spring wildflower visitors, the coastal zone remains largely undiscovered, its remote location (accessible via R362 and park roads from the N7) keeping it far quieter than any comparable coastal national park environment in South Africa.
The Coastal Ride
The 35km gravel sprint from the N7 direction to the Groen River mouth follows the park’s gravel access road through the heart of the Namaqualand succulent karoo — an extraordinary ecosystem of quartz fields, endemic succulent groundcovers and specialised coastal fynbos found nowhere else on earth. The Groen River mouth opens onto a wild Atlantic beach: cold Benguela Current water, extensive tidal pools rich with marine life, and the sea mist that regularly rolls in from the ocean to create an atmospheric coastal environment completely unlike the sharp-lit dry interior just 20km behind you.
Practical note: The coastal section of Namaqua National Park is genuinely remote and the access infrastructure is basic. Contact SANParks Namaqua (+27 27 672 1948) to confirm current access road conditions and gate arrangements before visiting. Carry all food and water for the full day — no facilities on the coastal section.
Getting There
Access the Namaqua NP coastal section via the R362 from the N7 (turn-off between Bitterfontein and Garies). GPS: -30.9167, 17.3833. Tel: +27 27 672 1948. From Cape Town: N7 north 530km to the R362 junction.
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Loeriesfontein Windmill Trail
Loeriesfontein occupies a unique place in the Northern Cape landscape — the self-declared capital of Bushmanland, set in a flat Hantam basin surrounded by low mountains and sandy plains, 65km north of Calvinia on the R357. The town is known locally for one extraordinary attraction: the Fred Turner Windpump Museum, a free open-air collection of 27 working windpumps from South Africa, the United States, Canada, England and Australia that was assembled in the school playground at the request of Dr James Walton — a Cape Town-based engineer and windmill obsessive who put out a national appeal for windpump collections. Loeriesfontein was the only respondent. The result is one of the most unusual and genuinely delightful museums in South Africa: the Atlas Ace, the Conquest, the Australian Southern Cross, the English Hercules, the American Aeromotor, the Canadian North, the Star Zephyr — all creaking and spinning in the Bushmanland wind that never seems to stop.
The Cycling
The 45km Loeriesfontein Plains Loop follows farm gravel roads through the flat semi-arid terrain surrounding the town — a quiet, meditative ride through typical Bushmanland landscape where the working windmills on every farm horizon are the primary visual reference. Every 15-20km, a windmill marks a water trough — historically the only reliable water source for stock and human travellers across the Bushmanland plains, and still functioning today as it did when the first Trek Farmers crossed this country.
The Gannabos Quiver Tree Forest (20km return, southeast toward Nieuwoudtville) adds one of the most visually spectacular elements of Namaqualand landscape to the day: a dense grove of wild quiver trees (Aloe dichotoma) that is among the largest in southern Africa, with specimens reaching 8 metres in height and their distinctive bottle-shaped forms casting long afternoon shadows across the rocky koppie terrain.
Getting There
Loeriesfontein is on the R357 between Calvinia and the Kamiesberg, 65km north of Calvinia. GPS: -30.9333, 19.4333. From Cape Town: N7 north to Vanrhynsdorp, R27 east to Nieuwoudtville, R357 north to Loeriesfontein (460km total). No fuel station — fill up in Calvinia before arriving.