Narooma Mountain Bike Trails Hub gets $3.9 million

The Narooma Mountain Bike Club has worked on the project since 2016. The funding came as shock and relief for members.

Club president Georgie Staley said there was a lot of competition for grants in stage two of the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund, which was co-funded by the Australian and NSW Governments.

"I was in shock; we were so surprised we were successful," she said.

"It was a dream come true for us.

"There were so many people who were instrumental in getting this grant over the line; I am incredibly grateful of everyone on that team in getting us there."

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The club received $3,914,356 to complete the final stages, two and three, of the Narooma Mountain Bike Trails Hub.

This means the existing 33km of trails will expand and become part of a 100km trail network.

"We have contracted World Trail, who are an internationally recognised trail building company, who built the trails in Derby (Tasmania)," Ms Staley said.

"They have designed the final stages. We will put out tenders shortly to build the trails."

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Ms Staley said the main trailhead, including a big carpark, will be located off the Princes Highway at Mitchells Ridge Road, just south of the Brou Tip turnoff.

She said the trailhead will link the trail network back to Dalmeny in the future.

The South Coast is on its way to becoming an even more desirable destination for mountain bikers, after two other projects also received grants.

The Eden Mountain Bike Club was provided more than $4.5 million to see the Eden Mountain Bike Hub completed and the Eurobodalla Shire Council also received $5 million to complete stage two of the Mogo Adventure Trails Hub in the Mogo and Deep Creek Dam area.

The final stage of the Mogo project involves the construction of new trails, a toilet block, water stations and a picnic area.

Once the three newest trail hubs are complete, Ms Staley said the region can be promoted as a top mountain biking destination.

Riders can explore the trails at Mogo, Narooma, Tathra, Eden and Cooma.

"It's going to be a huge tourism boost for Narooma," Ms Staley said.

"The influence of the trails being done has also attracted new business to town. It's a great asset for the community and it will connect us as a region."

Ms Staley was proud of how far the Narooma Mountain Bike Club has come.

Ms Staley and her husband Dave picked up the pace in 2016 to see Narooma trails become a reality.

"Dave and I thought it was a really good tourism driver for Narooma and the area," she said.

"Wayne Byard tried to get it going beforehand, but couldn't get traction, so we linked up with like-minded others in the community to scope out areas for the trails.

"We all worked at getting it approved and here we are today."

She thanked the late Matt Deveson who was president of the Narooma Chamber of Commerce at the time the project was kicking off.

"Matt helped us find a pathway to funding and to become part of the community plan," Ms Staley said.

"If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have started."

The Narooma Mountain Bike Club is responsible for trail maintenance into the future. The club has about 40 members.

"We are always looking for new members, both people who ride or people who want to do trail maintenance," Ms Staley said.

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Ms Staley said some community members were confused over motorbike access in the area.

"We welcome our motorcycling friends, however, while they are not allowed on the mountain bike trails, registered motorbikes have access to the forest roads that are in the area," she said.

Ms Staley said no existing motorbike trails had been turned into mountain bike only trails.

She congratulated the two other successful grant applicants of Narooma, the Wagonga Local Aboriginal Land Council and The Narooma School of Arts.

"It is huge for Narooma to see that money coming into town, creating more jobs," she said.

Ms Staley said the club also applied for $200,000 through the Stronger Country Community Fund.

"This was to finalise the trailhead at stage one, with a car park, toilets, signage and safer access which will also cater for walkers of the Rainforest Walk at Kianga Forest Road," Ms Staley said.

"We should find out in September if we are successful."

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