It has gentle cross-country greens to double black-diamond downhills and everything in between. The terrain is generally granite and sand which means that it drains with amazing speed after any rain but also makes for some interesting soft sandy corners and grippy rock gardens.

There are two sides to the Youies: Stockyards which hosts the more technical trails and downhill runs (and climbs) with rock gardens, jumps, drops and technical climbs; and Kurrajong Plantation with easy but fast and twisty cross-country trails. The two areas are joined by fireroads and/or the Junction Track (14). All tracks are two-way with the exception of the downhill tracks 10 (Turbulence), 11 (Bandages or Glory), and flow-type trail 13 (Cressy).

The tracks have a natural feel to them, but that’s not to say there’s not a good share of man-made and natural features to have fun on. The granite rock outcrops and boulders feature in the features and provide endless grins from the numerous rock gardens, drops, gaps and roll-offs.

The Kurrajong tracks are excellent for beginners and family rides, with gentle gradients and only the odd root, log, or rock to contend with.

The Youies is great for night riding after dark because the trails are quite open with good sight-lines. But watch out for the wildlife which is particularly active after dusk, with goats, roos an rabbits to contend with.

There’s an active MTB club scene at the Youies with the Geelong MTB Club who run regular XC races and the popular Dirt Squirts kids race series, and the You Yangs MTB Club who run monthly shuttle days for the gravity crew.