New Guidelines Aim To Improve Safety And Consistency On New Zealand’s Mountain Bike Trails

Recreation Aotearoa has today released updated New Zealand Mountain Bike Trail Design Guidelines, alongside a new, easy-to-use Trail Builders’ Handbook. These resources provide clear, practical advice for land managers, trail designers, builders, and auditors.

The updated guidelines aim to improve safety, consistency, sustainability, and accessibility across New Zealand’s growing mountain bike trail network.

Developed in partnership with the Department of Conservation, Ngā Herenga New Zealand Cycle Trails, ACC, Sport NZ and the wider mountain biking community, the resources reflect a nationwide push to align trail design and safety practices.

Responding to a call for national consistency

The review followed a Coroner’s recommendation for more consistent trail safety and signage guidance across the country.

Key changes include:

• New signage guidance, developed in collaboration with the Land Safety Forum New Zealand
• Updated auditing guidelines
• New sections on maintenance, trail enhancers and safety in design
• Refreshed diagrams and technical drawings
• Updates to ensure trail criteria are consistent and concise
• Improved guidance on inclusive trails.

“These guidelines respond to a clear call for national consistency across trail guidance, design and safety,” said Sarah Murray, Chief Executive of Recreation Aotearoa.

“They not only improve rider safety but also support more sustainable trail development and management. We’ve also taken the opportunity to incorporate guidance on inclusive trails, building on our recently released Outdoor Accessibility Design Guidelines.

“By working with DOC and Ngā Herenga, we’ve aligned existing guidelines into one practical, accessible resource for everyone involved in trail planning, building, and auditing,” Sarah added.

National alignment

As part of this national alignment, DOC will transition to the New Zealand Mountain Bike Design Guidelines. The Ngā Herenga New Zealand Cycle Trail Guidelines will also be updated.

Reducing the risk

ACC Public Health and Injury Prevention spokesperson Kirsten Malpas said ACC is proud to support the launch of the updated guidelines.

With more riders enjoying the growing network of incredible trails across Aotearoa, consistent signage is essential in helping riders understand what lies ahead and choose trails that match their skill level. Injuries – especially serious ones – can have a major impact on people’s lives.”

“In 2024 alone, there were over 5,500 mountain biking injury claims, costing $22.4 million. Mountain biking now has the highest average injury claim cost of any sport or active recreation activity—more than double that of rugby. We want people to keep enjoying what they love, like mountain biking, while staying safe and injury-free,” said Malpas.

A handy new resource for trail builders

The newly released Trail Builders’ Handbook offers practical, in-field guidance for those building and maintaining trails. It includes diagrams and technical details for each of New Zealand’s six mountain bike trail grades.

“With a history of advocacy, training and funding, Trail Fund NZ is pleased to be involved with this ongoing initiative to provide guidance to hard-working trail builders around the country,” says Trail Fund co-president John Humphrey.

“We appreciate that every area and club is different, and trail builders collectively hold a broad range of skills and approaches to providing trails across the motu. However, we are confident those involved have done their homework and put forward high-quality guidelines that provide a robust framework for trail building around the country.

This does not mean the conversation is over. This is the third iteration of these guidelines, and we look forward to working with the trail building community on the implementation of this third generation of guidelines to support the evolution of mountain biking and trail building.

Trail Fund NZ is pleased to be the conduit between trail builders and Recreation Aotearoa and will be passing on ‘on-the-ground’ feedback to ensure this baseline document continues to be the best it can be,” said Humphrey.

About Recreation AotearoaL:

Recreation Aotearoa is the membership association representing professionals in the recreation industry. We empower our members to deliver the quality recreation experiences, places and facilities, that fuel a more active, healthy, and connected NZ.

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