Retreat Guest Farm MTB Trail, Western Cape

Wide-open spaces with a seasonally changing tapestry of colours, rising mountain peaks, and mind-blowing views over the surrounding Swartland stretching from Veldrift to Table Mountain.

Situated on the Piket-Bo-Berg approximately 150km outside Cape Town, Retreat Guest Farm is just the place for an incredible escape for an off-grid family weekend, with superb hikes, open-water farm dam swims, bass fishing, fynbos walks and endless single track to explore.

The three self-catering cottages are tucked away on a small almond farm which is part of a large fruit farming business.

Best Time of Year: January until May and October until December when the weather is pleasantly warm and there is limited rainfall. The winters are cold and wet.

Basics – a 24km loop, mostly single-track scaped specifically for mountain bikers. Trailhead is at Langeberg Cottage from where it passes the dam before rollicking via the rocky outcrops beyond the dam wall. Yellow arrows indicate direction, and CAUTION or WARNING signs where there are technical obstacles, jumps or drop-offs.

Follow the trail in a clockwise direction to cross the Langeberg tar road and into the hills to the south. A long zigzag climb into the fynbos, with a shortcut option along the Firebreak jeep track. This basically loops around to the start of the Blackburn Singletrack climb.

Settle into a climb until you reach the BEACON AISLE single-track segment, making for an ascent of at least 3km before you reach said trig beacon (around 9k into the ride). The Beacon Aisle flows into Leopards Lair where you’ll enjoy riding through an old olive tree canopy and rock cave. Our local Cape Leopard once called it home and left scratches on the olive tree. A swashbuckling downhill ride awaits with bermed corners to rail; there is a little rocky chute and sandstone arch to the left that makes for a quirky detour.

Well-designed jumps and a final berm leads into the GUMS & BEES single-track section as you drop back to the start near the cottages. The ride gets even better from here as you keep to the left of the buildings as you approach the Perdekop foothills (14km). The trail is well designed and eminently rideable, with short downhill sections every now and then to allow you to rest your quads and calves. A flowering gum avenue leads you into stunning fynbos ridges, into which you gradually ascend over the next 4km.

Perdekop is a unique 5km climb to the top of Perdekop viewpoint. It is a lovely spot to stop for a breather and has breathtaking views that stretch as far as Saldanha Bay.

Our ride was on a gloriously misty morning, so even though there were no views, the botanical diversity was astounding, with dramatic rock outcrops, including a quick duck through another sandstone arch.

Once at the top of Perdekop, you can choose to head down along the single-track, or otherwise combine this with a high-speed down run along the new Downhill Track. High, sweeping berms and walls, robust table-top jumps and challenging drops are the order of the day, so be honest about your personal skill levels before you take it on.

Press Play to view the route flyover.