Skip to content
A grass track between rows of olive trees in the Stonehouse orchard, under a blue sky.

On the farm

Mountain biking

Can you mountain bike at Stonehouse Lodge?

Yes. Ride the farm tracks through the olive orchard and out onto the gravel roads through the farmlands. Singletrack in the Geelkrans and Pauline Bohnen reserves is a short drive away.

  • A farm track running past olive trees in the orchard under a grey sky.
  • Young olive trees along a grassy avenue in the Stonehouse orchard under a cloudy sky.
  • A long row of olive trees in the orchard, the Goukou valley hills on the horizon.
  • The farm’s red cattle grazing a green pasture in the valley, with wooded hills behind.
  • A red cow grazing the green pasture beneath a big milkwood tree on the Stonehouse farm.
  • Looking out through the thatched farm gatehouse down the gravel drive to the hills.
  • The farm gate under a stone and timber archway at the end of the gravel road.

From the door

The farm tracks link the houses, the orchard, the dam and the pastures, and the gravel roads beyond run for kilometres through the farmlands. Guests have written about the mountain biking for years; bring your own bike.

A good first ride is a loop through the olive orchard, where the trees stand in rows 7 m apart on grass tracks, out past the cattle pastures and back along the drive. Early morning is the time: cool, still and often with buck on the edges of the bush.

Gravel country

Hessequa is gravel country, and the region is marketed to riders for its network of quiet farm roads. The 600 km MTB Camino from Franschhoek to Plettenberg Bay passes through Riversdale, half an hour from the farm, and the Grootvadersbosch Conservancy cycle route in the Langeberg is a 58 km intermediate ride.

Singletrack near Stilbaai

Trailforks lists 16 trails in the Stilbaai area, mostly in the Geelkrans and Pauline Bohnen reserves on the limestone fynbos east of town, such as the Fundango singletrack.

Tips

Bring your own bike, helmet and repair kit; there is no bike hire on the farm. Close every farm gate behind you, give the livestock space and carry water, because shade is scarce on the gravel roads.

Good to know

Questions

Do you rent bikes?

No, bring your own bikes.

Where can I mountain bike near Stilbaai?

On the farm tracks and gravel roads at Stonehouse Lodge, and on the 16 trails Trailforks lists in the Geelkrans and Pauline Bohnen reserves around Stilbaai.

More to do