Although Hayterdale Trails was founded by mountain bikers, we embrace trail running with open arms and encourage people to try this amazing sport. We want to promote the great aspects that trail running offers and hope that our trails highlight these. Trail running brings you closer to nature than most sports and allows you to be immersed in the natural beauty of the bush. We hope after spending time running these fantastic trails that the Zuurberg mountains have to offer, you will be left wanting more.
The freedom one feels after pulling on a pair running shoes and tackling the Zuurberg mountains while hardly realising the kilometres tick by, is hard to match. Additionally the feeling of reaching the top of the Zuurberg pass or standing on top of the GZT bridge and looking over the orchards, Addo Elephant National Park and Nelson Mandela Bay, makes every visit to Hayterdale worth the trip.
Hiking is an awesome way to experience the Zuurberg wilderness that we strongly encourage at Hayterdale Trails. Similar to the trail running routes, the hiking routes are comprised of same routes used for mountain biking, but slightly altered to suit hikers. We have taken the hiking routes on some of the more scenic trails that are not as frequently accessed by bikers. The advantage of hiking is that you have a greater chance of seeing the amazing wildlife of the region because you are making substantially less noise than in mountain biking and trail running.
HAYTERDALE RUNNING ROUTES
Our trail running routes were designed to all start and finish at the same point, so that runners can do two routes subsequently. You can also do laps of the loop if you enjoy one route more than the others.
We have mapped every trail that we have built individually on Trailforks, so that once you get more confident with the area you can hand pick the trails that you want and create your own private routes, the opportunities are endless!
We use Trail Forks to map our trails and improve the accessibility of the trails. We suggest using Trail Forks together with our trail markers to navigate our trails without getting lost. You can download Trail Forks for free here.
The Hayterdale 21Km Classic route is fantastic route for trail runners with the combination of speedy downhills, challenging climbs and spectacular views, it will leave wondering if you want to do it again!
Starting from Hayterdale you head South on the R335 and then turn right onto the Ntsomi border trail, this is the start of many, many kilometres of single track. After enjoying the rather flat and fast few kilometres of the route you start to climb up Michael’s Hill and to the top of Hayter’s Hell. Once you pass Hayter’s Hell you can clearly see the signature Camp Fig Tree ridge which is the final summit of this challenging climb. Once you reach the Camp Fig Tree road you will turn right along an undulating terrain and towards their main gate. Just before the main gate you take the path on your right hand side which will lead you across the Great Zuurberg Trek Bridge. Across the bridge are views of the beautiful Seaview trail which takes you down into the Hayterdale Valley. After a long section of single track at the bottom of the valley you will turn right onto a jeep track and shortly thereafter turn left back onto the single track to ascend the Bush Buck Ridge. Once you are up and over the Bush Buck Ridge you have a few kilometres to get your breath back in the Hayterdale flats. You will exit the Hayterdale flats via Skeletons gorge, the last climb of the day outside of the Hayterdale camp. You will go down towards the Hayterdale camp and turn right on the jeep track which follows the fence line. You will eventually turn left into Deon’s Bridge single track which will lead you into the Hayterdale cross country course and to the finish at Hayterdale Lodge.
oZONE Africa having fun in the Zuurberg Mountains
The good folk from oZone Africa have spent many hours traveling and exploring the South African wilderness and sharing their experiences as they go. They spent a long weekend at Hayterdale and explored the Zuurberg mountains and had a lot of great things to say. Their recent issue of oZine magazine perfectly sums up their trip. Download the magazine below.
First Steps at Hayterdale
We know that when visiting Hayterdale you just want to hop on the bike or lace up those shoes to get out into nature and
Using Trail Forks to navigate Hayterdale Trails
Hayterdale Trails uses Trail Forks to map and plan our routes. This allows riders to download the routes onto your phones via the Trail Forks
