Thanks to the new membership model, Mystic Park is no longer at risk of closing and will remain open for riders in 2023
Mountain bike riders, both local and visitors, love Mystic Park, and over the summer holidays have shown up to support the park’s new pay-to-play operating model by signing up for a Mystic Park membership.
It's been 3 months since Mystic Park introduced memberships and the park already has almost 4,000 riders join! The MTB community’s support through annual, fortnight, or same-day passes has helped keep Alpine Community Plantation (ACP) financially stable and allowed the park to stay open.
The membership signup numbers speaks for itself: the mountain biking community didn’t want to see Mystic Park shut down, and riders wanted to contribute directly to the park’s viability and upkeep.
The membership funds have already been put to good use. A trail maintenance crew will be operating 5 days a week during summer and here’s what’s achieved so far:
🚵♀️ Cleaning up popular XC and gravity trails: Up DJ, Down DJ, Corkscrew, Buddha Hood, Up and At Em, World Cup, Elevation
🚵🏻 Erecting new signage to warn riders of upcoming technical features.
🚵🏻♂️ Rectifying high priority areas across the trail network.
💦 Before shuttles start spinning, daily watering and general maintenance of Hero and Shred Kelly to keep the rebuild in good condition and minimise dust during the hot dry days.
Blue Dirt have recently increased their presence in Mystic Park by taking over the trail maintenance and safety management, on top of operating the shuttles. The Blue Dirt team speak to Mystic Park members on a daily basis and says Mystic Park’s popularity hasn’t fallen since membership was introduced:
“At Blue Dirt we’re proud of the support the MTB community has shown Mystic during the membership roll out. Rider numbers are up on the same period as last year and our trail crew are enjoying the feedback from riders who speak with us on the trails.” - Brett Hollis, Blue Dirt Mountain Biking
Both the staff and customers at Cyclepath and All Terrain Cycles, the local bike shops in Bright, have embraced the new membership model:
"Mystic Park is an amazing asset to the local community and the wider region. It has been great to see riders continuing to get out and enjoy the trails this year. MTB park membership is fairly unique in Australia so we have needed to assist riders with plenty of questions, but once given the facts, most are happy to purchase a membership and are stoked on the trails!" - Adam Macbeth, All Terrain Cycles
"In the Cyclepath shop we have had positive feedback to the changes – once visitors understand the system and the reasons behind it they’re happy to contribute. The mountain bike rental bookings have been solid, and our workshop team are cranking out the repairs on customers bikes – it’s obvious that there are a lot of people out enjoying Mystic at the moment.” - Nicole McAulay, Cyclepath Bright
The future is now bright at Mystic Park. Through a combination of external funding and membership revenue, Mystic riders will see more enhancements in the next 12 months:
✅ More visible signage that includes maps of the park, wayfinding and trail feature signs
✅ Trail maintenance will be more often and consistent
✅ Strategic work will continue to be undertaken by both ACP and expert consultants, that focuses on Mystic Park’s future - including new trails and upgrades to existing trails
“We are thrilled to see the support from our MTB community to keep Mystic Park open. The community and visitors have been incredibly patient and understanding as ACP have rolled out a unique operating model to ensure the Parks future. The injection of membership funds will help provide Bright locals and visitors with a premiere mountain biking destination.” - Jessica Short, ACP Executive Officer
How did we get here?
Post-COVID, Mystic Park saw a huge surge in popularity for mountain biking and Bright tourism. But, with that comes an increase in maintenance demands for the park which exceeds what ACP could accommodate and ACC volunteers could commit to.
It had been forecasted that the cost of maintaining and operating Mystic Park through FY2023 and beyond will significantly exceed the revenue generated. As a result, the original model of operation, which provided free rider access, was no longer a viable option for keeping the park open.
On October 24th 2022, Mystic rolled out a pay-to-play operating model, where riders were required to purchase a membership to access the park. Membership starts from $15.
For more background information on Mystic Park’s membership operation model, please visit https://www.alpinecommunityplantation.com.au/post/future-of-mystic-mountain-bike-park-looking-brighter