Just outside the city of Nelson on New Zealand’s South Island lies one of the most fascinating bike parks in the world. Once a private playground accessible only by helicopter, the Wairoa Gorge Mountain Bike Park now is now open to the public.
Ken Dart, a US-born Cayman Islands resident who inherited the Dart Container Corporation from his father, is behind the initial park. With an estimated net worth of around 13 billion dollars, Dart purchased the Wairoa Gorge and surrounding land in 2010. His family’s company produces roughly 50% of styrofoam cups manufactured in the United States, along with those iconic red Solo cups seen at every college party.
Millions of dollars were poured into designing and building the world-class trail network across more than 2,000 acres. Notable trail builders including the late James “Dodsy” Dodd helped shape the hand-cut trails. The trails were maintained constantly and kept in perfect condition, even though they were ridden only a handful of times per year when Dart and his guests would fly in.
After just nine years, Dart walked away from the project entirely, gifting the whole property to New Zealand’s Department of Conservation. The park now operates under a public stewardship model, maintained by the Nelson Mountain Bike Club.
The trail network offers everything from blue-graded flow runs like Jumanji, which stretches seven kilometers from top to bottom, to gnarly black diamond descents like DMT, which drops over 600 meters to the valley floor. Visitors can also stay overnight at Gibbs Hut, the same lodge where Dart himself used to helicopter in and sleep before a day of riding.
