Just over an hour's drive from Christchurch is the Mt Hutt ski field. Once the snow has gone there are plenty of mountain bike tracks just off the access road ready to explore.

HOW TO GET THERE (120KM FROM CHRISTCHURCH)

Allow about 1.15 hours for the 120km trip. From Christchurch, head east towards Darfield. You can either go through Darfield and Glentunnel, or turn off at Aylesbury Corner before Darfield and go through Hororata. Once you are over the Rakaia Gorge, there is a signposted right turn into McLennans Road and another right onto the Skifield access road.

MT HUTT TRAILS

A bit further up the road after the toll gates, there is a jumps area with plenty of room for parking. Another few hundred meters up the road there is a 4WD track on the left, marking the start of the tracks.

If there is a group of you, it is worth shuttling as the ride down is only a few minutes, but there is quite a ride back up the road again.

The tracks have plenty steep sections and a lot of built up jumps and bridges. Most of the jumps and drops have an alternative 'easy' route around them.

These trails are open to the public during summer, but remember this is a private road maintained by Mt Hutt Ski Field, so please respect this and stick to the 40km speed limit as well as the normal road rules.