Everything you need to know about Crankworx Cairns
Guide
By Scott Russell
When: 20 - 25 May 2025
Imagine watching the world’s best mountain bike athletes tail whip looking out over the Great Barrier Reef or blitzing downhill through the Wet Tropics.
This bucket list spectacle is Crankworx Cairns, the Cairns leg of a worldwide tour that’s been called the ‘Super Bowl of Mountain Biking’.
Taking place at Smithfield’s world-renowned mountain bike trails, Crankworx Cairns combines festival vibes with a jam-packed schedule of elite and amateur competition.
While you’re in Cairns, keep the adventure going by diving the Reef, thundering down Barron River rapids, or jumping Australia’s only bungy.
Not sure where to begin? Our guide has everything you need to know about the event as well as things to do in Cairns, and the best restaurants, and places to stay.
And if you've got a thirst for more, check out these heart racing places to go mountain biking in and around Cairns.
How to get to Crankworx Cairns
Crankworx Cairns, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef
The action unfolds at Smithfield Mountain Bike Park, located behind James Cook University (JCU), 20-minutes’ drive north of Cairns Airport.
Cairns Airport is served by all the major domestic carriers and offers connectivity from all Australia’s capital cities as well as overseas hubs including Singapore and Auckland.
How about an epic road trip? You could do the 1,700-kilometre road trip from Brisbane in three days, but we like this eight-day version (BYO snacks and playlists).
Access to the event itself is via JCU. Drive and park, catch a bus from the city (check Translink’s website for times) or join the flotilla of bikes—there’s ample bike parking on site.
Spectator guide to Crankworx Cairns
Crankworx Cairns, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef
Crankworx Cairns has open events where you can rub shoulders with your favourite athletes.
The on-track program includes pro competition—slopestyle, downhill, dual slalom, speed and style and pump track—as well as amateur, kids and CWNEXT action (for junior riders).
Mornings and early afternoons are mostly about training sessions, making them the perfect time to scope out the best vantage points before the actions kicks up a gear during the finals.
For the Whip-off, Slopestyle, Speed and Style and Dual Slalom finals, nab a spot at the ‘Finish Bowl’. From the aerial acrobatics of Slopestyle to the head-to-head battle of Dual Slalom, this is the place to be as the world’s best duke it out in front of a screaming crowd.
Crankworx Cairns, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef
The Pump Track is where you’ll see riders battle for chainless bragging rights across a maze of berms and rollers. The finals take place Saturday morning—get there early to grab a front row spot
The Down Hill takes place on the course that hosted the 2017 World Championships. There’s four vantage points—although if last year is anything to go by, you can’t beat Alien Tree and Rock Garden.
There's also lots to see off-track at the Crankworx event village. Grab a selfie with your heroes, take the latest bike for a demo ride or get a bite to eat at one of the many food vendors. For the youngsters, Kidsworx offers demo rides, fun activities and coaching opportunities for kids aged five to 12.
Lastly, make sure to pack your hat, sunscreen, insect spray and water bottle (there are water stations on site) and wear good walking shoes to get around the venue.
What to do in Cairns
Dreamtime Dive and Snorkel, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef
In between catching all the action on the track, there's plenty of beauty to be discovered in and around Cairns. Dive the Great Barrier Reef or zip-line over a crocodile—Cairns is the adventure capital of Queensland after all.
Depart from Cairns Marina with Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel and see the Reef with Indigenous rangers as your guide. Or catch a birds-eye and fish-eye view with Mike Ball Dive’s ‘Fly Dive’ tours which offer endless diving as well as stunning low-altitude scenic flights.
Looking for an adrenalin rush? Free-fall at 220km/h with Skydive NQ or head to Skypark AJ Hackett and jump Australia’s only bungy or walk the plank at 140-metres.
Keep your pulse racing and zip-line over a saltwater croc at Cairns ZOOM and Wildlife Dome (for another croc-tacular experience, head to Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures), or white water raft the mighty Barron River with Raging Thunder Adventures.
Finally, don’t miss Mandingalbay Authentic Indigenous Tours. Take a tour with the Mandingalbay Yidinji people and learn about their ‘bush supermarket and pharmacy’ (the rainforest) and experience their traditional dancing and the sound of the didgeridoo.
Where to stay in Cairns
Crystalbrook Riley, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef
Hit the brakes and call it a night at one of the many accommodation options around Cairns. From backpackers to boutique, there’s something for you (see our Cairns accommodation guide here).
Looking for luxe? Check in to Crystalbrook Riley, a five-star resort that’s serious about relaxation. Treat yourself to a massage at Eléme Day Spa, kick back by the pool or sink into your tub for a bubble bath.
You can also pamper yourself at Pullman Cairns International where you can dine on award-winning pastries and local fresh seafood or simple zen out at Vie Spa.
If you’re looking to stay in the heart of the action, put your bags down at Mantra Trilogy, right on the Esplanade amongst the city’s restaurant and nightlife scene.
Kids coming for the ride? Pedal over to Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut, with cabins and campsites for all budgets. Splash in the pool or hit a hole-in-one at mini golf—you can even bring your doggo!
Where to eat and drink in Cairns
Prawn Star, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef
Worked up an appetite? Ochre Restaurant fuses local produce and Indigenous bush food into creations such as emu wonton and wattlesed pavlova—desert so good it’s worth moving to Cairns for according to Lonely Planet.
Seafood lovers should head to Dundee’s Restaurant on the Waterfront and tackle the seafood tower (think chilled mud crabs, bug tails, grilled scallops and more), or Prawn Star, where you can eat buckets of prawns fresh from the trawler.
Feel on top of the world at Rocco by Crystalbrook. Sip on a Tranquili-Tea (served in a smoking teapot) and choose from a scrumptious Middle Eastern menu as you look out over the Coral Sea.
For a sundowner after a big day out on the Reef, wander to Hemingway’s Brewery Cairns Wharf for a pub-style Angus beef burger and 7th Heaven Tropical Ale.
Still hungry? For a feast of options—including turmeric grilled tiger prawn on the rooftop at Oak and Vine and Tablelands pork belly at Tamarind (the only hatted restaurant in Cairns)—check out our guide to Cairns’ best restaurants and cafes.
Day trips from Cairns
Millaa Millaa Falls, Atherton Tablelands, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef
An hour north you’ll find Port Douglas, the capital of barefoot luxury and laidback vibes. Unwind by laying a towel on the sand at Four Mile Beach, browsing Macrosson Street’s boutiques, or cooling off at nearby Mossman Gorge (20-minutes drive away).
For an island getaway, take the ferry from Cairns across to Fitzroy Island. Snorkel directly from the beach or take a short walk to Nudey Beach, considered one of the best beaches in Australia.
It isn’t all beaches and islands here, though. Head to the Atherton Tablelands, a plateau of rolling green hills dotted with picture-perfect waterfalls (if you can only visit one, head to Millaa Millaa Falls), working dairy farms such as Gallo Dairyland, and even Australia’s oldest coffee plantation.
For more day-trip ideas, including the Daintree (the world’s oldest surviving rainforest), Mission Beach and Palm Cove, check out our Cairns day trip guide.
