During your next trip to Melbourne, Australia, consider a mountain bike ride. While staying active during your vacation, you will be able to experience some of Australia's breathtaking scenery first hand. Here are three of the best mountain biking trails near Melbourne.

1) Yarra Trails Mountain Bike Trail
The Yarra Trails is a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists that runs through Melbourne's north eastern suburbs along the Yarra River. This easy to
moderate single track includes a few formed paths. Beginners will be happy to stick to the main paths while more experienced riders can branch out and find the more challenging tracks. The only thing riders need to beware of is mud in lower areas near the river.

2) Lysterfield Mountain Bike Trail
This moderate single track has a main loop with a number of tracks running off of it. The car park for this trail is located at the bottom end of the Commonwealth Games Course. All bikers will enjoy the scenic views from the top of Listerfield Hill. You can start on the trail anywhere within Ferntree Gully. Riders will be able to enjoy the single track flow without too much up and down through the hills.

3) Forrest Mountain Bike Trail
Yarra and Lysterfield are the most prominent bike trails in close proximity to Melbourne with the next closest trail in Forrest, 2 hours southwest of Melbourne. Right near Otway National Park, Forrest is considered one of the best bike trail networks in Australia with a long, flowing single track with technical and challenging obstacles with some of the best athletes on bicycles Melbourne has seen gracing the hills. The trails are spread throughout four main areas with well-marked maps and signs. With over 60K of trails, many bikers will want to take at least two days to fully cover Forrest.