It's a Thursday afternoon - and Derby is absolutely thriving, to the point that I struggled to find a carpark close to my first destination to visit.

Derby has grown in leaps and bounds over the last few years - with everyone I spoke to agreeing that the mountain bike trails have changed the town for the better.

The year 2015 changed Derby forever - with the opening of the Blue Derby network.

Initial plans were for 80km of trails. It's so much more than that now.

Businessman Grant Kearney fell in love with Derby four years ago after a visit from Hobart.

He said that when Derby started to become a destination, it was estimated there would be between 3000 and 5000 visitors per year.

He now estimates that the town could see between 30,000 and 50,000 in 2021.

Mr Kearney and his wife currently own The Postmaster's at Derby, an accommodation business seeing an increase in demand.

He's also the driving force behind the development on the "main street" - developing what once was a block of land into a retail development.

He said it's the first commercial development in Derby in more than 100 years, estimating he will have spent approximately $2 million on the property by completion.

With gas and beer taps being wired in, he hopes the building will attract hospitality professionals to Derby to establish a thriving, multi-purpose venue.

He has big visions of a kitchen area, a bar and a lounge - with a beautiful balcony overlooking part of the trails for people to enjoy "a margarita and a meal" when visiting.

"The initial idea was that the town needed retail and long-term accommodation," Mr Kearney said.

"As we built it, we became aware that both locals and visitors were constantly saying that we need more services ... even the local shopkeepers, they can't cope.

"We're hoping that the building won't be competition for others, but that it will mean that our visitors to the village will go away with a better experience ... we're hearing often that places are having to turn people away because they're so busy."

There's also two residential apartments being built underneath - one for he and his wife to move into as soon as it's complete, and the other he hopes to attract a permanent resident to.

"There are so many accommodation places and Airbnb's, but there just isn't somewhere for people to live permanently, and I've seen so much demand," Mr Kearney said.

Nigel Reeves and his family are keen mountain bikers, and had been visiting Derby for years before establishing the Floating Sauna at Lake Derby last year.

The idea for the sauna came to Mr Reeves after a long day of mountain biking.

He admits he's "not getting any younger" and would often wish he had a sauna or steam room to help his muscles recover after a long day on the trails.

After research, he thought of the idea of the floating sauna - and after researching and applying to the council for permission, and developing - he opened in July, calling the business "an accidental runaway success".

"It's pretty unusual to open a tourist experience venture in the middle of pandemic, but it shows it can be done," Mr Reeves said.

"What I'm shocked continuously by is that I thought this would just be an activity that mountain bikers would support - what is actually happening is the opposite, it's more 80 per cent people coming specifically to Derby for the sauna and 20 per cent mountain bikers."

And it's not just Tasmanians making the drive - with people travelling from interstate to visit the picturesque location, burgeoning in popularity online, attracting close to 10,000 followers on Instagram.

"I'm very proud of what I've been able to achieve, but I'm continuously humbled by how people are moved by the experience," Mr Reeves said.

"That connection with nature, to give yourself an hour out of your life to not be connected, but actually just take a moment to explore how your body feels and is reacting to the heat and the sauna, how then your body responds to the cold plunge and the release of endorphins.

"People are leaving on an absolute natural high, and feedback is that they've had the best night's sleep of their lives after a sauna.

"For me, yes it's great to have a successful small business ... but for customers to walk away and independently say on their social media that it was the best thing they did on their holiday, I'm continually humbled to hear that feedback, it blows me away."

Mr Reeves was also instrumental in having a defibrillator installed near the sauna, to be used as needed by people in the area.

He said he saw Derby's future continuing to thrive, with the core of the future being about mountain biking, but saw real opportunities for expansion in the adventure tourism industry, with more activities in the health and wellbeing space, similar and complimentary to the Floating Sauna.

The town's cafe's are a big part of their community.

Walking along the main street, groups are gathered outside waiting for takeaway coffees, ordering quick bites to eat or relaxing after a day on the trails.

It would seem to the passerby that everybody knows everybody - there's always a smile or a wave, and it's clear who the regulars are by how they greet one another.

It's no different for Two Doors Down Cafe manager Lisa Barrett.

It's clear just by speaking with her briefly that the Branxholm resident has a passion for her job and the people she serves.

"We've been very busy considering everything to do with COVID, especially this summer since the borders have opened," she said.

"We get a lot of our clients from Victoria and New South Wales, but a lot of Tassie ones since COVID so that's been really good. It was flat there for a little while, but our Tassie customers helped us through.

"We see everyone here - you get the locals, you get groups and families, there's families that have come here for the last few years that keep coming back and you get to know them which is really lovely."

Living locally to the area, Ms Barrett has seen the area transform over the last few years.

"Not I, but the council putting these trails here has just been incredible and changed it."

Two Doors Down Cafe has a focus on including local suppliers on their menu - with Scottsdale Pork and eggs from Waverley Farm at Mathinna.

"We try and be as local as we possibly can," Ms Barrett explains.

"We're really big on the grab and go type of food - sandwiches, we're doing burritos at the moment and smoothies are really popular, just things where people can refuel and head back out."

As a journalist, it can be hard to get people to talk with you for a story.

And I'll admit - it's still nerve-wracking to me, going up to a stranger and asking if they would be willing to chat.

I've never had such an easy and interesting time as I did in Derby.

At the head of the trails, I went up to a group of friends to see if I could take their photo - and ended up getting to know Brendan Jones, a mountain biking guide with Blue Derby Pods.

He moved to Tasmania from New South Wales, where he worked as an outdoor education teacher, in January.

"I was looking for an investment opportunity, and I'd done a bit of riding down here before and being in the position to buy a property here, and when we got here I thought yeah I could live here, so Katie [Brendan's partner] and I packed up and moved here," Mr Jones said.

"I've lived in small towns and ski towns before and it's very similar to the small, ski town vibe. I love riding bikes, and there's plenty of work being here, so it's been great.

"It is one of the most beautiful places in the world, not just to ride."

I spoke with Tom from Queensland, who was visiting Derby with his wife and two children as part of their school holidays. They said the trip was something they had wanted to do for months, and took their first opportunity.

Being school holidays, Derby was absolutely overflowing with families - one parent told me that caravan parks were full, other families were saying that free camping was a real bonus for them being able to stay.

Josh, a teacher from Hobart "threw a tent on the back of the ute" before picking up two friends and "a case of beer", for a mid-week getaway with friends.

Launceston based teachers Hadyn Goss and Rohan Pooley were also up in Derby enjoying a day of exploring the trails.

"It's so close, we can get away from anything at home and then just come up here, a bit over an hour away, and ride - it's fantastic," Mr Goss said.

"We're just down and back today but we're often down here, we come for a day and shoot back, it's pretty easily accessible.

"There's nothing like it anywhere else."

"For me, I've got a young family and my youngest has just started riding his bike," Mr Pooley added.

"There's plenty of access for anyone, any age group - you see older people riding around, putting us to shame.

"There's so much here, that's why it's so popular."

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