Family-friendly forest bike rides
Family-friendly forest bike rides
The forest is a great place to experience nature together with your family. It offers the chance to get away from the crowds and the hustle and bustle of modern life and enjoy some time with fresh air and beautiful surroundings.
Coed y Brenin Forest Park is known for its mountain bike trails but did you know its also the perfect place to enjoy a family cycle adventure? This year, the centre added over 100km of new gravel/adventure routes to its trail map, the easier of these don’t require a dedicated mountain bike to ride, and can be tackled on most bikes with a suitable set of tyres. If you plan to take on some of the routes that are a little hillier you may want to make sure you have low enough gearing but there are flatter routes that do not include anything more than very short sections of steeper grade where bikes can easily be walked. The trail surface on these routes is more like that found on many cycle routes or canal towpaths and although may be a little loose with the occasional pothole in places, is fine to be ridden on a hybrid bike with suitable tyres.
Here are 4 great trails to get started on. Two that are all forest track, one a very easy introduction to mountain biking and another that is still short but offers a bit more of a challenge.
Coblynnau
This trail offers a nice easy ride with a great opportunity for a picnic stop at the furthest point. It’s probably the easiest marked route at Coed y Brenin, a pleasant roll down the valley with a bit of a climb on the return. The ride is a straight out and back to Pont Ty’n y-groes where there are toilets and a picnic area available. Perfect for a family outing with a stop halfway.
Yr Afon
11km on easy & wide forest tracks, this trail offers a pleasant riverside ride to the convergence of the rivers Afon Gain and Afon Mawddach in a spectacular double waterfall. While this is an easy ride, there are a couple of sections where the trial is slightly rougher and there are a few shorter sections of steeper climbing.
With good tree cover on most of the route this ride can actually be a great choice for those damp days when the shelter of the forest can offer a more pleasant (and slightly less wet) ride, with the added bonus of seeing the waterfalls in good flow.
MinorTaur
If you are looking for a little more challenge, the MinorTaur trail offers possibly one of the best introductions to mountain biking that is available in the UK today. The trail has been a little upgraded and extended in recent years to offer even more fun. While classed as a blue-grade MTB trail, this is certainly on the easier end of your average blue grade trail. You can expect some short climbs and descents, banked corners and a trail surface that is a little loose in places but the surface is good and flat and no narrower than around 1.5m.
The trail offers a safe and enjoyable introduction to mountain biking and can even be broken down into shorter loops for younger or less fit riders if the full 11km is too much.
Olwyn Dan
This is only a 10km ride but includes a significant climb so be prepared to do some work. For those up to the challenge will be rewarded with some spectacular views (on a fine day) and a pleasant downhill return to the visitor centre. The trail begins by descending alongside the river but soon veers off to a long forest-road climb that is steady with a few steeper sections.
The route will take you high up above the valley floor and returns along the old Sarn Helen Roman road with views of Rhinog mountains in the distance.
Want to learn more about what is on offer at Coed y Brenin Forest Park, visit our information pages for mountain bike trails and gravel bike trails to access all route maps and guides that will help you plan your visit. You'll find more about the visitor centre, cafe, parking along with information and guides to Coed y Brenin's walking and running trails on our visitor centre information page.
And if you need to hire a bike for your visit, Beics Brenin have a large hire fleet with everything from kids first pedal bikes to the latest power assisted e-bikes (must be over 14yrs to ride) available to book online via our website >> HIRE INFORMATION BOOK NOW>>
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