The UK’s premiere trail centre, Coed y Brenin has been serving up a fine selection of trail riding for over 30 years. Central to mountain bike development in the UK and a pioneering model for trail centres across the globe.
Within the borders of the forest park you'll find miles of world-class mountain bike trails with easy to follow waymarked trails, all graded by their technical difficulty and length. You will find all-weather trails covering all riding abilities be it MTB expert, intermediates, families or the absolute novices.
If you are looking to start your journey in mountain biking or just to sample a taste of the sport, Coed y Brenin is the perfect location. You can rent a bike from Beics Brenin or book yourself on a skills course with Pedal MTB to give yourself a good grounding in the basics of bike handling.
You can find further visitor information on our Visitor Centre page or Click & Collect your MTB essentials from our online shop.
Please note - There is no charge to ride the trails, although you will need to pay to park.
Here you will find links to all the trail maps and guides, plus additional helpful tips and information. You will also find an explanation of how the trails are graded so you can select rides that suits your skill and fitness level.
If, after reading the information, you are still unsure of what grade of trail you should tackle, we suggest on arrival that you head to Y Ffowdri (The Foundry) our dedicated bike skills area. Here you will find short, sample sections of trail for every grade, green to black. This should give you a better understanding of each trail grade and help avoid any surprises.
trail grade | suitable for | trail & surface type | gradients & technical trail features (TTFs) | suggested fitness level |
FOREST ROAD | A wide range of cyclists. Most bikes and hybrids. Ability to use maps helpful. Routes may or may not be way marked. | Relatively flat and wide. The trail surface may be loose, uneven or muddy at times. These roads may be used by vehicles and other users, including Horse riders and dog walkers. | Relatively flat and wide. The trail surface may be loose, uneven or muddy at times. These roads may be used by vehicles and other users, including Horse riders and dog walkers. | A good standard of fitness can help. |
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Beginner/novice cyclists. Basic Bike Skills required. Most bikes and hybrids. Some green routes can take trailers. | Relatively flat and wide. The trail surface may be loose, uneven or muddy at times. May include short flowing singletrack style sections. | Climbs and descents are mostly shallow. No challenging features | Suitable for most people in good health. |
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Intermediate cyclist/mountain bikers with basic offroad riding skills. Mountain bikes or hybrids. | As ‘Green’ plus specially constructed single track. Trail surface may include small obstacles of roots and rock. | Most gradients are moderate but may include short steep sections. Includes small technical features. | A good standard of fitness can help. |
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Proficient mountain bikers with good off-road riding skills. Suitable for better quality off-road mountain bikes. | Steeper and tougher, mostly singletrack with technical sections. Expect very variable surface types. | A wide range of climbs and descents of a challenging nature will be present. Expect boardwalks, berms, large rocks, medium steps, drop-offs, cambers, water crossings. | A wide range of climbs and descents of a challenging nature will be present. Expect boardwalks, berms, large rocks, medium steps, drop-offs, cambers, water crossings. |
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Expert mountain bike users, used to physically demanding routes. Quality off-road mountain bikes. | As ‘Red’ but with an expectation of greater challenge and continuous difficulty. Can include any useable trail and may include exposed open hill sections. | Expect large, committing and unavoidable TTFs. Sections will be challenging and variable. May also have ‘downhill’ style sections. | Suitable for very active people used to prolonged effort. |
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Riders aspiring to athlete level of technical ability, incorporates everything from full on downhill riding to big-air jumps | Severe constructed trails and/or natural features. All sections will be challenging. Includes extreme levels of exposure and or risk. Jumping ability obligatory. | Will include a range of small medium and large TTFs, including downhill trails, free ride sections and mandatory jumps | A good standard of fitness, but technical skills more important. |
TRAIL | GRADE | NAME | DISTANCE/TIME | TIPS | DOWNLOAD |
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YR AFON | 10.8km / 1-3 hours | Suitable for novices and less confident riders. Mainly open forest road that contours the hill to take in a view of the waterfalls. Take care to control your speed when descending on forest roads. |
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MINOR TAUR | 12km 0.5-2 hours | If you are already confident on a bike then the MinorTaur offers the perfect introduction to mountain biking. Graded blue the trail offers a reasonably flat and wide (no narrower than around 1.5m). You'll find a little climbing and descending, some fun berms and bumps but no really major climbs or descents. The trail is in 4 loops (3, 5, 9 or 12km) so can be easily shortened to suit rider ability. Great for kids but still great fun for experienced riders the, the MinorTaur is a good place to start your Coed y Brenin adventure. |
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CYFLYM COCH | 11.2km / 1.5-3 hours | Looking for the next step up from the MinorTaur, Cyflym Coch (Fast Red) is our easiest red. The trail increases in challenge as it progresses and includes some fine trail sections like Dreamtime and Uncle Fester. A great trail for those with thewir sights on tougher terrain who are looking for somewhere to progress their skills. |
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TEMTIWR | 8.7km / 0.5-1 hour | A short route with a challenging final descent. Temtiwr is a tougher read that contains black graded TTFs (Technical Trail Features). An undulating travers followed by a long fire road climb, finishing on a fast trio of 'The beginning of the end', 'Glide' and 'Seven Sisters'. Rocky and demanding in places, you'll need to keep your nerve and pick a good line for a smooth ride. |
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DRAGON'S BACK | 31.1km / 3-5 hours | Our longest red, a classic technical cross country mtb trail which had been challenging and delighting riders for years. The route holds a few tough climbs and some long fast descents. The highlight is a top-to-bottom of the Adam's Family descents: Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Lurch and Uncle Fester. |
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MBR | 18.4km / 1.5-3 hours | MBR packs highlights from both the Dragon's Back and Beast trails into 18km of demanding but thoroughly enjoyable trail riding. Highlights include the modernised 'Able' with its rocky fly-offs and a recently updated 'false teeth'. In you want to pack a large ammount of quality, challenging trails into the shortest possible route then MBR is a great choice. |
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TARW DU | 20.2km / 1.5-3 hours | Coed y Brenin's oldest trail yet containing its newest 'must-ride' trail feature, the iconic 'Y Slab' rock slab sections. A Coed y Brenin classic featuring many old favourites. Rocky, retro, twisty and technical in places but still an absolute blast. |
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THE BEAST | 38.2km / 3-5 hours | Coed y Brenin's biggest challenge, it's got the lot, fast open, tight technical, flowing singletrack and bone shaking rocky sections. A real test of nerve and physical ability, The Beast is not for the faint-hearted or easily spooked but for those who are up to the challenge this is a major MTB milestone to tick off the list. Can you face the beast? |
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Click on the trail icons below to visit our individual trail pages where you will find trail maps to download along with further information and advice on each trail.
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For those who don't have their own bike or just want to try something new (we have an extensive fleet of e-bikes), Beics Brenin offers a range of hire options for riding within the forest park trail network.
Beics Brenin stock a wide range of clothing, accessories and trail essentials to help you make the most out of your visit to Coed y Brenin. The Visitor Center café is right next door to the bike hire centre and bike shop and serves a wide range of drinks, snacks and home cooked cakes and meals. There are showers, a bike wash and a 24hr toilets on site and you'll find other activities like walking and running trails and a kids play area. Find out more on our Visitor Centre page.
So what are you waiting for, plan your visit today.
The UK’s premiere trail centre, Coed y Brenin has been serving up a fine selection of trail riding for over 30 years. Central to mountain bike development in the UK and a pioneering model for trail centres across the globe.
Within the borders of the forest park you'll find miles of world-class mountain bike trails with easy to follow waymarked trails, all graded by their technical difficulty and length. You will find all-weather trails covering all riding abilities be it MTB expert, intermediates, families or the absolute novices.
If you are looking to start your journey in mountain biking or just to sample a taste of the sport, Coed y Brenin is the perfect location. You can rent a bike from Beics Brenin or book yourself on a skills course with Pedal MTB to give yourself a good grounding in the basics of bike handling.
You can find further visitor information on our Visitor Centre page or Click & Collect your MTB essentials from our online shop.
Please note - There is no charge to ride the trails, although you will need to pay to park.
Here you will find links to all the trail maps and guides, plus additional helpful tips and information. You will also find an explanation of how the trails are graded so you can select rides that suits your skill and fitness level.
If, after reading the information, you are still unsure of what grade of trail you should tackle, we suggest on arrival that you head to Y Ffowdri (The Foundry) our dedicated bike skills area. Here you will find short, sample sections of trail for every grade, green to black. This should give you a better understanding of each trail grade and help avoid any surprises.
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TRAIL | GRADE | MORE | DIST. | DOWNLOAD |
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YR AFON | 10.8km / 1-3 hours |
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MINOR TAUR | 12km 0.5-2 hours |
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CYFLYM COCH | 11.2km / 1.5-3 hours |
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TEMTIWR | 8.7km / 0.5-1 hour |
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DRAGON'S BACK | 31.1km / 3-5 hours |
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MBR | 18.4km / 1.5-3 hours |
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TARW DU | 20.2km / 1.5-3 hours |
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THE BEAST | 38.2km / 3-5 hours |
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trail grade | suitable for | trail & surface type | gradients & technical trail features (TTFs) | suggested fitness level |
FOREST ROAD | A wide range of cyclists. Most bikes and hybrids. Ability to use maps helpful. Routes may or may not be way marked. | Relatively flat and wide. The trail surface may be loose, uneven or muddy at times. These roads may be used by vehicles and other users, including Horse riders and dog walkers. | Relatively flat and wide. The trail surface may be loose, uneven or muddy at times. These roads may be used by vehicles and other users, including Horse riders and dog walkers. | A good standard of fitness can help. |
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Beginner/novice cyclists. Basic Bike Skills required. Most bikes and hybrids. Some green routes can take trailers. | Relatively flat and wide. The trail surface may be loose, uneven or muddy at times. May include short flowing singletrack style sections. | Climbs and descents are mostly shallow. No challenging features | Suitable for most people in good health. |
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Intermediate cyclist/mountain bikers with basic offroad riding skills. Mountain bikes or hybrids. | As ‘Green’ plus specially constructed single track. Trail surface may include small obstacles of roots and rock. | Most gradients are moderate but may include short steep sections. Includes small technical features. | A good standard of fitness can help. |
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Proficient mountain bikers with good off-road riding skills. Suitable for better quality off-road mountain bikes. | Steeper and tougher, mostly singletrack with technical sections. Expect very variable surface types. | A wide range of climbs and descents of a challenging nature will be present. Expect boardwalks, berms, large rocks, medium steps, drop-offs, cambers, water crossings. | A wide range of climbs and descents of a challenging nature will be present. Expect boardwalks, berms, large rocks, medium steps, drop-offs, cambers, water crossings. |
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Expert mountain bike users, used to physically demanding routes. Quality off-road mountain bikes. | As ‘Red’ but with an expectation of greater challenge and continuous difficulty. Can include any useable trail and may include exposed open hill sections. | Expect large, committing and unavoidable TTFs. Sections will be challenging and variable. May also have ‘downhill’ style sections. | Suitable for very active people used to prolonged effort. |
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Riders aspiring to athlete level of technical ability, incorporates everything from full on downhill riding to big-air jumps | Severe constructed trails and/or natural features. All sections will be challenging. Includes extreme levels of exposure and or risk. Jumping ability obligatory. | Will include a range of small medium and large TTFs, including downhill trails, free ride sections and mandatory jumps | A good standard of fitness, but technical skills more important. |