Best MTB Trails in the Forest of Dean, by Level

The waymarked mountain bike trails in this guide are all at the Forest of Dean Cycle Centre at Cannop, and there's something there for every level. The best trail is the one that matches how you ride today. This is how I'd pick, from thirty years of living here and riding it most weeks.

Which Forest of Dean trail suits your level?

Your level	Ride this	Grade	Length
Families and first-timers	Green trails and the Colliers family trail	Green / family	Varies
New to trails but happy on a bike	Verderers	Blue	11.3 km (7 miles)
Confident on the blue	Adit	Red	4.5 km (2.8 miles)
Ready for a longer red	Freeminers	Red	11.5 km (7.1 miles)
Confident trail rider trying downhill	Countdown, Launchpad	Blue downhill	0.5 to 1.5 km each
Experienced downhill rider	Ski Run, GBU, Cougar	Double black	0.5 to 1.5 km each

Cross-country lengths are Forestry England's figures. Other sites quote different loop lengths for Freeminers. The 0.5 to 1.5 km downhill figure is Visit Dean Wye's range across all the tracks, so individual tracks vary within it.

Best trails for beginners and families

Forestry England describes the green trails as "perfect for families and first-timers, with a gentle route". The centre also has the Colliers family trail, a pump track and skills areas.

With kids or family, I'd ride the Colliers Trail (the old Family Cycle Trail). If you're a beginner on your own or with mates, stick to the Cycle Centre and ride the blue, the Verderers. There's no rush to go further.

The trails are shared with walkers and horse riders, and Forestry England asks you to respect others using the forest. On the family trails especially, slow right down, say hello and give way.

For a nervous rider's first day, step by step, read the Forest of Dean for beginners.

Verderers: the blue trail most people come for

The Verderers Trail is the main intermediate cross-country loop: 11.3 km (7 miles) of climbs and descents with moderate gradients, plus tree roots, rock steps, jumps and berms. It finishes on a descent called the Dragon's Tail, which Forestry England calls "a fast, flowing finish that will leave you coming back for more". It does.

This is the trail I point beginners at. Ride it once to learn where things are, then ride it again and it starts to flow. Don't be in a hurry to move on.

When it's wet, the Cycle Centre is the safe bet. It always runs pretty well, because the trails are stone and man-made and give you grip.

Adit and Freeminers: the red trails

When the blue feels easy, the reds are next.

Adit is 4.5 km (2.8 miles) and red. Forestry England bills it as the next challenge after mastering the Verderers: "a tight and technical 500m+ descent". You join it from post 61 on the Verderers or Freeminers, or ride it as a loop on its own.

Freeminers is the longer red at 11.5 km (7.1 miles) of technical singletrack. Expect a mixture of steep climbs, descents and avoidable features, with larger jumps, berms and rollable features at controlled speed.

The downhill tracks at Cannop

There are 14 short, fast downhill trails spread across the hillside above the Cycle Centre. Visit Dean Wye puts them at around 0.5 to 1.5 km each and lists them by grade:

Grade	Tracks
Blue	Countdown, Launchpad
Red	Flatlands, Twisted Sister
Black	Sheepskull, Y2K, Endo, Mr Rooty, Corkscrew, Elephant Man, Dodger
Double black	Ski Run, Cougar, GBU

Launchpad is worth a mention: Visit Dean Wye calls it "the UK's first gravity trail built to be ridden without pedal power". Downhill isn't where a beginner starts, though. Get comfortable on the reds first.

Forestry England highly recommends full-face helmets and body armour on all of these. Wear them.

My honest take: if you ride BikePark Wales, Morzine or the other big bike parks, you'll find Cannop fairly easy by bike park standards. It's still really fun. My picks are the classic Ski Run and GBU, or Twisted Sister if you fancy something easier. They run pretty fast, they're well maintained, and they're great for intermediate and advanced riders. Ski Run and GBU are still double black, so if you're not a regular downhiller, respect the grade.

Getting back to the top:

• Push up. The push-up track takes about 10 to 15 minutes, FoDMTB says, and plenty of riders happily push all day.
• Uplift. FlyUp Downhill runs the only official uplift at Cannop, FoDMTB notes. FlyUp's site gives uplift hours of 10am to 4pm. Days and prices are in FlyUp's booking system. Book ahead, especially at weekends.
• E-bike. Plenty of people ride e-bikes on the downhill runs and pedal back up, as FoDMTB puts it, using the push-up track like everyone else. I've timed it: in turbo on a modern e-bike, about 45 seconds to the first stage and about another minute to the top.

There's about 110 m of drop, and a perfect day is about 12 runs. The downhill and uplift guide has the rest.

Mountain biking away from the Cycle Centre

If you're intermediate or above, the biggest mistake is never leaving the Cycle Centre. The Forest is at its best out there.

Forestry England asks cyclists to use stone-surfaced forest roads, formal waymarked cycle trails and bridleways, and says creating your own trails or features is illegal. Over the border in Wales, Natural Resources Wales lets you cycle on any forest road in the woodlands it manages.

Beyond that, there's the natural riding locals know: Mallards Pike, Enduro Hill (the hillside around Elephant Man), Barnhill (logged, but it'll be back in no time), Fetter Hill with the classic Dowie's trails (four lovely easy runs everyone can do), Bluebells down into Parkend, the Forestry England woods along the Parkend to Lydney road, Staunton woods, and down into Monmouth and the Wye Valley, which has amazing off-piste trails. We don't have direct pins, for obvious reasons.

In the wet, it matters where you go. Mallards Pike always runs well in the wet: it's loam cut down to the stone, though heavy rain ruts it up pretty badly. Fetter Hill is good all year round, with roost spray and loam flying about. Staunton in the wet is lethal: it's clay-based and turns to ice. On the off-piste stuff, watch for sniper roots, the tree roots that catch you out, more towards Barnhill Quarry.

If you'd rather go with someone who knows the area, book a guide or a coaching session. WyeMTB, based in Monmouth, delivers British Cycling coaching for riders of all abilities. There's more on Mallards Pike in its own guide, and my one-day loop, the Tour de FoD, is in the local's guide to mountain biking in the Forest of Dean.

Before you ride: parking, closures and late nights

Parking. The Cycle Centre car park gets very busy at weekends. It's £6 up to 2 hours, £8 up to 4 hours, £10 all day, or £3.50 if you arrive after 5pm from March to October (checked September 2026). You can park free in lay-bys as long as you don't block the gates, but please don't park on the road or the verges. The local's guide has more on parking.

Closures. Harvesting and forestry work close trails from time to time. Check Forestry England's current trail status before you set off, starting from its Cycle Centre page.

Late nights. Forestry England says the centre is open every Thursday until 9pm for Late Night Thursdays with Pedalabikeaway. Closing times on other days change with the season, so check before you go.

Conditions. For how the trails are riding today, Plus1 has trail reports from riders who were just out, and they last 48 hours. It's a new app, so it's only as good as the riders on it.

For everything else about the centre itself, from coffee to facilities, read the Forest of Dean Cycle Centre guide.