Mountain Biking in the Forest of Dean: A Local's Guide

I've lived in the Forest of Dean for thirty years and I ride it most weeks, on an e-bike since 2018. When mates visit and ask where to start, this is what I tell them.

The Forest has two sides. There's the Forest of Dean Cycle Centre at Cannop, with waymarked trails for every level and a hillside of downhill tracks. Then there's the rest of the Forest: forest roads, bridleways and the natural riding locals love. A lot of visitors only ever see the first. If you can ride a blue trail confidently, you're missing half of it.

Is the Forest of Dean good for mountain biking?

Yes, and it works for almost everyone. The Cycle Centre has a family trail, green, blue and red cross-country trails and 14 more advanced downhill trails. Visit Dean Wye puts the downhill lines at around 0.5 to 1.5 km each, so they're short, fast and easy to lap.

That means a family with young kids, a nervous first-timer, a trail rider and a downhiller can all turn up at the same car park and have a good day. Mixed groups work here too. When I bought my first e-bike in 2018 there weren't many of us, and the riders who had them gravitated towards each other: all ages, all backgrounds, all abilities. We'd meet on a Saturday morning or a Thursday evening, coach each other and have great banter. A perfect mental health reset after a busy week at work.

For me, the best of it is what's around the trail centre. The riding changes from loam to roots to stone depending on where you are, and it changes again with the weather. I'll come to where to go below. For a trail-by-trail breakdown with grades and lengths, read the best mountain bike trails in the Forest of Dean.

Forest of Dean Cycle Centre: trails and grades

This is where most people start. If you're new to mountain biking, it's where you should stay for now.

The cross-country trails go up in steps:

Trail	Grade	Who it's for
Colliers Trail (the old Family Cycle Trail)	Family	Kids and families
Green trail	Green	First-timers
Verderers Trail	Blue	Beginners who want a proper mountain bike trail
The red trails	Red	Confident riders ready for more technical riding

The Colliers Trail is the one to ride with kids or family. Forestry England calls it family-friendly, and it links across to Mallards Pike, so it's a nice way to see more of the surrounding forest with the kids.

The Verderers is the blue, and it's the trail I point beginners at. Ride it, ride it again, and don't feel you have to move on quickly. When you want to know how the reds compare and whether you're ready, see the Forest of Dean for beginners and the trails guide.

At the Cycle Centre, Forestry England asks you to ride only on the waymarked cycle trails or on hard-stone forest roads. The trails are shared, so expect walkers, dogs and the odd horse. Slow down, say hello, give them room.

The Cycle Centre also serves coffee and pints, and both are great. There's a full guide to the Forest of Dean Cycle Centre at Cannop if you're planning a day there.

Downhill and the uplift at the Forest of Dean

The downhill tracks run down the hillside above the Cycle Centre. Forestry England grades them from blue up to double black, and it describes double black as extreme: "very fast and steep descents". It highly recommends full-face helmets and body armour. Take that seriously.

There are three ways to the top:

• Push up. Forestry England says you can follow the push-up track to the top of the hill. FoDMTB reckons it takes about 10 to 15 minutes, and plenty of riders happily push all day.
• Take the uplift. Forestry England's partner FlyUp runs a minibus uplift from the Cycle Centre to the top of the trails. FlyUp's site gives uplift hours of 10am to 4pm, and says it may finish a bit earlier in winter because of the light. Current days and prices are in FlyUp's booking system. Book ahead, especially at weekends.
• Pedal an e-bike. More and more riders self-shuttle on e-bikes, and it's normal here. FoDMTB puts it well: if you're pedalling up, use the push-up track, same as everyone else. I've timed it. On a modern e-bike in turbo it's about 45 seconds to the first stage, then about another minute to the top.

Now the honest bit. If you ride BikePark Wales, Morzine or the other big bike parks, the Cannop tracks will feel fairly easy by bike park standards. They're 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. Forestry England grades Ski Run and GBU double black and Twisted Sister red, so if you're not a regular downhiller, respect the grade.

Which lines to start on, how the uplift works on the day and what kit to bring are all in the downhill and uplift guide.

Parking at the Forest of Dean: prices and free spots

The main car parks are Forestry England's, and they charge. Prices checked September 2026:

Car park	Charges
Forest of Dean Cycle Centre	£6 up to 2 hours, £8 up to 4 hours, £10 all day, £3.50 if you arrive after 5pm (March to October only)
Mallards Pike	£2.50 early bird (exit before 10.30am), £4 up to 2 hours, £6 up to 4 hours, £8 all day

If you ride here a lot, Forestry England's Forest of Dean membership is £55 for a year and includes free parking at Beechenhurst, the Cycle Centre, Mallards Pike, Symonds Yat Rock, Wenchford and Cannop Ponds. The Cycle Centre page says a membership covers the whole household. There's a national membership too, at £96.

The Cycle Centre car park can fill up on a sunny weekend, so get there early or have a plan B.

Here's the thing, though. I've lived in the Forest for thirty years and I've never paid for parking. You can park for free if you use the lay-bys, as long as you don't block the gates.

Please don't park on the road. No parking on the main roads, and none on the verges. Use the lay-bys instead.

Where can you ride beyond the Cycle Centre?

This is the big one. The biggest mistake I see from visiting riders who are intermediate or above is staying in the Cycle Centre all day. Beginners should stick there. Everyone else should get out and explore.

First, the rules. Forestry England asks cyclists in the Forest of Dean to use stone-surfaced forest roads, formal waymarked cycle trails and bridleways, and it's clear that creating your own trails or features is illegal. Don't ride footpaths. Over the border in Wales, Natural Resources Wales says you can cycle on any forest road in the woodlands it manages. Its trails are waymarked from start to finish and normally start from a car park, and you may need permission if you're organising an event on its land.

Then there's the natural riding the Forest is known for locally. These are the areas I'd tell a mate about:

• Mallards Pike. Head up the main fire road behind the lake to about eight natural trails for medium to advanced riders: rocks, drops and roots. It has its own guide: mountain biking at Mallards Pike.
• Enduro Hill. That's what locals call the hillside around the Elephant Man downhill. We don't have direct pins, for obvious reasons.
• Barnhill. It's been logged, but the trails will be back in no time at all.
• Fetter Hill. Amazing trails. The classic Dowie's trails are four lovely easy runs everyone can do.
• Bluebells, down into Parkend.
• The Forestry England woods along the Parkend to Lydney road. Locals will know what I mean.
• Staunton woods. Save it for the dry (more on that below).
• Monmouth and the Wye Valley. Amazing off-piste trails.

If you'd rather not work it all out on your own, book a guided ride or a coaching session. WyeMTB is a coaching and guiding business based in Monmouth, and it delivers British Cycling coaching for riders of all abilities. Or just go out and explore.

The Tour de FoD: a first day out

When a mate visits for one day, this is what I give them. It's like the Tour de France, but around the Forest:

1. Park in Pillowell for free. Keep off the main road and the verges, and don't block gates.
2. Start in the Forestry England woods along the Parkend to Lydney road.
3. Head to Mallards Pike.
4. Drop over to the Cycle Centre for a coffee. Do some downhill runs, and do some Enduro Hill.
5. Over to Barnhill.
6. Across the next valley into Fetter Hill, and ride the classic Dowie's trails.
7. Bluebells down into Parkend for another coffee, or a bit of sugar.
8. The scenic route back through the woods to Pillowell.

It's about 30 miles once you add the downhill runs and the trails in between, with loads of different types of riding. A beautiful day, and a good introduction to the Forest.

Where to ride in the Forest of Dean when it's wet

What's under your tyres changes a lot across the Forest, and in the wet it decides your day.

• The Cycle Centre always runs pretty well. The trails are stone and man-made, and they give you grip in the wet. If in doubt, ride there.
• Mallards Pike always runs well in the wet. It's loam-based and has been cut down to the stone. The catch is that it's heavily rutted, and heavy rain ruts it up pretty badly.
• Fetter Hill is good all year round, wet included. Good roost spray, and loam flying about.
• Staunton in the wet is lethal. It's clay-based and it turns to ice. Save it for a dry spell.

On the natural stuff, watch for sniper roots: tree roots that catch you out when you least expect it. There's some loam and some sniper roots dotted around the off-piste riding, more towards Barnhill Quarry, although that has been logged now.

Coffee, pints and where riders meet

Depends what you're after.

• The Cycle Centre serves coffee and pints, and both are great.
• Mallards Pike does good coffee for a mid-ride stop.
• The Fountain in Parkend is amazing, a proper local. With free parking around the village, it links nicely as a start and end point.

If you're meeting people, these are the spots I use. At Mallards Pike, on the Mallards road where the cattle grid used to be: it's a great meeting spot, and you can see it from the main road. The Barnhill Quarry lay-by. Or just the Cycle Centre.

Finding people to meet is the harder part, and it's why I started Plus1: post a ride and riders near you can tap to join, see who's out riding right now, or read trail reports from riders who were just out. It's new and it's free, and it only works when riders are on it, so bring your mates. For every other way to find people, including the ones that have nothing to do with an app, read Forest of Dean group rides.

Are the trails open? Checks before you go

A few things worth doing before you load the car:

• Check trail status. FoDMTB notes that trails or sections sometimes close for maintenance and development work, and this is a working forest. Check Forestry England's current trail status before you set off (start from its Cycle Centre page), and don't assume a trail is open because it was last time.
• Book the uplift if you're doing downhill, and do it early for a weekend.
• Bring the right kit for downhill. Forestry England highly recommends full-face helmets and body armour on those tracks.
• Know your level. Beginners, stay on the waymarked trails at the Cycle Centre. Intermediate and above, get out and explore, within the rules.
• Be kind. The Forest is shared with walkers, dogs and horses. Slow down, give way, and leave it as you found it.

If this is your first visit, the natural next read is the best mountain bike trails in the Forest of Dean, which goes through the waymarked trails by level.