Come and ride where it all began

The whole idea of UK trail-centre riding was pioneered at Coed y Brenin, and developments such as the Seven Stanes Project were funded as a result of the successes experienced here. From unwelcome new boys on the block, mountain bikers were finally recognised as valued visitors.

From its comparatively basic beginnings, the centre has developed to match the changing expectations of its large riding community. As bike technology has made more things possible, the park has developed to include suitable obstacles to test the theory! A major refit in 2006 saw a refurbishment and extension of the trail network along with the building of the new state of the art visitor centre with café, showers bike-wash and rental outlet.

About the MTB Trails

Coed-y-Brenin forest is home to an ever increasing way-marked network of fantastic hand built all weather single-track. There are currently 7 different way-marked routes, but for clarity it should be noted that the different routes share some of their single track sections. For example “The Beast” is essentially made up of the component parts of the “MBR” and "Dragon's Back" trails. Together, “Tarw” and “The Beast” cover most of the park (excluding the family route).

A notable challenge at Coed y Brenin, and one common to many similar developments that were built by riders, is there is not much in the way of forgiving trails for intermediate riding. The family trail is essentially road and fire-road (though with some stiff climbs along the way), and from there it is straight to red routes. To add to the challenge, even the red routes contain individual sections rated as black. All this can lead to unhappiness for riders not ready for such a level of challenge. There is a new blue route in the pipeline to plug the gap, but it may be some time before this comes on line.

It is worth noting that, to cut down on waste and littering of the forest, the centre no longer provides free trail maps. A map pack can now be purchased at the centre, or alternatively you can download the trail map cards as pdf documents:

Where do SnowBikers fit into this?

There are a couple of ways we can help you get the most out of your visit to Coed y Brenin. Firstly, by joining one of our MTB skills training sessions, we can help you further develop the core techniques that will help you negotiate the park’s trails with style and panache. Secondly, because we know the park well, we can take you on a guided ride that will suit your current ability, point out the hazards ahead so that you ride into trail sections forewarned and ready, and if required, give you tips on how best to negotiate it.