Description
Hicks Lodge Mountain Bike Trails
Hicks Lodge is a Forestry England trail centre in the National Forest near Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire. There are two graded mountain bike trails (one green, one blue), a green skills park, and a gravel-surfaced family route. The site has a cafe, toilets, and an on-site cycle centre offering bike hire and servicing.
Like this?
The Trails
- Wood Farm Trail (Green, 4.4km/2.75 miles): A beginner-friendly circular route through specially built winding singletrack, a great introduction to off-road cycling for families.
- Shell Brook Trail (Blue, 8.9km/5.5 miles): A longer circular route covering the whole site, with jumps, bumps and berms for intermediate riders building technical skills and fitness. Starts and finishes near the car park, cafe, toilets and cycle centre.
- Pedal and Play (Green, 2km/1.25 miles): A skills park for riders new to mountain biking, split into three zones: the Hub Challenge for cornering and rollers, the Pedal Challenge for berms, and the Mirror Challenge, a bell-topped finish. Wide, flat and built to suit adapted cycles.
Gravel Riding
The Dilworth Woodlands Trail is a gravel-surfaced route through young woodland, with a 2km short loop and a 2.5km long loop (4.5km combined), wide enough for cycles as well as pushchairs and wheelchairs. It's flat and easy-access, starting from the visitor centre, and makes a good warm-up or wind-down alongside the graded trails. Full route details are on the Forestry England site.
Local Organisation
- B-Buddies run the Hicks Lodge Time Trials, an 8-event series on the blue and green routes open to MTB, gravel, CX and e-bikes, meeting outside the Grounds Cafe. See b-buddies.com for dates and entry.
- Forestry England also run a kids' Go Ride club at the site.
Getting Here
- Hicks Lodge car park is signed off Willesley Woodside, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, LE65 2UP. Parking is pay-by-card or via the RingGo app (ANPR enforced), with five accessible bays.
- Public transport links to the site are limited, so driving is the practical option for most visitors.
Share
- If you have ridden the trails at Hicks Lodge then why not share your experiences and write a short review or post some pictures or videos to the listing