Peak District Mountain Bike Trails

Peak District Mountain Bike Trails

The Peak District Mountain Bike Trails are in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, England, the UK's first National Park. This is a natural trail network, not a waymarked one: rocky, steep, often muddy Public Rights of Way rather than graded singletrack, headlined by four classic descents, Jacob's Ladder, Doctor's Gate, Cut Gate Path and Stanage Steps, plus a web of rolling White Peak riding around Eyam and Bakewell. The area splits into two distinct landscapes: the technical gritstone of the Dark Peak to the north, and the rolling limestone hills and dales of the White Peak to the south. There is no waymarking or grading here, so download a route or use GPS navigation before you set off. The wider National Park also holds some of the best gravel riding in England, on the old railway lines of the High Peak and Tissington Trails.

The Trails

Peak District MTB (PDMTB) is the local advocacy group working to open up more of the National Park's rights of way to riders. Their 22% Campaign calls for a minimum of 22% of the Park's paths to be legally open to cyclists, roughly matching the national average, since currently only around 11 to 12% of routes here are bridleways or byways open to bikes. Follow their dig days and access updates on their news page and on Instagram.

PDMTB volunteers also maintain trails on the ground. Their most notable project is Elmin Pits, a permissive bridleway near Ladybower Reservoir opened in 2020 with Severn Trent Water and Peak District National Park rangers, and still actively dug and maintained by the group today.

Doctor's Gate and Cut Gate Path

Doctor's Gate is a historic Roman packhorse route running north from Old Glossop over Bleaklow towards the Dark Peak. Cut Gate Path climbs out of the Derwent Valley towards Bleaklow and Howden Moors, a big, remote ride with a fast, rocky descent back down. Both are serious natural trails: steep, exposed and easy to underestimate in bad weather.

Stanage

Stanage Edge is one of the most photographed spots in the Peak District, and the Stanage Steps descent below it is one of English mountain biking's most famous, and feared, technical challenges: a long staircase of gritstone flags dropping steeply off the edge. Not for beginners, and best avoided when the rock is wet.

Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's Ladder climbs out of Edale towards Kinder Scout and Edale Cross, with a well known technical descent back down, favoured by riders looking for a short, sharp natural test close to the village.

Eyam and Bakewell

The White Peak around Eyam and Bakewell offers gentler, rolling limestone riding on a network of bridleways and dales, a good contrast to the harder gritstone lines further north. See Peak District MTB's route pages for current route ideas in this area.

Gravel Riding

The Peak District's former railway lines make for some of the best gravel and family riding in England. The High Peak Trail runs around 17 miles between Cromford and Buxton, and the Tissington Trail runs about 13 miles between Parsley Hay and Ashbourne, both on smooth, well surfaced, mostly traffic free old trackbed. The Monsal Trail links in from Bakewell. All three connect near Parsley Hay, where the Peak District National Park Authority runs a bike hire centre, with a second hire centre at Mapleton Lane near Ashbourne. Around the Upper Derwent reservoirs, a mostly flat gravel and tarmac loop of 10 to 17 miles, depending how much of Ladybower you add in, circles Derwent and Howden, starting from Fairholmes.

Getting Here

Fairholmes Car Park, Bamford, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S33 0AQ, on the A57 between Sheffield and Glossop, is a good base for the Upper Derwent Valley and Cut Gate. Derwent Bike Hire operates from here, alongside a refreshment kiosk and toilets.

Other useful starting points include Edale for Jacob's Ladder and Kinder, Hope for Cut Gate and the Hope Valley trails, and Hathersage for Stanage. Bike shops 18 Bikes and Bike Garage are both based in the Hope Valley. Bike hire is also available from Monsal Trail Cycle Hire near Bakewell for gravel and family riding.

Useful Sites and Guides

• Peak District MTB, the local trail advocacy group and best source for current access news, dig days and route ideas.
• Monkeyspoon, a long running independent guide to Peak District MTB tracks and routes.
• Pedal North, GPX route downloads for the Dark Peak.
• Vertebrate Publishing's Peak District mountain biking guidebooks.

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