Ballinastoe Mountain Bike Trails

Ballinastoe is Coillte's National Mountain Bike Centre in the Wicklow Mountains, about 45 minutes from Dublin city centre, with 51km of purpose built singletrack and forest road across blue, red and black graded routes. Bike hire and guided tours run by biking.ie are based at the trailhead.

The Trails

• Blue (5km, around 100m of climbing, 1 to 2 hours): the easiest graded route at Ballinastoe, running Easy Rider, Cool Runnings, House Bound, Flat Liner and Home Run. A good introduction to the network.
• Red (30km, around 750m of climbing, 2 to 4 hours): the largest part of the network, spread across ten red graded trails including Zipper, Pump and Grind, Fancy, Pig Dog, Little One, Expressway, Suas, Double Trouble, Dark Loam and Holts. Difficult throughout, with tight twisty singletrack, fast descents and technical rocky sections.
• Black (16km, around 500m of climbing, 2 to 3 hours): five severe graded trails, Junkers, Ravens, Peaty, Glitch and Steps, with prolonged steep and narrow sections for experienced riders only.

Ballinastoe's trails total 51km across the three grades. Trails are subject to periodic closures for forestry operations and storm damage repair. Always check the Coillte Ballinastoe page for current alerts before travelling.

Guides, Shuttles and Hire

There's no van shuttle or lift at Ballinastoe: riders climb the forest roads under their own steam. Biking.ie has its hire base at the trailhead, open at weekends, with guided rides and coaching bookable too, and it also runs bike hire and guided tours at Ticknock in the Dublin Mountains.

• Biking.ie: mountain bike hire, guided tours such as the Flow Rider and Trail Discovery rides (from €45), and coaching from a beginner Kick Starter course to private one to one sessions (from €60 to €115), with its hire base at the Ballinastoe trailhead, open at weekends.

Prices are correct as of September 2026 but subject to change, so check current rates with the operator.

About 20km south near Glenealy, Carrick Mountain offers a rockier, more informal network for riders wanting a change of pace on the same trip.

Getting There from the UK

Ferries run from Holyhead or Liverpool to Dublin Port, about 40km and well under an hour's drive from the trailhead, or from Fishguard or Pembroke to Rosslare Europort, further south and around an hour and three quarters away. From Cairnryan to Belfast, then driving south, allow the best part of three hours.

By air, Dublin Airport is the obvious choice, around an hour's drive from the trailhead. Ireland drives on the left and uses the euro, and hire cars are available at the airport and in Dublin city.

Getting Here

The main car park is at Ballinastoe Wood, off the R759 as it climbs from Roundwood towards Sally Gap. Turn off at the signed Coillte forestry road marked "Ballinastoe Trail Centre". Parking is free, with around 80 spaces, and is open 365 days a year. The R759 climbs on past Lough Tay, the lake used as a filming backdrop for Braveheart, Excalibur and King Arthur.

Without a car, the St Kevin's Glendalough bus stops at Roundwood Crossroads, about 2km from the trailhead.

Facilities

• Bike hire, including hardtail, full suspension and electric bikes
• Bike wash and a small bike shop
• Guided mountain bike, road and gravel tours from the trailhead, run by biking.ie

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