Loading news…
Glentress Mountain Bike Trails
Avg 4.69
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup
Number of Reviews (88)

*You can claim this trail if you are the trail owner

  • Information:
  • Type: Purpose Built Centre
  • Grades: Green,Blue,Red,Black,Orange,Accesible
  • Riding: Cross Country,Skills Area
  • Facilities: Car Park,Toilets,Visitors Centre,Cafe,Bike Wash,Bike Hire,Bike Shop,Showers,Uplift
  • Distance(s): Under 5km, 5-10km, 11-20km, 21- 30km
  • Country: Scotland
  • County: Borders
  • Website: Glentress
  • Facebook:
  • Instagram:
  • Twitter:

Trail Network & Rider Segments

Trail network status from Trailforks and recent rider segments from Strava (see full mapped routes and details in the Tracks tab).

Trail Status

status via Trailforks.com

Tracks Nearby

Not loaded yetOpen full view to load
Powered by Strava

Description

Glentress mountain bike trail center is part of the 7stanes MTB network in the Scottish Borders. It consists of black, red, blue, and green trails as well an area of Green, Blue, Red and Black 'taster trails'.

Like this?

Skills Loop

  • The skills loop at Glentress lets you practice and develop your skills before heading out onto the trails. There are timber and rock features and obstacles. It has separate sections graded green, blue and red to aid skill progression across all technical levels. 

Skills Area

  • mini MTB zone
  • roller zone
  • cornering zone
  • drop and tech zones

Green routes

  • The Glentress green trails range from 3.5 to 4.5km in length. they cater for family and beginners. One starts from the Buzzards Nest car park and the other from the Glentress Peel visitors centre. 

Blue route 

  • The blue route at Glentress is made up of an 8km lower (recommended) and an 8km upper loop. You can do them separately or tie them together for the full 16km! Some of the best swooping and flowing sections are Electric Blue, Betty Blue, Blue Velvet and the latest Berm Baby Berm.

Red route

  • The 18km red trail at Glentress is the most popular of all the trails here. Some of the sections of note are Pennels Vennel which is a quick blast of single track, Spooky Wood with kickers, sweeping berms followed by small jumps and flowing tabletops, Super G section with berm after berm and jump after jump, Hit Squad section the most rooty, twisty, technical section of the trail, Pie Run and Magic Mushroom. Look out for the 298-meter red MTB descent called Mild Peril. Like all the trails at Glentress, it is constantly being developed and having sections added. 

Black Trail

  • The 29km black is graded black/severe. This is a challenging, long, and technical epic ride, taking in some of the remoter parts of Glentress Forest, and should only be attempted by experienced riders with expert technical skills.

Glentress Masterplan Trails

  • The Glentress Masterplan trails (Green, Blue, Red and Black Network trails) opened in October 2023 and link into the existing trail network and offer new descents ending just north of the Peel Tower. They can also be sessioned easily by a number of methods from joining the main trail network to using forest roads. The trails pass under the Multi-User Path and constitute 16km of new build.
  • Apple Peel | Green:  The new green graded trail runs along to the Peel building and is ideal for a gentle cruise or anyone starting out in mountain biking.
  • Turn and Burn | Blue: The new blue trail runs very near the Eshiels Burn, and features a considerable number of turns. This one is all about fun with big berms and easy jumps.
  • Smells Like Tweed Spirit | Red: Building on the pioneering Spooky Wood style with a mix of features.
  • Castle Black | Black: Most of our new trails run down the west side of Castle Hill. The new black trail has large jumps and fast for expert riders

Glentress Masterplan Taster Trails

  • Green, Blue, Red and Black Taster trails: These short stand-alone loops begin and end to the south of the Peel Tower and provide a way to sample each grade before committing to a network trail. The shared climb gradually change in difficulty from Green to Black grade as the climb goes on, before splitting at various points to separate Green, Blue, Red, and Black descents.
  • These trails do not link into the main trail network, but can be reached via a Multi-User Path, and can be sessioned easily. These trails also pass under the Multi-User Path.
  • Multi-user Trail: 2.2km Accessible path around Glentress. The Multi-user Trail connects the Glentress Gateway to the café, bike shop, skills area, taster trails and the start of all walking and mountain biking routes. Expect wide, firm gravel path with gentle slopes and various resting points. One section of minor road crossing with a fairly steep side slope. Moderate slope for access between Gateway and café/bike shop. Suitable for Adaptive bikes.

Off-Piste

    • Like most trail centres in the UK as riders skills progress and communities mature there is a network of unsanctioned off-piste trails in the region. These are unofficial. Ride at your own risk.

Volunteer Community

Other Stuff

    • Buzzard's Nest Freeride Bike Park closed permanently in Spring 2023 as part of the Glentress Masterplan but 16km of new trails were built as part of the Masterplan project which opened in October 2023 and built by On Track.

Share

    • If you have ridden any of the mountain bike trails at Glentress then please share your experience with us and the community by posting pictures, videos, and reviews to the listing.
:
Avg 5.00
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

One of the best places to ride!

Visited Mabie, Dalbeattie, Kirroughtree, Ae and Glentress with my husband in May. Liked Glentress the most we have to both admit and been there twice, not only once as planned at the beginning of holiday. The trail has everything we've been looking for: drops, jumps and nice berms and it flows so well. Had a big grin on our faces at the end of a day and we enjoyed every second of riding. Good selection of trails for riders of all abilities. Nice views. Excellent facilities and friendly staff. There is a cafe onsite, toilets, showers, changing rooms and a bike shop. Think £5 for the car park is a fair price for a day of fun, bike wash just next to the car park. Glentress is a great place to ride, we'd love to go back next year.

What do you like?

Fab trails, great facilities! If you are into mountain biking this is the place to for you.

What could be improved?

4h of driving from the place where I live.

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

17/07/2014 - over 11 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

2
^
paul higgins:
Avg 5.00
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

glentrees

well worth the travel, great day out

What do you like?

great trails, suitable for all from young kids to big kids :), has something for everyone and great café to chill after a day on the hill

What could be improved?

1 1/2 hours away from my house

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

28/12/2013 - about 12 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

0
^
mtb_heroine:
Avg 5.00
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Simply the Best

You'd be mad to miss this gem of a place!

What do you like?

Glentress offers everything to all riders - from beginner to expert. This was the second trail centre I ever rode at two springs ago and the flowing blue starting with berm baby berm got me hooked on the sport. Now more experienced I love the enduro stages on the black, the red which switches from swoopy & jumpy on spooky wood, through to rutted and steep further down the trail, and of course I still love the blue! Bike hire is excellent - the genesis core fleet is superb and great value for money. I never experienced the old cafe but I like the new peel centre. Simply the best - should be trail of the year hands down.

What could be improved?

None - pick your times to hit the trails in summer - after 2pm and you'll get a much quieter spooky wood, you might be queing otherwise!

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

18/12/2013 - about 12 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

0
^
Bigmick:
Avg 4.67
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Glentress

Spent a long weekend riding in the Tweed valley and paid two visits to Glentress. This trail centre has everything you could wish for,a great variety of trails and awesome scenery. We rode most of the trails and all had us grinning our silly heads off. The way the trails are laid out its possible to mix and match various routes, and don't shy away from the blue routes as these were as much fun as some of the harder graded routes. Can't wait to go back.

What do you like?

Everything you could want from a trail centre

What could be improved?

None I can think of.

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

13/12/2013 - about 12 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

0
^
Gazb74:
Avg 5.00
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Everything you would need here. Get yourselves down.

What do you like?

Great trails. Loads of fun to be had here. Great options for kids too. Facilities are excellent.

What could be improved?

None

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

16/11/2013 - about 12 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

0
^
Amanda Layden:
Avg 5.00
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Glentress - Perfect

Glentress is certainly a mountain biking Mecca!

What do you like?

Excellent trails, from Green to Black. Skills park is a great starting point to let you know what trails you should be doing. Facilities are brilliant. Totally brill day out, with a massive feel good factor throughout.

What could be improved?

That it has to end :(

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

16/11/2013 - about 12 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

0
^
Loading weather...
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play