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Glentress Mountain Bike Trails

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
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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

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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'.

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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.

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Douglas Rae:
Avg 3.38
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Good trail centre, work could do to happen on trails more often!

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

20/08/2013 - over 12 years ago

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0
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Tibbort:
Avg 4.77
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Awesome day out!

This centre has everything. Excellent graded trails, good parking, very accessible. We enjoyed a great run on the red route which has some brilliant downhill after the long Spooky Woods climb. Just don't let your eye wander to the participants of Go-Ape swinging over your head on the final section. The blue trail however is a revelation- taken at speed the 16km run is excellent and can be done in quick time. Most of the fun is to be had on the latter part of the course with some great bermy descents. It would be an excellent way to introduce a beginner to the excitement of biking.

What do you like?

Route signposting, trail quality, variety, First Aid Centre, scenery.

What could be improved?

Too many people know how good it is Friends said skills area could have been better.

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

19/08/2013 - over 12 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

1
^
beardedbiggs:
Avg 4.10
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

glentress blue route

we are regular visitors to glentress forest. normally we do the red route but we decided to give the blue a go. we followed the outward red route to spooky wood as no visit to glentress is complete without the lungbusting climb up spooky and then the fast fun sweeping descent! at the bottom of spooky wood you turn left for the blue route and come to a fast section that winds down the hill, not much happens but then i guess it is blue route!!! its not until you get about halfway down the blue route that you find really enjoyable trails starting with blue velvet then berm baby berm which finishes at the buzzards nest car park and the freeride park which is worth a visit. after youve finished playing the trails start again with Electric Blue, Falla Brae and Good Game which are my 3 favorite sections. this takes you back down to the start

What do you like?

well maintained trails and great signage very good fun option even with blue route to add spooky wood to your day

What could be improved?

not really any, if you want to ride a blue route then this is a fantastic one to do.

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

28/06/2013 - over 12 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

3
^
Stevie1985:
Avg 4.49
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

something for all skill levels and the family.

What do you like?

Great day out well signed tracks, good laugh. Red route was good fun and fast.

What could be improved?

Black route is poor not worth the large climb up for the down side was disappointed in that trail waste most of a day to do.

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

23/06/2013 - over 12 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

1
^
Sarah Staples:
Avg 4.42
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Something for everyone at Glentress

I have only visited Glentress once for a long weekend trying out all the trails, but it has never been pushed off the top spot by any other trail centres I've visited in the UK. The main reason being that I left with so much more than I arrived with. The abundance of skills areas are so extensive and fun you could spend an entire weekend on all the features and not get bored. There is something for every particular skill, from rock gardens to table tops. I cleared a table top for the very first time at Glentress, and I put it down to the high quality of tracks that have been constructed there. You can trust the dirt which allows you to push further. Getting on to the trails, there is a great variety to choose from depending on your mood and how much energy you have. It was great to park in the upper car park and set off on the blue with next to no climbing. The blue was a very fast trail with different drops and smooth berms, allowing you to go as fast as you dare to. Finishing in the lower car park, the blue leaves quite a pleasant climb back up to the car park. The most memorable part of the Red Route for me was Spooky Woods. It was like being on a mad rollercoaster of fun, jumping here, turning quick there and hanging on for dear life as the bike just flowed effortlessly. A real adrenaline rush. Also, it's worth mentioning that the views from some points of the trails are incredible, and they really make you realise how hard you've worked to get there, and how much it was worth climbing just to see a view that only tough bikers get to see! Overall, if you are a beginner looking to reach a real milestone in your riding, get to the skills area. If you're looking for new trails that will take your breath away and really boost your fitness and ability, get on everything from the blue to the black. Just get to Glentress!

What do you like?

Something for everyone, and such a wide expanse of trail and skills areas that you rarely feel like you're cramping anyone else's style, which is great for both beginners who don't want to get in the way, and even better for experienced riders who don't want to trample a newbie on track.

What could be improved?

Could do with some more facilities by the upper car park. Quite a bit of climbing on a fire road to get to the more advanced tracks - bring your climbing legs! (BUT it is definitely worth the climb)

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

29/05/2013 - over 12 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

1
^
TheBikingSquirrel:
Avg 4.56
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Big fan

Regular Glentress rider and I always have a great time there. The blue is great fun and is enough to get anyone hooked on mountain biking. Following the blue route lets you see quite a lot of the forest but the red route expands on this taking you higher and further. The red route is the most popular with the famous Spooky Wood descent and various other notable trails. It has many flowy parts with optional features graded red and black. As a regular rider I abridge and alter my route to go straight to Spooky Wood missing out the rougher Pennels Vennel then I do the whole descent down to the split for Pie Run and The Matrix here I go up past The Matrix to Double X and do the Black descent all the way down to if you wish the Hub. This takes me on to the Black at Glentress which is filled with gruelling climbs and several good descents. A great route to ride on a good day and it takes you right to the edge of Glentress Forest notable in the trail named Boundary Trail. It is only truly the climbing and overall length then the final descent that really warrants the Black grade so if you are fit and have a good bike (hardtail will do) it is worth a shot and there are several 'escape routes' if you find yourself tiring. The final descent includes Ewok Village (which now has no North-shore following accident), Double X, The Bitch, Wormhole, Magic Mushroom and then a sharp climb up to the start of Falla Brae which takes you down to the Hub. With some great technical bits and a few scary parts the Glentress Black is probably one of my favourite trails. Glentress is also host to many 'secret trails' as they are called although many are not that secret and these are generally above or equal to black grade and are more natural and muddy, they provide tight, steep and rooty descents that will truly test your skills. A bit of research and observation and you can find the locations of trails such as Brown Trout, Secrets and Lies and Zoom or Bust. Especially during summer weekends the best thing about both the Black and the Secret trails is that they still will remain pretty quiet whilst the blue and red will be very busy. Bottom line is Glentress is great!

What do you like?

Wide range of riding for all abilities Great facilities Really good skills and freeride park

What could be improved?

Sometimes overcrowded

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

29/05/2013 - over 12 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

1
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