BikePark Wales

Description

BikePark Wales (BPW) is a downhill mountain bike center in Gethin Woods, on the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil, in South Wales. They have approximately 50+ trails from green, blue, red, black, and pro, a quarry skills area as well as a pump track. Their trails are graded by colour as well as whether Flow, Technical, Blend or Plus trails. 

BikePark Wales has approximately 13 blues, 16 reds, 14 blacks, 4 pro-lines,  2 greens, and a pump track.

There is an uplift and a 5km single-track ride-up option that takes around 30 minutes. BikePark Wales has 1750 vertical meters descending from the summit of Mynydd Gethin (which is at 491 meters in height). 

Trail System Overview

BikePark Wales offers an extensive and diverse network of mountain biking trails, catering to riders of all skill levels and preferences. As the UK's largest mountain bike destination, it combines elements of a trail centre, downhill venue, and freeride park into one comprehensive experience. The trails are categorized and graded to help riders choose routes that match their abilities and desired riding style.

Trail Types:

1. Flow Trails: Designed for smooth, fluid riding with berms, rollers, and jumps. These are great for building confidence and speed.
2. Technical Trails: Feature more challenging terrain with obstacles like rocks, roots, and drops, requiring advanced bike handling skills.
3. Blend Trails: Combine elements of both flow and technical trails for a varied riding experience.
4. Plus Trails: A special category that includes more challenging "bikepark" and freeride-style features. These trails are marked with a Plus logo and may include gap jumps, larger drop-offs, and timber Northshore features.

Color Grading System:

Trails are graded by colour to indicate difficulty level:

• Green: Beginner-friendly
• Blue: Intermediate
• Red: Advanced
• Black: Expert
• Purple: Pro-level

Trail List

Flow Trails:

Green (Beginner):

• Badgers Run (1km)
• Kermit (5km)

Blue (Intermediate):

• Bush Whacker (0.6km)
• Melted Welly (1.8km)
• Blue Belle (1.5km)
• Norkle (1.1km)
• Sixtapod (2.2km)
• The Funnel (0.4km)
• Terry's Belly (4.6km)
• Willy Waver (1.7km)
• Roller Disco (0.33km)
• Popty Ping (0.55km)

Red (Advanced):

• Locomotion (0.3km)
• Insufficient Funds (0.8km)
• A470 (0.9km)

Black (Expert):

• Hard Shoulder (0.3km)
• Zut Alors (0.3km)
• Pork Belly (0.3km)
• Enter The Dragon (0.9km)

Purple (Pro):

• Trail X (0.1km)
• Vanta (0.7km)

Tech Trails:

Blue (Intermediate):

• Off Grid (0.4km)
• Fforest Bump (0.55km)
• Merthyr Rocks (0.9km)

Red (Advanced):

• Pandora's Rocks (0.75km)
• Vicious Valley (1.2km)
• Surfin' Bird (0.45km)
• Wibbly Wobbly (1.5km)
• Snakebite (0.65km)
• Rim Dinger (1.2km)
• Hot Stepper (1.6km)
• Groot (0.7km)
• Bonneyville (0.3km)
• Root Manoeuvres (2.5km)
• Ych a Fi

Black (Expert):

• Deep Navigation (0.3km)
• Coal Not Dole (0.4km)
• Rock 'n' Roll (0.2km)
• Dai Hard (1km)
• True Grit (0.2km)
• Boomslang (0.4km)
• Escort (0.4km)
• Half-Cut (0.3km)
• 50 Shades of Black (1.8km)

Blend Trails:

Red (Advanced):

• AC DC (1.2km)
• The Snicket 
• Watts Occurring (1.25km)

Black (Expert):

• Blackadder (0.82km)

Purple (Pro):

• The Martian (0.4km)
• Join the Dots (0.3km)

We recommend using the trail difficulty index to progressively work your way up from easier trails to more challenging ones as you build your skills and confidence. Always ride within your abilities, wear appropriate safety gear, and respect trail conditions and other riders. Enjoy your ride at BikePark Wales!

Quarry Skills Area

The Quarry Skills Area, located near the start of the popular Popty Ping trail, offers a comprehensive range of features including:

• Graded drops and jumps
• Parallel gap and table jump lines for confidence-building
• Rollers, skinnies, and berms
• A unique "Steeps" zone with technical bedrock rolls and drops

What sets this skill area apart is its incorporation of natural bedrock features. The area even includes a challenging pro-line for advanced riders seeking to push their limits.

Pump Track

• BikePark Wales also has a small pump track.

Skill Features

• Session-able step up jump features to complement the Quarry Skills Area: Air470 and Dragons Back

Adaptive MTB

• BikePark Wales now offers an Adaptive Bike Pass with mapped access to approved trails, tailored for adaptive bikes like the Bowhead Reach. Support riders go free, and a trail map is provided on arrival.

Beginners

• Bike Park Wales are offering a Beginner Uplift Experience for discovering the the Green and Blue tracks. It’s a great option for riders who have a bit of off-road cycling experience and want to take the next step. They provide all the protective equipment and a premium hardtail bike. 

Other Stuff

• They are E-MTB friendly with a free to use charging station you can book. 
• They also have a Free AXS battery charging and loaner batteries available! You can bring your dead batteries to charge and  take out one of our spares.
• Coaching sessions available on the website
• There is a classroom to help guide beginners with an intro.
• In addition to the main cafe at the main entrance there is a snack bar with a selection of hot and cold drinks as well as some snacks at the summit on weekends so you don't have to stop busting out the laps to keep you going whilst on the hill
• In both 2023 and 2024, BikePark Wales took 1st place in the iBikeRide UK Trail and Bike Park of the Year awards.

Future Plans

• In June 2024 permission was approved that could see BikePark Wales double in size over the next few years. To give a taste of the plans.

• We will see more graded trails through from another green, to reds, blacks and jump lines. 

  • Another green

  • A cool blue flow trail will link up the middle of the park to the tunnel

  • The popular Boomslang that just sort of stops before the bottom with a firewood road choice of back up or down will have a new bottom section to complete the ride.

  • There will be a big top-to-bottom red tech trail from the south start area down to the uplift.

  • For jump trails, we will see the development of progressive tracks to fill in the progression gaps between the likes of Popty Ping (blue flow trail) to the A470 (red flow trail) (which today is a big leap in ability between the two).
  • We will also see more progression at the top end going from red to black in jumps

  •  We will see the skills area in the disused quarry at the top of the park near Potty Ping. Expect beginner rollers, jumps, drop-offs, tech climbs, rock rolls, drop-ins and pro-line features. 

  • A proper e-bike loop consisting of 5 or 6 full steep tech climbs and steep tech downs.

• In August 2024 they announced: they had signed a new lease with Natural Resources Wales. This means they can extend their trail network significantly, add accommodation to the overall offering and rewild the mountain to its original natural ancient forest state. The plan includes:
  • Adding new trails: 9 climbing trails, 27 downhill trails, 7 linking trails, and 2 new skills areas
  • Expanding the visitor area and car park
  • Introducing sustainable accommodation options like glamping pods and chalets
  • Implementing a rewilding initiative to promote biodiversity and forest resilience 

Share

• If you have ridden the mountain bike trails and tracks at BikePark Wales then please share your pictures, videos, tracks and reviews.