Description
Coed y Brenin, in the Snowdonia National Park near Dolgellau, was the UK's first purpose-built mountain bike trail centre, opened in 1996. The network now runs to three red trails, three black (one of which links the other two into a full-day epic), a blue trail suitable for adaptive bikes, a green family route and the Foundry freeride and skills area. Six waymarked gravel routes, added in 2024, take the wider forest riding well beyond the singletrack.
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The Trails
- Yr Ffowndri (The Foundry) Skills Area: A freeride zone with 8 bermed turns, a drop-off zone, a singletrack zone, a bunnyhop section and a kids' training zone. Notable features include the Sideways Slab and the Lemming Stone.
- Temtiwr (Red, 9km): Short but technical, one long fire-road climb and a fun, rocky technical descent.
- Cyflym Coch (Red, 12.6km): Starts down Yr Afon before cutting up a short technical climb onto Pinderosa, then pieces together the fastest, flowiest sections of the network.
- Dragon's Back (Red, 30km): Previous mountain biking experience recommended. Long climbs, tight singletrack, long fast descents.
- MBR (Black, 17.6km): Open, flowing trail with long sweeping descents through spectacular scenery. The Pink Heifer section is a highlight, and the climb-then-descend "Beginning of the End" is the most technically demanding part of the trail.
- Tarw Du (Black, 20km): The original Coed y Brenin trail, technically challenging with twisty, rocky sections and fast, flowing descents. A newly upgraded section including the "Yslab" was added in 2016.
- The Beast of Brenin (Black, 35km): A long-distance combination of Dragon's Back and MBR, for fit and experienced riders only.
- MinorTaur (Blue): Four loops of increasing technicality, 3 to 13km depending which you ride, suitable for adaptive bikes.
- Yr Afon (Green, 10.8km): A family trail, mainly on forest road with a few climbs. A shorter 7km option is also available.
Gravel Riding
Six waymarked gravel and adventure routes, funded from parking income and opened in May 2024, run from the same car park as the MTB network: Coblynnau (9.5km), the Yr Afon Adventure Route (10.9km, not to be confused with the green MTB trail of the same name), Olwyn DΓ’n (10.5km), Y Fuwch Frech (15.5km), Y Fuwch Gyfeiliorn (19.1km), Gwyllgi (24.9km, including river crossings) and Y Wrach Wen (36km, with some singletrack sections). Between them they add well over 100km of forest-road and hardpack riding suited to gravel and hybrid bikes.
iBikeRide Trail of the Year
- In 2015, Coed y Brenin placed 3rd in the iBikeRide UK Trail of the Year awards, 2nd in the Welsh Trail of the Year category and 2nd in the XC Centre of the Year category.
- In 2014, Coed y Brenin placed 3rd in the Wales Trail of the Year award and 3rd in the XC Trail of the Year award.
Getting Here
From Dolgellau, head north on the A470, taking a right turn for the visitor centre after five miles (LL40 2HZ). Note: the visitor centre cafe and information desk are closed as of March 2025 as part of a Natural Resources Wales cost-cutting programme, with reopening not expected before April 2026 under a new operator. The Beics Brenin bike shop and hire centre, car park and toilets remain open as normal, seven days a week.
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