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Gwydir Forest Mountain Bike Trails

Gwydir Forest Mountain Bike Trails
Avg 3.41
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup
Number of Reviews (12)

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

  • Information:
  • Type: Mtb Base
  • Distance(s): 21-30km
  • Country: Wales
  • County: Conwy
  • Website: Gwydir Forest
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Description

Gwydir Mawr is formerly known as the Marin with its smaller sibling the Gwydir Bach (incorporated within it) makes up the two trails in Gwydir Forest in the Snowdonia National Park, North Wales. Mawr is Welsh for big or large, bach means small. Gwydir is the name of the forest. It is a red-graded MTB trail for intermediate riders and is located just outside the town of Betws y Coed.

Like this?

It is just down the road from its sister trail the Penmachno which is another red trail well worth a visit. There is a new fun car park section that links the last Singletrack sections. There are multiple lines and a road right alongside so it's easy to session.

Gwydir Mawr

  • This is a 25km red route. It has an 800 metres climb and takes around 2-4 hours to complete. The course is fast and rocky with a mix of tight and technical as well as open and flowing sections. Views are great, the up's are mainly fire road and the descents all singletrack.
  • The trail starts at a small car park but remember there are no toilet or facilities so come prepared.

Gwydir Bach

  • Gwydir Bach (incorporated within the Gwydir Mawr trail above) is great for when you're short on time or just want a quick blast. It is red graded and 8.7km long with 350 metres of climbing between taking between 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to complete.

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  • If you have ridden the Gwydir Mawr or Gwydir Bach mountain bike trails then why not share your experiences with us and please write a review, post your pictures or videos.

📍 UK MTB Trail Index

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AMYTMTB :
Avg 3.90
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Beautiful place

Love these trails with spectacular views

What do you like?

Stunning views fun final decent

What could be improved?

Lack of facilities go prepared

Would you recommend?

yes

Date written:

30/07/2023 - over 2 years ago

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1
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TelSTFC:
Avg 2.74
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Marin Old Skool

Good rocky trail where there is single-track which is limited and views amazing on 2nd loop. But thats it on 2nd loop i'm afraid very little singletrack for the amount of climbing so very old skool. Having said that it shows you this on the map so no excuses really and shows you the large amount of fireroad Met a local lady rider after first long climb and she said don't bother with loop 2 but as i had plenty of time i did the whole trail. Can only recommend the 1st loop as other people say on here.

What do you like?

Good surface Single-track there is quite good No parking fees Great Views on Loop 2 Sunny dry weather on day of ride Maps at various points on the route which is a nice touch to show you where you are.

What could be improved?

Loop 2 not worth all the fireroad climbing Little amount of singletrack loop 2 Advised by locals that only worth doing bottom loop 1

Would you recommend?

Yes

Date written:

24/09/2017 - over 8 years ago

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2
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Wadam00:
Avg 2.99
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
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General Setup

Marin (riden same day as Penmachno)

Rode this the same day as Penmachno & enjoyed it albeit less. Decent first slog up the fireroad into a fast but shortish descent followed by another fireroad climb and descent which is typical of the whole route. The last descents were fantastic and made it all worthwhile - big grins in the carpark at the end. It's well worn in but it makes it more interesting & I liked the difference to penmacho

What do you like?

Last descent & good views

What could be improved?

Trail is now a bit worn in places

Would you recommend?

Yes

Date written:

17/08/2015 - over 10 years ago

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4
^
Gryme:
Avg 3.64
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
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A quiet little gem.

Well that climb at the start gets you warmed up nicely. In fact, there's a few climbs, and a nasty little kicker up a tarmac road. Some of the climbing has technical bits thrown in to keep you entertained, but much of it is loooong boring fire roads. Don't worry though, the memory of those climbs disappears real quick on the descents which are fast and fun. The faster you go, the Redder it gets, and I for one, loved it. It is quiet, we saw no other riders and only 3 walkers on the whole route. The views have to be seen - some of the best in Snowdonia. Lack of facilities is a bonus for me. Go prepared and enjoy some self reliance.

What do you like?

It's quiet and unspoilt. The views The singletrack downhill bits Lack of facilities - nothing like a bit of self reliance.

What could be improved?

A lot of climbing for such a short route.

Would you recommend?

Yes

Date written:

19/06/2015 - over 10 years ago

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3
^
Alibobness:
Avg 3.60
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
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Trail Quality
General Setup

Marin Trail fun

We arrived on a very hot sunny day in July, after getting a little bit lost trying to find the trail, it was well worth the drive, the singletrack uphill keeps it interesting althought there is a lot of steep uphill in road and firetrack, the singletrack downs were brilliant, only downside was a couple of the singletrack uphills finished with a downhill on firetrack. The last section is really good, and would be pretty easy to session. The trail was looking a bit worn from all the traffic it's had however it's got a pretty solid rock base wasn't to bad

What do you like?

Really fun singletrack downs, been well designed. Section into stuff is easy Trail Map boards are placed periodically around the trail, makes it easy to see where you are, allows you to work out repeating sections and quick escape routes if needed.

What could be improved?

Trail looking a bit worn Couple of the descents are on firetrack No car park facilities

Would you recommend?

Yes

Date written:

30/12/2014 - about 11 years ago

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2
^
Mike:
Avg 3.45
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Marin Trail Betws Y Coed

What do you like?

The marin has a bit of everything with long climbs, a couple of fast descents and some technical rocky bits. It's never that busy so you can take you time and enjoy your ride without getting pushed down the trail. The last three sections are really fun but the dragons trail section and Pixies paradise and both great too.

What could be improved?

It can be bit of a drag on the fire road climbs when the weather is bad. Also a couple of the climbs are just followed by fire road descents.

Would you recommend?

Yes

Date written:

23/05/2014 - over 11 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

2
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