GlenLIVET Mountain Bike TRAILS
TRAVEL GUIDE
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Welcome to GLENLIVET MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS
Glenlivet Mountain Bike Trails have in fact been on the mountain bike trail centre map for a number of years now and has even hosted a round of the Scottish Enduro Series back in 2016. The trail centre, on Crown Estate Scotland ground in the beautiful Cainrgorm National Park, started life with only a handful of trails but with a cafe that punched above its weight in terms of quality. In recent years it’s had somewhat of a makeover and with the increasing popularity of mountain biking it’s set to continue to grow with more trails planned for the future. This family friendly place has possibly one of the best blue graded trails on the planet and we don’t say that lightly.
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Essential info
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Glentress is suitable for pretty much all bikes but if you have choices, a short travel trail bike or cross country bike would probably be best. We like to use our Giant Trance and Trance X’s at Glentress but we’re no strangers to bringing the Reigns here either.
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Cafe
Bike Shop
Toilets and Showers.
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The closest accomodation to Glentress is the ‘Glentress Forest Lodges’ located right at the bottom of the trails. If you fancy a bit more space or something more high end check out Peebles Hydro Hotel and Cardrona Hotel which is very close. There is also a range of self catering accommodation in Peebles and Innerleithen, just a ten minute drive down the road.
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Glentress is just South of Peebles and very well signposted from the A72 main road. Follow your satnav to EH45 8NB, this is the nearest postcode.
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The Trails
There’s a relatively small number of trails here and one day is plenty to ride what’s on offer but there’s everything from fire roads with amazing views, incredible blues, jumps on the orange trail and longer XC style rides onto the surrounding hills.
Blue Trails
Glenlivet BlUE
We’ve added this here as well as under the Orange Trail as this track can be ridden in a multitude of ways. If you’re not wanting too much Air then this track can be ridden by novice riders a like. It’s honestly one of the most incredible trails we’ve ridden anywhere in the world and we’ve been around the globe.
Red Trails
The Classic Cross Country Loop
This loop has been there for a while now and provides a great start to the day taking you high up out of the tree line to provide stunning views back over to the Cairngorm Plateau. The trail isn’t too technical for a red with a number of optional drops of different sizes and a mellow gradient most of the way round. Don’t expect this to be the best red route out there but with some black section options and the expanse of space around you it’s got a really special vibe to it.
BLACK Trails
BLACK ROUTE
There’s a few black options on the red but don’t expect anything too gnarly at Glenlivet.
The Mini DH is a great option which drops in from the main car park. Be sure to give this a go if you want some exciting singletrack.
ORANGE TRAILS
BLUE TRAIL
We’d heard great things about this blue before we visited Glenlivet but this trail blew us away. It’s without a doubt one of the best blue trails in the UK despite it’s relatively short length, under 1km log.
With perfect flow and stunningly shaped berms the track remains safe and interesting for beginners as it is exciting for more advanced riders. This is the perfect example of how to build a blue and we couldn’t stop lapping it. The easy spin back up and round on the fire road makes this easy to do and we’d recommend you visit Glenlivet just for this trail. It’s primo!
ORANGE TRAIL
Another new trail in Glenlivet in recent years it’s added some sizeable jumps to the usually lacking Scottish trail centres. It’s refreshing to see a public riding zone in Scotland take a look at what’s needed in Scotland and deliver it. While there’s a couple of optional doubles most of the trails on the Orange are tables or rollable so if you’ve managed the blue (we’ve graded this as an Orange Blue) you may want to consider trying the Orange (we’d call this an Orange Red) and working up to some of the larger gaps. Again the short climb up from the cafe makes this a perfect trail to lap.
SUPPORT CONTOUR COLLECTIVE
Is it worth the trip?
A few years ago we probably would have had a very different opinion but with new owners running the centre (The Edmondsons) there’s a refreshing lease of life here and we’d definitely recommend this as a place to visit. While it’s relatively remote location does mean you may not take a day trip here, we'd recommend spending a few days, or more, in the stunning Cairngorms National Park. We spent two days in the area staying at the Wigwam Holidays Glenlivet site which had just recently opened. The riding at Glenlivet now offers something for everyone with the longer red route and existing blue being complimented with the addition of some incredible blue and orange trails.
What the locals say
Glenlivet is great for all levels from kids and first timers to pro racers - it’s got something for everyone.
“Glenlivet has a mix of some of the best bike park trails in the UK and flowing technical hand built trails gives a big variety of riding in one place.
Warm up on Bazzas Berms and the Mini DH before heading to the top of Carn Daimh.
You shouldn’t miss Ebiking while in the area! Ebikes are available to hire from bike Glenlivet or you can bring your own, more power means more laps of the fun tracks”
— Jamie Edmondson, World Cup Downhiller
In Summary
While you’re unlikely to travel to Glenlivet Trail Centre for a day trip from anywhere outwith the local area you’d be daft not to consider an extended stay in the Cairgorm National Park area and tying it in with some other mountain biking and outdoor sports. Check out our other travel guide locations for some ideas.
The riding at Glenlivet is guaranteed (unless the midges are out) to put a smile on your face and we’re already excited for planing our next trip there.