Grizedale Mountain Bike Centre
Trail Grades at this centre:
Green - Easy Red - Difficult Black - SevereGrizedale Mountain Bike Centre Summary
Grizedale along with Whinlatter near Keswick, is one of two MTB centres in the Lake District run by Forestry England. It is located between Coniston Water and Windermere, a few miles south of the village of Hawkshead. Grizedale is a family oriented centre, with numerous easy forestry road routes and only two technical routes for more accomplished MTB riders. Though there are a number of unofficial off-piste routes and enduro lines such as The Viking as well as an extensive network of bridleways to be explored.
Trail Centre Details
Grizedale Forest is particularly well suited to riders who want to go off-road but are still building up their skill base for anything technical, as well as those who want to set off and explore on their own without being restricted by sheepishly following waymarkers.
There’s plenty of activities for the entire family at Grizedale. There are a number of walking trails as well as a Go Ape Treetop Adventure, picnic area, orienteering and horse riding. You can also stay at the Grizedale campsite a few minutes down the valley, a wise move considering that you’d need a week to do everything this trail centre has to offer.
Of particular note are the Grizedale Sculptures found around the forest, a project started by the Grizedale Society in 1977. There are at least 50 sculptures scattered through the forest, and not all of them are easy to find. These includ the Clockwork Forest, Some Fern, Romeo, Mea Culpa, Dry Stone Passage, Lady of the Water and Ancient Forester 2; just to name a few. You’ll need some patience and luck in order to see them all! Artists who have created sculptures have included David Nash, Sally Matthews Andy Goldsworthy, Walter Bailey and Michael Winstone.
There are 8 waymarked routes at Grizedale which can be divided into easier family trails on forest roads and your usual trail centre waymarked and graded trails. These are:
Family Routes – Forestry Roads
- Goosey Foot Tarn trail at Grizedale GREEN Waymarked Blue
- Grizedale Tarn trail at Grizedale GREEN Waymarked Black
- Hawkshead Moor trail at Grizedale GREEN Waymarked Green
- Moor Top trail at Grizedale GREEN Waymarked Purple
- Mushroom cycle trail at Grizedale GREEN
- Silurian Way at Grizedale GREEN Waymarked Orange
Advanced Red/Black
Featured Image Credit: Photo by alx_chief on Foter.com / CC BY-SA
Facilities:
Visitor Centre and cafe, picnic area, toilets, cycle hire, shop and a play area. There’s also The Yan, an educational centre that can be hired out by school groups Further facilities are available at nearby Hawkshead, or a short distance away at the larger towns and villages of Coniston, Bowness on Windermere and Ambleside, while the local market town of Ulverston can be found a few miles to the south of Grizedale.
Grizedale Forest Opening hours:
The Visitor Centre and cafe are open for 7 days a week from 10am – 4pm. Check the Forestry England website for information regarding Christmas and other exceptions. The forest itself is open 7 days a week.
Parking and Fees
You can choose to park at the actual visitor cente, where the prices are as follows and are payable on exit:
- Up to 20 minutes is free
- Up to 1 hour£2.20
- Each additional 20 minutes£0.45
- All day£8.00
- Up to 1 hour – £1.50
- Up to 2 hours – £2.80
- Up to 4 hours – £4.60
- All day – £5.90
MTB Routes at Grizedale Mountain Bike Centre

Green - Easy Grade
Silurian Way at Grizedale
The Silurian Way trail at Grizedale forest is the longest of the six green waymarked routes at aroun …

Green - Easy Grade
Moor Top Trail at Grizedale
The Moor Top trail at Grizedale forest is the one of six waymarked routes that generaly follow fores …