Trail Badger
Mountain Biking trails in Northern Ireland
County Down
Contact us if you have new trails or better information that you think should be on the site.
Coming from Newry, just off the A2 Newry / Warrenpoint road, 2 miles from Warrenpoint, just before Narrow Water Castle.
Great hour-long XC loop, lots of singletrack sections.
3 miles East of Holywood. Easily accessible from Helen's Tower.
Plenty of height to play with, with some great singletrack and forest paths in this semi-natural deciduous forest.
Castlewellan is 8 miles NW of Newcastle on the A50, or signposted off the A24 Belfast Newcastle road from Clough (A25).
Good single track at the west end of the lake, popular XC race there every year, sometimes out of bounds when readying for a race.
Start in either Ravensdale (accessible from main road between Newry and Dundalk) or Carlingford (go through Newry CENTRE and take signs for Omeath / Carlingford).
Excellent XC, spectacular scenery and a bit of a wilderness feeling in places. Rides from an hour to a 6 hour epic.
Accessible from Donard Car Park, S end of the promenade, Newcastle.
Some tight fire road climbs and descents, and sections of single track. Some nice technical descents along the Glen River.
Accessible from the Somme Heritage Centre, off the A21 Bangor Newtownards road, just N of Newtownards.
Lots of technical drops, rocky sections, etc in lead mines. Link with Helens Tower for a good XC loop and some nice single track. Also the now popular "Dufferin Trail" and the Sunday Breakfast Run.
Just off the B180, 7 miles West of Newcastle (immediately N of Tollymore Forest Park, across the road after the Mountain Centre).
Some well-trodden technical XC and downhill tracks. Has hosted lots of races - once the Mecca of NI MTB, and still lots of good stuff.
A popular challenge on foot every August, not too many have topped the 7 mountains over 700 metres in the Mournes wielding a bicycle.
Start/finish from Newcastle or Rostrevor.
The Mournes contain many epic rides. Any of Tollymore Forest, Donard Wood or Rostrevor Forest are perfect locations to start / finish an epic in the Mournes.
Rostrevor, just East of Warrenpoint, signposted from Newry or Newcastle on the A2.
Popular with XC bikers, with great climbs and mental descents, some great sections of singletrack. A great place to start an epic.
Slieve Martin cairn stands 485 meters above Rostrevor Village and there are 4 different routes that will take you to the peak.
Summit Northern Ireland's highest peak, at 853 metres. Park in Donard Car Park in Newcastle itself or at Bloody Bridge.
On the Newcastle Rd between Ballynahinch and Seaford, less than one mile on the right past Brennan’s Petrol Station travelling from Seaford.
25 miles, with plenty of carrying!
Just off the B180 from Newcastle (turn left at Bryansford).
Labyrinth of single track sections all throughout the forest. Has previously hosted Irish downhill championship races. Super place for a day out.
NOTE: The trails on this site have been ridden before, but you should not interpret their inclusion as an indication that mountain-biking is officially sanctioned on them. Seeking permission from landowners is your own responsibility, as is conducting yourself in a manner that is courteous, respectful to the environment, and conscious of the safety of others.