It’s years since I’ve been to Dalby Forest and we’ve only been to do some short walks and use the play area in the past. My children are now a good age to do a good length bike ride (age 9 and 12) so we decided it was time to go and try cycling around the forest.
The first thing was actually getting bikes to ride. You need a good mountain bike to cycle on the trails, you can take your own if you have one and a way to get it there. I have a trusty old road bike with thin tyres and my kids have basic bikes so we decided to hire some proper mountain bikes when we arrived from the Dalby Forest Cycle Hub. The cycle centre is located opposite the main Dalby Forest car park so easy to find.
The staff were amazing, really helpful and very knowledgable. They got each of us a bike that was the right size, helped adjust our seats and showed us how to use them. You can book bikes in advance on their website and then on the day you just leave some ID such as bank card or car keys and off you go. The bikes were fantastic quality, really easy to ride and they handled the muddy tracks very well. The staff recommended some routes to try based on our ability and experience (limited!), and after a quick practice around the courtyard we were off.
The main tracks are gravel and easy riding for all abilities and ages. They are colour coded so we started off on greens (easiest) and headed for a blue later on (next level up!). We set off down the first trail then spotted a small area in the hillside and forest where you could practice on the harder trails and obstacles so we stopped to try that out (the kids were more successful at this than I was!). Our map reading skills were not great and we didn’t follow the signs very well so we ended up going on a big loop around the forest, however it ended up being a beautiful route and just the right length and challenge level for us. There were some pretty steep hills to climb and some great long downhills to coast down.
The views were incredible. I think Autumn must be the best time to visit, the leaves were all starting to turn and the variety of colours across the landscape looked stunning. It wasn’t too cold, although we had put on a lot of layers and taken gloves. We cycled for around 2 hours as a family, then me and my daughter went to the courtyard cafe for a hot chocolate and cake while my husband and son tried a few harder red routes.
We then spent a short time in the play area and visitor centre (which is just the opposite side of the car park to the cycle centre). I thought the play area was really good with great equipment and activities, the stream looked great for paddling in in warmer weather too. There was an extra trail to do for Halloween around the play area and there are often extra activities in the school holidays running from the visitor centre.
By the end of the afternoon we were very muddy and tired but we’d had a fantastic time together. We left our very muddy bikes back at the cycle centre and the team took care of it cleaning them while we got changed into clean clothes for the drive home. If you do take your own bikes there is a bike washing station behind the centre that you can use too. If you liked the bike you hired can even buy it! Guess what’s now gone on my daughters Christmas list?!
My top tips for Autumn cycling are to take a spare change of clothes and be prepared to get muddy! Wear plenty of layers that you can take off as you get warm on the hill climbs. We took a small rucksack with water and a few snacks, we did need a few haribo to get my youngest up the longer hills!
If you want to try cycling in the forest but don’t have the gear or a car rack to take bikes with you, the Dalby Forest Cycle Centre is an ideal place to hire bikes. It was super easy and the staff were really helpful. If you can take your own bikes it’s just £10 for the day to park and you can go off exploring for as long as you like. Cycling is a fantastic family activity to do together, I feel very lucky we have this forest and facilities not too far away. We’re already planning our next family bike ride and will definitely be back to this amazing forest again!
Visit the Dalby Forest Cycle Hub website here for more info and bookings for bike hire.
Visit the Dalby Forest website here for more information about the forest and what’s on.
Low Dalby , Thornton-Le-Dale, Pickering. Sat Nav Postcode: YO18 7LT.
For more ideas of things to do in the North York Moors visit the North Yorkshire Moors National Park website here.
