Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trail

The Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Park is a trail system starting and finishing at a trail head near the village of Ardpatrick in East Limerick. A full range of visitor services are provided at the trail head such as car parking, bike wash, showers and toilets.

98 km of trails including forest road climbs, tight twisty singletrack with loads of ups and downs, board walk, tight turns and technical rocky bits are guaranteed to leave you smiling.

On arrival there is a secure car park with monitored CCTV cameras. There are also snacks and tea and coffee available for a reasonable price. Trail accommodation, bike rental and good food are available locally.

The trail system is designed by the world’s leading trail designer Dafydd Davis who has designed some of the most exciting and challenging trails known to mountain bikers across the globe.

The trails are laid out in 5 loops and each loop leads onto the next. The loops are waymarked in one direction - just pick the colour of the loop you want to ride and follow the arrows.

• The Green/Greenwood Loop (6kms, 45 mins, moderate) is a good introduction to the MTB trails.
• The Brown/Mountrussell Loop (17kms, 2 hours, difficult) is some technical features on it with more climbing and descending.
• The White/Garrane Loop (35kms, 4 hours, difficult) is a lot more challenging in terms of distance with sections of tight turns, steep descents and features such as small rock steps, exposed roots and elevated timber boardwalks.
• The Blue/Streamhill Loop (41km, 5 hrs, severe) is challenging in terms of distance but will take you to the remoter parts of the forest.
• Finally there is the Red/Castlepook Loop (51km, 4-6 hours, severe) that is the ultimate loop of the Ballyhoura trails, being the longest and most demanding. It goes right to the southern fringes of the forest and presents you with the biggest climbs and most rewarding descents.

Please ensure you are equipped fully to undertake this adventure sport and respect other trial users at all times. The trail can be quite exposed on the upper slopes and can be very windy in poor weather - dress accordingly. Have fun!

Download the Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trail map here.