If flow trails, jump lines and a conveyor belt uplift sounds like an exciting prospect to you, then Cairngorm Mountain Bike Trails has got to be top of your Scottish bucket list this summer. Scotland’s newest bike park opens its doors (and travelators) to riders this weekend, with its 2km of gravity trails resurfaced and tweaked for 2024.

Cairngorm Mountain Bike Trails need to know

• Flow trail bike park in the Cairngorms, with beginner rider and kids focus
• 2km of trails, mostly blue and green with red options
• Conveyor belt uplift for the lower third
• Immaculately groomed trails that aren’t allowed to degrade

Just riding the uplift would be a new experience for most of us, but it’s the trails we’re really after

The mini park opened last year with the simple idea to have flow trails only, letting riders of all abilities and ages tackle them. The result is a blue trail from the top with red sections, a blue and red jump line, and a green track at the bottom, where riders can be pulled up by two conveyor belts. It’s pretty close to some of the best mountain bike routes in Scotland too, check out Lairig Ghru for starters.

“The conveyor was put in last winter, some riders coming just to try it out,” explained Lee Bevins from, the park. “We’re not aware of any others in the UK, but it’s quite normal on the Continent.”

This is no gimmick then, it’s there to let new riders and kids lap out the green trails that are closest to the visitor’s centre, meaning parents can watch them ride as they sip on their lattes. “It’s difficult to stop the kids at the end of the day, they just lap round and round, without the parents having to tow them up,” Lee says.

Trails suitable for kids on balance bikes right up to adults on e-bikes

Manicured trails

Flow trails quickly turn into rocky, techie trails if they’re not maintained – we’ve probably all seen cherished blue loops disintegrate into a collection of holed out berms. That won’t happen at Cairngorm Mountain Bike Trails, because at the start of each season the trails get six weeks work with the digger to fix worn out sections and make it all new. 

“If we see areas that aren’t riding that well we make improvements,” Lee says. “So far they’re already changed three sections, while one of the berms has been extended because it was just too tight… and of course when you change one berm you have to change about three below it to make them all flow together.”

Micromanaged fun

This is a departure from the fire-and-forget nature of trail building at plenty of top riding spots, particularly those under the auspices of the Forestry and funded by public money. In fact, Cairngorm Mountain Bike Trails is at the opposite end of that spectrum, with carefully regulated rider numbers and an emphasis on safety and progression. A cut-in, fall-line trail with some sketch features, it is not.

“That’s where we differ from everyone else,” Lee says. “We’re able to provide as safe an environment as we can because we have a bike patroller constantly assessing how busy it is, which parts of the track need work, and we can close a section and get it done that day.”

The trails are mellow if you want them to be, or add in some pace and power and you can gap sections

The trails

The park is split into three zones, there’s a lower level aimed at beginners and young kids with green and blue sections, which are all accessed by the conveyor belt. The purple climb trail takes you right to the top, where the upper section is a flowy blue, with red options. The middle section is dominated by a blue jump line, and a red extension jump line. 

“We’re all about progression, the red can be done from top to bottom by anyone who can ride a bike,” Lee says. “You can ride the berms low and slow, but it encourages you to go higher and higher to rail the berm properly.”

Building the trail in 2023 – check out the funicular to the left, which will be available for bike uplift in 2025

Changes for 2024

The original trail design was put together by CRC, which is probably the most progressive trail building company in Scotland and responsible for Tarland Trails, amongst others. This year a link trail will be added across the moor, letting riders session the mid zone without having to trek all the way up to the top. “People were just cutting across to it anyway, because that’s where our jump lines are, but now we’ve permission to link it up so riders can do loops and session it.

There aren’t concrete plans for more trails on the site yet, but the hope is to add in more techie stuff and reach higher up the mountain. “The terrain lends itself to that as it gets steeper and rockier the higher we go,” Lee says. 

Ticketing

The lower section of Cairngorm Mountain Bike Trails opens this weekend, with “discounted ticket prices”. Later in May the rest of the trail opens, charging £7.50 for a children’s half-day ticket, £9.00 for a junior and from £16 for an adult. Head to cairngormmountain.co.uk for details.