MOUNTAIN BIKING AND DOWNHILL IN IRELAND – 3 GREAT TIPS NEAR DUBLIN

Last updated on May 14, 2024

You’re in Dublin and want to really let off steam for a day or several days?

Below I’ll show you three great mountain bike parks. No bike with you? No problem, you can rent a mountain bike and a helmet in each of the three parks.

Page Contents (click line to jump the text)

Intro

All three parks are south of Dublin, because there are mountains there! To the south of Dublin are the Dublin Mountains, which are seamlessly linked to the stunningly beautiful Wicklow Mountains.

How do I know that? I live very close by. My family and I have our second home in Ireland and run our motorbike rental business there in the summer (www.easycruiser.tours). We also offer nice guest rooms.

I also have a mountain bike, so back to the topic: here you can spend a great MTB day or a fiercely strenuous weekend:

Ad for our own business Easycruiser.tours

#1 Tiknock Mountain Bike Trails

Ticknock is a mountainous woodland area just on the southern edge of Dublin. Easily accessible, it is also a good place for a day trip. The park and trail are owned by Coillte, the state forestry company.

The entry point is at the Tiknock Forest Entry Car Park. There is an MTB rental shop on site: www.biking.ie. In addition to rentals, they also offer courses and MTB tours.

The latter can also be a very good idea as it takes you to scenic parts of the Wicklow Mountains that you would not otherwise see.

A hardtail MTB costs €35 a day, with suspension you’re at €45 and an electric bike is €65. The helmet is included and you can buy a water bottle there. The pedals are flat, so you can ride with any shoes.

The trek is 8km long and consists of several loops. It is not extremely long, but in many parts it is rocky and steep. So you should not be a complete beginner. For advanced riders, it offers many exciting routes.

Map with MTB trails and rental stations near Dublin (map: Google Maps)

#2 The GAP – the Glencullen Adventure Park

The Glencullen Adventure Park is a private downhill park in a private forest on a mountain on the Dublin-Wicklow border. There are over 30 trails, from intermediate to professional.

You can cycle up the mountain but there is also an uplift service. Several minibuses with bike trailers go up the mountain several times a day (ski lift principle).

You pay 65€ a day for an MTB, 15€ for protective gear and 5€ online for the uplift.

You can find more information at: www.thegap.ie.

#3 Ballinastoe Mountain Bike Trails

A little further south in the Wicklow Mountains is Ballinastoe, not far from Roundwood and close to the beautiful lake Lough Tay.

Like Tiknock, the woodland is part of Coillte and the MTB hire company is the same: www. biking.ie.

The trail system is 16km long, the climbs are mainly forest tracks and the downhills are narrow and sometimes challenging single tracks.

Here you can also book tours with the rental company or go on a tour yourself. If you want to cycle for several days, you can also cycle the Forest Trails one day and explore the beautiful Wicklow Mountains National Park on another day. The rental company (www.biking.ie) also offers road bikes and touring bikes.

Your choice

And where should I go now? It’s simple!

If you’re an advanced Donwhill junkie, then you’ll get your money’s worth at “The Gap”. No cycling up, just whistling down – and not finding sleep in the evening from all the adrenaline… 🙂

You just want to have some quick and easy fun from Dublin, maybe take a taxi? Then Tiknock is your first choice because it’s super quick and easy to get to from Dublin.

If you want a balanced mix of uphill cycling, exciting downhills and beautiful scenery in beautiful surroundings, then Ballinastoe is a hot tip for you! Here you can add another day of road touring and it’s also worth staying here for one or more nights.

Whatever you do, make it down safely! And I wish you lots of fun!