The Athertons' 650-acre playground
Dyfi Bike Park occupies 650 acres of Esgair Forest above Pantperthog, three miles north of Machynlleth just off the A487 (postcode SY20 9AS). It was built — much of it literally by hand and digger — and is run by Dan Atherton with the Atherton family, the most decorated household in British downhill racing, and it opened to the public in 2019. What sets it apart is exactly that pedigree: these are trails conceived by world-class racers on a hillside they know intimately, with the steep, loamy, root-laced character that has made the Dyfi Valley famous among gravity riders. It has quickly become a destination in its own right, drawing riders from across the UK and beyond to a corner of Mid Wales that already had serious mountain-biking credentials — the waymarked Mach loops have run from the town since 2001, and the volunteer-built ClimachX trail sits in the neighbouring Dyfi Forest at Ceinws.
Trails from red to triple-black
The trail map runs from red at the friendliest end up to triple-black at the other — a grading span that tells you who the park is for. This is gravity riding: long, steep, technical descents that reward commitment and bike-handling, not a venue for first-timers or family pootles. Confident red-grade riders will find plenty to progress on, while the black and triple-black lines are among the most demanding built trails in Britain. If your riding is more cross-country in flavour, the waymarked Mach 1, 2 and 3 loops from Machynlleth and the ClimachX trail at Ceinws are the better fit — see our mountain biking guide for all of them. Protective kit appropriate to the grades you plan to ride is strongly advised.
Land Rover uplift — book online
Climbing 650 acres of Welsh hillside under your own steam would eat most of the day, so the park runs a Land Rover uplift to the trail heads. It currently operates Thursday to Sunday, and places must be booked online in advance through the park's website — turn up on spec on a busy weekend and you may be disappointed. For riders who prefer to earn their descents, the arrival of e-MTB routes has changed the equation: a dedicated e-MTB offering launched in August 2025, with a further expansion of e-bike routes in August 2026, letting battery-assisted riders lap the hill without the uplift. Check current uplift days and prices on the park's own site before you travel, as operating patterns can change seasonally.
Café, shop and coaching
Base camp matters on a wet Welsh hillside, and the park's café — complete with log burner — has become as much a part of the Dyfi Bike Park experience as the trails, somewhere to dry out, refuel and replay the morning's lines. There is a shop on site for spares and essentials, and coaching is available for riders who want to move up a grade with expert eyes on their technique. Bike hire and servicing are close at hand too: Dyfi Bike Shed in Machynlleth hires mountain bikes, e-MTBs and downhill bikes and sits conveniently near the park. Make a weekend of it with a ride on the Corris Railway or a walk up Cadair Idris for the non-riding days.
Practical Information
Dyfi Bike Park is three miles north of Machynlleth off the A487 at Pantperthog, SY20 9AS — under ten minutes by car from the town centre, and reachable by bike up the valley road. Uplift currently runs Thursday to Sunday and is booked online; the café, shop and coaching operate from the park's base area. For accommodation, Machynlleth offers everything from bunkhouses to hotels (where to stay), and Gwerniago campsite is around 10 minutes from the park — see our camping page. Arriving without a car? Machynlleth station is on the Cambrian Line with direct trains from Shrewsbury and Birmingham (getting here). Check the park's website for current opening, prices and conditions before travelling. And build in a rest day: the Dyfi Valley's wildlife, the galleries and cafés of Machynlleth and the beaches of the nearby coast are all part of what makes a riding trip here different from a weekend at a fenced-off trail centre.
Booking, passes and how a day runs
The park is firm about this: no walk-ins, advance bookings only, through its own online system. Gates open at 9am, the uplift runs continuously from 10am to 4pm and gates are locked at 5pm, with earlier finishes in the darker months. An uplift day pass is priced by day of the week — around £50 on a Thursday, rising to roughly £56 on a Saturday when we checked — and buys unlimited laps, each uplift taking ten to fifteen minutes depending on which part of the mountain you ride. Regulars can buy a Park Pass in blocks of six or twelve uplifts, the twelve working out as twelve for the price of ten, with the credit valid a year. Guiding starts at around £120 and includes the day's uplift pass, a sensible way to see the place on a first visit; coaching runs from one-to-one sessions up to groups of four, plus multi-day camps that include uplift and food. All these figures move, so book on the park's own site.
Kit, ages and the bike you need
A full-face helmet and knee pads are compulsory, and without them you will not ride or use the uplift; helmets must meet at least EN1078 and be under three years old, and eye protection, gloves and body armour are strongly advised. The minimum age is twelve. Riders of sixteen and over may ride unsupervised, fifteen-year-olds need a responsible adult of eighteen or over on site, and twelve to fourteens need that adult riding with them; under-sixteens are barred from the triple-black tracks. The bike matters too: full-suspension only, 140 mm of travel or more recommended, hydraulic disc brakes, tyres of at least 1.5 inches, and handlebar end plugs fitted. Electrically assisted pedal cycles are welcome provided assistance cuts out at 15.5 mph and there is no throttle. The published track list runs to nineteen named descents, eleven on the upper mountain and eight on the lower, graded from red and double red through black and double black to triple black — a ladder to climb rather than a single standard to meet.
Day trips