Cwmcarn Trails

Cwmcarn Trails is a purpose-built mountain bike centre in the Ebbw Forest near Newport, South Wales, managed by Caerphilly County Borough Council and Natural Resources Wales. The centre offers waymarked trails including two red XC loops, a blue XC trail, two downhill tracks, and a pump track.

Pwca Trail (Blue XC)

• The Pwca Trail is 2.3km long and blue-graded. Good for novices and as a warm-up lap.

Twrch Trail (Red XC)

• The Twrch Trail is 18km long with 300m of climbing, taking about 1-2 hours to ride. It has a technical and scenic climb that rewards with flowing, smooth and fast singletrack on the way down. The ups are rooty with numerous obstacles.
• A 6km phase-one connection between Twrch and Cafall is also rideable, bringing you back on yourself from the Twrch without yet linking to Cafall.
• Named sections along the route include Airstream 1 and Airstream 2, Giant's Finger, Mabinogion, Odin, Gate Keepers, Archie's Lift, Dragon's Teeth, Dragon's Tongue, Angel's Post, and the Finish Section.

Cafall XC (Red)

• The Cafall red trail is 12.48km long, climbing to over 400 metres altitude. It combines tough climbs and tight hand-built singletrack with technical descents.
• Named sections include the Hideout, Rocky Valley, Heartbreak Ridge, Powder House, and K Jam.

Y Mynydd DH Track

• The Y Mynydd downhill track splits into two runs: a red (1,900 metres, 250 metres of descent) and a black (1,750 metres, 250 metres of descent). Features include berms, switchbacks, doubles, a tunnel, rock steps, and a quarry gap. Built by Phil Saxena from Architrail.

Pedalhounds DH Track

• Pedalhounds is a 1.4km downhill track on the northeastern slopes of the Ebbw Forest, accessed via the Cafall XC trail. It starts with a rooty section through the trees, picks up speed through wooded terrain, and finishes with a steep jumps section. Drops, roots, rock and stumps throughout.
• The track underwent a full top-to-bottom refresh in 2026. On Track carried out the work in collaboration with SB Rural Contracting and RW Trail Works, introducing new features across all three sections of the trail.

Pump Track

• A small pump track on site, aimed at younger riders and beginners.

Groups and Clubs

• Cwmcarn Trail Crew maintain the trails.
• Cwmcarn Forest on Facebook for trail status and updates.

Also in This Valley

• The same hillside is also home to Risca Bike Park, a network of rider-built unofficial trails maintained by Risca Riders volunteers. The Risca lines drop off the far side of the ridge toward Risca village and are accessed by climbing via the Cwmcarn trail network.

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• If you have ridden the trails at Cwmcarn then post a picture, video or write a short review and share your experience.