At a glance
Antur Stiniog (LL41 3NB) — community-owned downhill MTB centre above Blaenau Ffestiniog. 5 gravity trails (blue to double-black), uplift service (~£25/day pass). Dramatic slate landscape setting. Open weekends year-round, daily in season. Ffestiniog Railway stops at Blaenau. Bike hire locally available.
About Antur Stiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog built itself on slate — quarrying the mountain to the bone for over a century, until the industry collapsed and the town was left with the tips and the silence. Antur Stiniog has turned those tips and that mountain into something new: five downhill trails that descend 500 metres through a landscape of grey rock and dark forest, past the detritus of a century of quarrying, to the valley bottom and the uplift van that carries you back to the top.
The trails are genuinely good — the blue is forgiving, the reds are satisfying, the blacks are demanding — but the setting is exceptional. There is nowhere else in Wales quite like this: a mountain biking centre built on slate waste, overlooked by the Moelwyns, with the Ffestiniog Railway running through the valley below. It is a post-industrial landscape reinvented, and the community that built Antur Stiniog is rightly proud of it.
Find it on the map
Frequently asked questions
Antur Stiniog has five gravity trails descending from the moorland and slate tips above Blaenau Ffestiniog, covering a range of grades: a blue trail (suitable for confident beginners and improvers); two red trails (intermediate, with technical features and steeper sections); and two black trails (expert grade, with significant drops, rock faces, and high-speed sections). The trails descend through a combination of open moorland, slate waste tips, and tree-lined sections, with the dramatic backdrop of the Moelwynn mountains and the Ffestiniog valley visible throughout. Total vertical descent of approximately 500 metres. The trails are well-built, regularly maintained, and have become a benchmark for downhill trail design in Wales. Trail conditions and opening days are posted on the Antur Stiniog website.
The uplift service is a transit van that carries riders (with their bikes) from the bottom of the trails back to the top, allowing multiple descents in a session without the significant effort of pedalling back up. Antur Stiniog's trails are designed as gravity trails (downhill only) — the uplift is essential to the experience. An uplift day pass covers unlimited runs during the operating day. The service runs from the base area and typically takes 15–20 minutes to reach the top. On busy days (weekends in season), queues may form for uplift — arriving early is advisable. Riders must register at the base and sign a safety waiver. The uplift is included in the day pass price.
Antur Stiniog has trails for most levels of mountain biking ability, from confident beginners (the blue trail) to expert riders (the double-black). Novices should be comfortable on a mountain bike on rougher terrain before attempting even the blue trail; the downhill nature of the trails means mistakes carry consequences. Children (minimum height/age restrictions apply for the uplift and some trails — check the website) can ride the blue with a competent adult. Intermediate riders will find the red trails challenging and rewarding. The black trails are for experienced downhill riders who have appropriate protective equipment (full-face helmet, body armour) and riding ability. The setting is a significant part of the appeal regardless of ability — the slate landscape of Blaenau Ffestiniog is dramatic and unusual.
Antur Stiniog (the name means "Adventure Stiniog" — Stiniog being a local abbreviation of Ffestiniog) is a community enterprise established to bring tourism and economic activity to Blaenau Ffestiniog — a town whose slate quarrying industry had collapsed and whose economy was struggling. The trails were developed from scratch by a community team, with significant volunteer and local authority investment, and opened in 2013. The project has been widely praised as a model for community-led outdoor recreation development in former industrial communities. Antur Stiniog employs local people, generates spending in the town (accommodation, cafes), and has attracted riders from across the UK and Europe. The enterprise demonstrates how mountain biking infrastructure can revitalise post-industrial landscapes and communities.
Antur Stiniog itself focuses on the trail and uplift operation; bike hire is available from local providers in and around Blaenau Ffestiniog and the wider Snowdonia area — check locally on arrival for current hire options. Visitors who are serious about downhill MTB should bring their own bike (with appropriate suspension and geometry for descending); a hire bike may work for the blue trail but specialist downhill bikes are better suited to the red and black runs. Full-face helmets and body armour are strongly recommended for all riders, particularly on the red and black trails. These can sometimes be hired alongside bikes from local outfitters. The nearest major bike shop with hire facilities is in Dolgellau, adjacent to the Coed y Brenin trail centre (15 miles south).