[Closed] Haldon Forest near Exeter

Naah, wouldn't go out of my way to go - that said it's a good place to introduce people to mountain biking.

The blue is just a fairly flat loop (and a slightly longer flat loop)
The red is probably a blue, couple of interesting bits.
There is a very short "black" extension off the red - more like a red really, and not worth the slog back up the hill after.

Fair bit of off piste stuff cafe side apparently, but I've not had a chance to go find it.

Car park gets ridiculously busy at the weekends.

All in all not worth it - if your in the general area then I'd go Quantocks/Exmoor.

Nice skills area, pump track and green trail for the family, but red isnt upto much. I would rather go do a Dartmoor loop.

The above posters have obviously never strayed off the marked trails at Haldon...

It has some excellent trails, many built by a band of hard-working volunteers and local riders, but be prepared to have an explore.

For the marked trails, the red is fast and quite fun - the downhill from Angry Man's gate to the bottom is a laugh.
The blue is fast, but mainly useful as a link between all the good stuff.
You can quite happily put together a loop of 15-16 miles up there using the off-piste stuff. But you will need to either be willing to have a good explore for the trails, or link up with a helpful local. Many local riders do post on here, and will happily show people around.

The only waymarked routes are short but well designed and fun.
(think of the Blue as a Turquoise and the Red as Purple though 😉 )

The unmarked routes are great and extensive.

Put the two together and plenty of options for fun loops that work out about 1000ft per 8-10 miles so not massively hilly but not flat either, you will have to explore or have a local for the unmarked bits to be enjoyed at their best though.

That's all I'm saying before this turns into a 'my trail centre is better than yours' argument 🙂

Plenty of natural and semi-natural riding available in the forest, and loads more over the other side of the A38 on 'Cafe Side' and also other nearby locations like Dartmoor for a quieter and more out-there experience if you're passing.

There's plenty there for those that explore. I can show you round it sometime if you like?

Thanks for the info - I usually go to Triscombe / Quantocks but might give it a try sometime.

You sound like a prime candidate for East Dartmoor

Haven't got around to much of Exmoor, or Dartmoor yet but they definitely need doing.

As a trail centre it's a bit rubbish. As a riding area (including the off piste and local bridleways) it's pretty good.

Official trails, as above. If you're in the area it's worth a look, but red will be over quick. The blue is actually a bit of fun with speed if you can get a clear run, but weekends it's full of families and have often come across people walking with buggies or riding with kiddy trailers.

The off piste is another matter. It is pretty good, but again I wouldn't make a long trip for it, or maybe make a long trip and add in other Devon spots.

Other thing, I've heard talk of the FC wanting to put all the off piste out of action. Don't know if anything has come of that. It's my old stomping ground and I pop in when I'm down there from time to time and makes it worth a pootle.

There was talk a while back of the off piste stuff being taken out of action, but it seems that tacit approval has been given as long as building isn't too overt or gets in the way of forestry work.
Some of the bods who do building have also been involved with trail maintenance days with the FC, so a decent relationship seems to have built up. Which is nice 🙂 it also helps that some of the FC guys ride, and so appreciate the trails that have been built.
Also, some of the trails have been used for various Enduro and mini-DH events up there, so the FC seem to recognise that they add something to the forest.