Which trail centre near aviemore with an 8 year old.

I don't know if the Cairngorm tracks will be open then. Even assuming that there's no snowsports by then, there'll need to be some work done to fully re-establish the tracks.

I've not been to Tarland but I'd have thought that Glenlivet would be your best bet, especially since it's a lot closer.

I’d go for Glenlivet too. Another one which is closer is Strathmashie. There is a new blue run there.

Another for Glenlivet. Moray Monster Trails is another, but even further away.

As above Glenlivet is a good bit closer, at a guess Tarland would be about about an hour twenty away and Glenlivet maybe half that.

And of course there's the cafe at Glenlivet which is worth going there on its own!

+1 Glenlivet.

There are of course natural rides in the area if you want a different flavour of riding. Our kids loved the loops we did around Aviemore / Nethy / Feshie area as kids - from tag along to much older.

I've heard they are trying to keep skiing open for Easter at Cairngorm, so the little MTB uplift (magic carpet) won't be open. There are hundreds of miles of other trails lower down though, the bits I know are mainly XC around Rothiemurchus, some steeps at Badaguish and across town there at High Burnside.

Glenlivet blue is great - really good for family rides IMO. The red is quite long & very scenic but not mega-technical - probably "boring" in 8 year old speak. Also, the cafe is fab.

Tarland has a lot of jumps & berms, which kids love. It has a cruel climb though, so take a tow rope. There were a lot of e-bikes there & I can see why.

We were at Laggan yesterday, our 9 year old loves the new blue & red there as well as the old orange (now called a red). It has a bit of everything. The cafe reopens next weekend I think, I'm sure I heard under new management.  Possibly the best trail centre in Scotland now??...

Comrie is our local, and I love the natural feeling trails there. The grading is possibly best described as "interesting" in places. I've ridden blacks elsewhere which are easier than some parts of the blue. The blue will be fine for a competent kid, they are likely to have 2nd thoughts on a few bits of red though.

Glenlivet is a good call - nice and close. More trails there every time I visit. If you had a whole day to go and explore you could do Aboyne and then Tarland. They're pretty close.

Aboyne's Chutney and Relish are well-made blue trails with loads of flow.  Do them, then head up to Tarland and enjoy the berms and jumps.

Tarland is pretty much a 300m ascent before you get to any flow/decent stuff

I would spend a day between the woods above Boat of Garten and the woods above Carrbridge - natural, twisty and flowy trails without a killer of a climb back up the hill each time. Nice and quiet, loads of wildlife, just a great place to be.

The old curling rink at the bottom of Boat of Garten woods has a new, floodlit pump track, while over at Carrbridge there's a dirt jump park at the village park, next to the football pitch.

You can ride to both locations, traffic-free, from Aviemore. If you're not there for long, I wouldn't bother driving anywhere - enjoy the area itself. Way better than trail centres IMO. The trails above Carrbridge in particular are mint, a good stepping-stone to High Burnside when your lad's a bit older.

If he is riding black graded trails already, High Burnside and Lairig Ghru. Fantastic riding right at your doorstep.

@thegeneralist might want to contribute. He did a Lairig Ghru route with his family after I directed him towards it. He did a really good write-up afterwards.

I ran it on Saturday...

If he is riding black graded trails already....and Lairig Ghru. Fantastic riding right at your doorstep.

I was thinking this too

He did a Lairig Ghru route with his family after I directed him towards it. He did a really good write-up afterwards.

Hmmmm. So there are 3 [ non ridiculous] ways to do the northern tip of the LG IMHO.

The first is via the Chalamain Gap, and I wouldn't recommend it fir an eight year old. It appears mine were 10&12 when we did it. Caveat Volvor:

https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/chalamain-gap-family-cycle-good-or-bad/

The second option is cycling up the fire roads past Rothiemurcus lodge and then along the traverse. If it's bone dry and your kid is nails then go for it. Otherwise I'd also avoid this one. Search for "Rothie" in this thread:

https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/family-planning-help-needed/

Which leaves the third option, which is basically to ride/push up the northern and if the Lairig Ghru as far as you want, then turn around and come back. It's a lovely bit of trail....

another vote for Laggan just to ensure you don't miss the mention of it.

I'll also say that trails around Granton are pretty good. There's the we kinda bike parky bit in the lower woods near the river which is fun for an hour, and then the local trail crew trails are great fun (although may be some tree issues according to trail forks)

I’ve heard they are trying to keep skiing open for Easter at Cairngorm, so the little MTB uplift (magic carpet) won’t be open.

Now confirmed 

I'd agree with the lairig ghru if the weather's ok. Think my lad was 11  when I took him up there, and he loved the adventure of it. We went up past rothie lodge, but it was really dry at the time. I've been that way previously when it's been wet, and I wouldn't do that again.

if it's not windy, glenlivet is good, there's the mini DH and bazzas berms starting at the cafe, and depending what distance he can do there's black trails tagged onto the red route. The red might be a bit of an undertaking at that age tho. The blue is good fun, when I've taken kids up there they've preferred the second half of it, it's possible to miss out the first half to get straight up to the second half.

Trails at grantown are good, and would be quite sheltered .