The Yorkshire Dales offer mountain bikers a landscape of ancient drove roads, limestone-dusted singletrack, rocky gully descents and fast-rolling moorland tracks, with a network of bridleways and byways that reward exploration in every corner of the national park. From the classic Cam High Road and Mastiles Lane to circuits of Whernside and Pen-y-ghent, the Dales offer varied riding for novice and experienced cyclists alike. 

This comprehensive guidebook covers 30 graded circular routes across the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Howgills, from short half-day loops to full-day epics. Graded blue, red and black, with routes organised by length, the guidebook makes it straightforward to choose a ride that suits your ability and available time.

• The 30 circular routes are organised into short, medium, long and full-day loops, graded blue (medium), red (hard) and black (very hard), covering all the major dales including Wensleydale, Swaledale, Ribblesdale, Dentdale and Wharfedale
• Highlights include a circumnavigation of Whernside, the Pen-y-ghent loop, the Cam High Road and Cam Fell Cracker, Mastiles Lane, Fremington Edge, Gunnerside Gill, Tour of Swaledale and the Howgills Classic
• Old Roman roads, lead mining tracks and ancient droving byways feature throughout, alongside rocky gully descents, moorland singletrack and the unique limestone geology of the Dales
• A route summary table allows riders to compare routes at a glance by grade, percentage off-road, length and estimated time, with 1:50,000 OS map extracts and recommended 1:25,000 Explorer maps provided for every route
• Practical introduction chapters cover getting there, accommodation, equipment, food, bike checks, when to ride, rights of way, trail centres and a pre-ride checklist, alongside a bike shops appendix

Few landscapes in northern England offer mountain bikers such a variety of terrain and history. This is the comprehensive guide to exploring popular and lesser-known highlights of the Yorkshire Dales by bike. 

Mountain Biking in the Yorkshire Dales - Quick Facts

Routes: 30 circular mountain bike routes 
Categories: Short loops, medium loops, long loops and full-day loops 
Grading: Blue (medium), red (hard), black (very hard) 
Key centres: Settle, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Dent, Kirkby Lonsdale, Grassington, Ribblehead, Reeth, Gunnerside, West Burton, Sedbergh, Hawes, Kettlewell, Kirkby Stephen, Bainbridge 
Route highlights: Tour of Whernside, Pen-y-ghent loop, Cam High Road, Cam Fell Cracker, Mastiles Lane, Fremington Edge, Tour of Swaledale, Howgills Classic, Ribble Rumble, Dales Leg-Breaker 
Major dales covered: Wensleydale, Swaledale, Ribblesdale, Dentdale, Wharfedale, Arkengarthdale, Raydale 
Notable features: Old Roman roads, lead mining tracks, ancient droving byways, limestone geology, Malham Tarn, Semer Water 
Mapping: 1:50,000 OS map extracts included; 1:25,000 Explorer maps OL2, OL19 and OL30 recommended 
Best season: Year-round; longer and higher routes are best in warmer months

Author Highlight

“There are more than 20 dales within the Yorkshire Dales, and their characters substantially vary, with dramatic limestone pavements found in the western dales, and old mining spoils found in northern and eastern areas. The good news is that the quality of the riding is superb in all areas of the Yorkshire Dales, and the even spread of routes within this guide reflects this.”

- Ian Boydon, author of Mountain Biking in the Yorkshire Dales

Overview map

Route summary table

Introduction

Getting to the Yorkshire Dales

Accommodation

Equipment

Food

Bike checks

When to ride

Limestone

Rest and recovery

Routes

Maps

Timings

Rights of Way

Trail centres

The dirty dozen

Pre-ride checklist

Short loops

Route 1 Clapham and Norber

Route 2 Thoralby

Route 3 Ribblehead and Cam High Road

Route 4 Orton and Great Asby

Route 5 Apedale

Route 6 West Burton and Carlton

Route 7 The Dentdale Dalliance

Route 8 Kilnsey and Mastiles Lane

Route 9 Fremington Edge

Route 10 Gunnerside

Medium loops

Route 11 Hetton HijinksRoute 12 Sulber, Wharfe and Feizor

Route 13 Cautley and Uldale

Route 14 South of Mastiles Lane

Route 15 Barbondale and Lunesdale

Route 16 Grassington

Route 17 Arkengarthdale

Route 18 Penyghent

Route 19 Kettlewell and Old Cote Moor

Long loops

Route 20 Kirkby Stephen and Crosby Garrett

Route 21 Settle and Malham Tarn

Route 22 The Ribble Rumble

Route 23 Raydale

Route 24 Tour of Swaledale

Route 25 The Cam Fell Cracker

Route 26 Embsay and Flasby Fell

Route 27 A Tour West of Hawes

Full day loops

Route 28 Tour of Whernside

Route 29 The Dales Leg-Breaker

Route 30 The Howgills Classic

Appendix

Appendix Bike shops in the region

Seasons

throughout the year, with longer and higher routes best left to the warmer months

Centres

Settle, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Dent, Kirkby Lonsdale, Grassington, Hetton, Ribblehead, Thoralby, Orton, Reeth, Gunnerside, West Burton, Sedbergh, Langthwaite, Airton, Kettlewell, Kirkby Stephen, Bainbridge, Hawes

Difficulty

varying lengths and difficulties, graded blue (medium), red (hard) and black (very hard); novice mountain bikers with reasonable bike handling skills should be able to complete the blue routes, while experts should be challenged by the red and, more so, the black routes

Must See

all the major dales: Wensleydale, Swaledale, Ribblesdale, Dentdale and Wharfedale; circumnavigations of Whernside and Pen-y-ghent; unique limestone geology and two major bodies of water - Malham Tarn and Semer Water

This book includes extracts from 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey maps to help ease your navigation of the routes (see OS map symbols on page 7). The descriptions have sufficient detail to be used alone but the maps are to be used in conjunction with them to help you to stay on the right track. The following Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer maps are recommended for the routes in this guide:

• OL2 The Yorkshire Dales Southern and Western areas
• OL19 Howgill Fells and Upper Eden Valley
• OL30 Yorkshire Dales Northern and Central areas

April 2025

Route 15

February 2025

UPDATE Route 4 Orton and Great Asby

November 2019

Route updates included in 2020 reprint

September 2019

Corrections and updates

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