Hi all,

I’m going on a family camping trip to Northern Spain in August (on the ferry to Santander). We’re taking our bikes and I’m hoping to find some reasonable MTB riding suitable for older kids / teenagers. Can anyone recommend anywhere in the area please?

We’re getting the ferry back from Northern France so also looking for suggestions along the Western coast of France.

Thanks

Doug may help http://www.basquemtb.com/

Thanks for that – I’ll ask him. Cheers

From Santander you are close to the Picos de Europa. (Potes is a good base).
Along the coast from there to France you have…
Riding around Cabezon de la sal,
Castro Urdiales.
I’m sure there’s a lot more in Cantabria but my memory isnt too good at the moment.
Then, you are into the Basque Country.
Near Bilbao you have a coastal track from Plentzia to Algorta. Great views and fun riding. I used to ride it at least once a week for 10 years.
From there you have stuff round Gernika. These are waymarked, not super tecchy but always have great views and go through interesting places.
Next along is Durango and Gorbeia. Tough climbs but worth it.
That’s Bizkaia. Next id Doug’s domain of Gipuzkoa where you cant go far wrong with a stay in Zarautz and ride up into the hills there.
Next is San Sebastian and Hondarribia, the base of http://www.basquemtb. Obviously plenty of riding there.

Generally, I’ve stuck to the coast, if you want more detail just ask, I’ll add anything else that comes to mind.

Do you have a route in mind? Going inland at all?

Wow – thanks for the advice!

We’re thinking of heading along the coast to the French border over a week or so, assuming the weather holds out. I’m keen to have a touristy look around Bilbao, Gernika and San Sebastian but other than that to try to get as much biking in as possible. The kids are pretty keen and able but will want to do a bit of swimming pool / beachy stuff as well. Are the trails covered by local maps at all? The coastal trail you mentioned sounds good.

Cheers

The coastal track is pretty straigtforward. If you camp near Plentzia(really nice place, not sure there’s camping though, if not try Sopelana). Take the metro (with bikes to Bidezebal) and it’s about 400m to the start of the coastal trail (ask for el molino). Then, just follow the coast all the way back to Plentzia.

I love Gernika, it’s short on “Sights” but the surrounding countryside is glorious, there are marked routes round there.
http://www.btteuskadi.net/index.aspx?language=2
Gernika is in the Urdaibai one.

These marked routes are generally forest track but as I say, great views. (The Izki park id the best one I’ve done for pure mtb, not been to the Tolosa one, but the biking round the is pretty good).

The beaches along the coast are excellent and there are plenty of campsites.

Castro Udialies. Nice coastal town with a campsite. Plenty of riding nearby,
http://es.wikiloc.com/rutas/mountain-bike/espana/cantabria/castro-urdiales

Along that coast you should visit llanes, lovely place but have no idea about the biking there.(same with Comillas).

Basque country places of note… Bilbao, Plentzia, Bakio (near San Juan de Gaztelugatze)
Doug riding San Juan de G,

Bermeo, EA, Lekeito, Zarautz, San Sebastian, Hondaribbia.

I miss the place.

The countryside around Zarautz is stunning, and the beaches are great for surfing – if your kids are keen on sport (as they seem to be) perhaps do a surf class too?

(Obviously not the most useful answer to your original question!)

I typed a long reply last night but it doesn´t seem to be here! Hopefully I can remember the gist of it.

That photo… just to be clear it´s not a great place to ride. A fall could be fatal there, it´s way more exposed than it looks. The coast there isn´t great for biking either. It´s a really cool spot and I went to watch the sun set. Anyone who does go there with a bike should remember it´s not really what it´s for, it´s a church, so you need mucho respecto!

If you´d like to drop me a mail I´ll see if I can help. It´s not that easy because there aren´t marked paths round us so you end up mixing and matching paths. A lot of the stuff is linked in with trails local people have built or cleared themselves which aren´t on maps. One easy thing to do is follow the coastline, it´s hard to get lost if you keep the sea to one side. You can do that all along the coastline and have a good day out. Be careful because some places it´s not allowed, and the French are really militant about enforcing that.

If you´d like guiding we can often make a private group for a family. I think from reading your mail you probably are looking to snatch a few hours on the bike rather than days out though. In that case Coastline is good! Or try Irrisarri Land, it´s like a mini BPW I think (never been to BPW) and good fun for a few hours.

oops, wasnt suggesting anyone ride San Juan de G. It’s just that Bakio would be a nice place to camp and San Juan de G. would be a good place to visit i you were there. And it’s a cool picture.

Thanks everyone for all your really helpful replies. I’ll sit down with a map over the weekend and plan it out. Can’t wait! Cheers!

Post a photo or two although you’ll have to go some to match Doug’s

Looks like I’ll be away a fair bit of August but drop me a line anyway if you want showing round some trails near San Sebastian – if I’m in town I’d be happy to help out.