Greno Woods

Greno Woods have been home for mountain bikers for as long as the sport has been in this country; it hosted races up until 1994 and provided the training ground for World Downhill Mountain Bike Champion Steve Peat.

For a long time the trails in the woods consisted of a series of desire lines and at one point had a couple of impressive North Shore Style ladder drops! When Sheffield Wildlife Trust took over the management of the woods in 2010, they were keen to formalise a trail network into something that was more sustainable.

It was from this working relationship with SWT that Peaty’s Steel City DH came about, initially to help raise money and awareness for SWT to buy the woods, but in recent years all money raised from the race has gone into the construction and maintenance of the trails. There is now a fully surfaced and signposted loop consisting of three professionally constructed downhill trails that are connected by Bridleway (fireroad) climbs. The signposting starts across the road from the Forestry Commission car park on Woodhead Road.

As well as a loop, with all the DH trails starting from the top Bridleway, many riders opt to session the downhill tracks and you will find riders in the woods on bikes from hardtails through to full on DH rigs

Trail Grade(s) and distances Red/Black

The loop consists of 2 red grade descents, Pub Run and Steel City (which has a Black opt in) and one black grade descent DH3 (this has several large but rollable jumps and a steep section towards the end). The whole loop is connected by red grade bridleway

Total Loop Distance: 5.3 KM        Ascent: 210m         Descent: 210 m

Red: 3.6 KM

Black: 1.7 KM

Location/Access

The trails are located to the north of Sheffield just above the Village of Grenoside. While most people drive to the woods and park in the car park opposite the woods it is perfectly feasible to ride there as well. The Trans Pennine Trail runs throught the wood and allows access from Burncross or from Oughtibridge through Wharncliffe woods. It is possible then to link up the Upper Don trail to the Penistone Rd Cycle route and ride pretty much traffic free from the town centre to the woods (approx 6 miles)

The Nearest railway station is in Chapeltown

Parking

The nearest car park can be found opposite the main entrance to the woods on Woodhead Road here

Local Services

About half a mile down the road from woods is Grenoside village where you will find several pubs (the Old Red Lion being a rider favourite) as well as a chip shop and a small village shop. Please be considerate if you are parking in the village.

Further Information

Across the road from Greno woods is Wharncliffe woods, a much bigger and in many places steeper and more gnarly place to ride. There is the remnants of an XC loop in there, but it is pretty tricky to follow (much of the good stuff is easier to find with a local guide) There are also numerous DH runs in the woods that offer a great opportunity to progress your riding further

There are many people to thank for the existence of the trails in the woods, firstly to Sheffield Wildlife Trust, who give us permission to build the trails and to Peaty’s Steel City DH, without which there would be no funding to pay for the excellent BikeTrack to build and maintain the trails. A lot of credit must go to Steve Peat, who has been a driving force behind the trails, has contributed to trail design and picks up a lot of the litter left behind by inconsiderate riders!

Trailforks map

Greno Woods mountain biking trails