Had a great time. Just watch where you are going and don't get lost like me. 😀

Fantastic ride from Aberavon Beach to the Bike center. Well graded trails suitable for all levels of fitness and ages

Do your homework before you come. I just drive expecting to work it out when I got there. What I didn't realise is there are 3 different centres. You need to work out which centre you need to go to for the riding you want to do. Anyway once I worked that out I had an amazing time. There are so many miles of trails you can easier spend a weekend exploring rather than a day. Worth a visit. Lastly the locals are so friendly and helpful. Enjoy....

Great day out. Routes are easy to follow. Plenty of parking.

Fabulous as always. The trails are fantastic - this time was a quick blast around Blue scar to warm up then onto Y Wall for some awesome woody singletrack. Great facilities, plenty of parking and somewhere to hose down your bike afterwards. Highly recommended. I just wish I lived closer.

Nice trail center with something for everyone good facilities cafe bike shop toilets large carpark with reasonable charges situated in between valley's so there is a fair amount of climbing but the downhills make up for it don't expect pampered trails there more of a natural vibe plenty of lose shale in the burms to keep you on your toes

There appear you be plenty of routes to explore here, but when I visited a lot of them were shut. I ended up following the only one that appeared to be open, which was a concrete path next to a busy road. May come back when there's more open to explore

I visited in the week after Easter 2023 and found it to be excellent physically (great hilly woodland with may paths) but abysmal in regards to information regarding trail closures. BEWARE: main circular walking routes are not circular at the moment but there are no warnings of this online or on the ground when you get there! It was my first visit so I went to their website. It is quite good but a bit clunky. It gives a recommendation to download information regarding current trail diversions/closures -- which I did. The pdf document was dated 2021 and stated that a bridge closure meant that most of the longer trails could only be accessed from a smaller free car park on the other side of the river from the main centre (which includes the South Wales Mining Museum). I decided to park at the main centre and ask at the visitors centre if this was still applicable (and re-park if so). Note: it transpired that there are no "Information" staff at the centre! We asked the café staff (very nice cafe, by the way with indoor toilets in addition to the block outside where there are also showers) but they didn't know anything about trails/closures etc. The fixed boards outside gave the same information as online (general trail maps plus diversion due to bridge closure). I had a quick look around and discovered the bridge was fully open (with much clean new wood) so set out to walk some of the longer routes. After crossing the bridge and turning north I soon found my way barred by fencing: "No public access due to tree felling"). I turned South and followed the river noticing other closures at various points on trails leading up to the west. I did most of the Green loop at the southern end but found the very last section leading back to the bridge and my car was also blocked near the privately owned camp site. The only legal route back was the way I'd walked (over 3 hours) or phone a taxi. Staff at the site said cyclists (who at least had diversion signs on their routes) were complaining that the diversions kept taking them around in small circles. In short: nice scenic place made accessible to walkers and cyclists by humans in the past and now turned into a waking nightmare by the current humans running it. The website information needs updating and all trails need to indicate if they are no longer circular and how far you can get along then before being blocked. I still recommend visiting as it's a very nice spot, and if the closures are removed then you'll find the trails well marked and correctly graded for difficulty (information online and on site on boards). The highlight of my visit ended up as the bacon sandwich and cup of tea I got at the café.

I liked the variety of features, willbe sure to return!

Really loved the trail riding here. Its more cross country so expect lots of trails that are long and flowing. All the trails are clearly sign posted , blue, red blacks and with difficulty levels so you'll always know if you're riding within your capabilities. If you fancy the big W2 trail, its marked , sign posted and easy to follow. Expect some challenging drops and sweeping bends. Superb time and had a great coffee and cake to finish.

Really great mix of trails here from beginner / family oriented trails to extremely technical, down the side of a mountain trail. Would definitely suggest this place especially if you are looking for a remote, picturesque trail that will challenge your technical ability. I rode Y Wal (The wall) which is a red route and thoroughly enjoyed it

First time visiting Afan Forest. Easy place to find and park. Had good clean facilities at the car park and the shop which was well stocked. I managed to pick up an Endura summer top and the chap in the shop price matched wiggle, which was a nice touch. The trails were good however there was a large diversion in place to due to some forestry management and trail repairs that was happening. This wasn’t the issue it was the fact the diversions weren’t sign posted well at all. Considering the fact my friends and I hadn’t been to Afan before it was difficult to find our bearings and back to car park. The trails were good and the red trail “The Wall” was quite technical and more challenging ride than we expected. I think if the closed sections were open it would have been a lot better experience. Travelling up from Cornwall it’s a long way up past Cardiff on to Port Talbot, would I return probably. I would once all the work there is complete.

Fantastic riding, fairly well maintained trails. A great bike shop in the car park at the bottom. Can't fault it. Also Blue Scar has been named as one of the top 10 trails in the UK to ride.

Awesome set of MTB trails, surrounded by rugged hills. Nicely linked and loads of options means that they're really is something for everyone, from first timers to racers. Great signage, plenty of parking and vice cafes means that it's easy to make a day of it. Enough trails for days though.

This was my first time back here in over 30yrs & boy oh boy has it been improved. I was born & brought up in these here hills, just over the mountain is my village, Caerau. I left the area aged 21(I'm now 52) We rode & hunted these woods & forsets on our Grifters & cycles that we'd adapted ourselves to use off road, waay before mtb's had even been invented 😎 Later progressing onto motorcycles(Honda TL125S & CR250 Elsinore) by 1979. In essence, we created the tracks you ride today 😉 The railway tunnel on the Afan Valley side goes directly through the mountain ~ a gang of us walked through it once in the 70's from the Caerau side(as boy's do) It frightened the hell out of the lot of us! But it was exciting & it's even more exciting to think of it being reopened & used to connect the two valleys together(the Afan & the Llynfi) once again 😁 If you were to stand & gaze at the woods & forestry, in certain places, you'd have a hard time telling yourself you are in Wales ~ for, in places, it resembled Canada & the Italian Alps. Especially on a hot summers day like today! I was half expecting a black bear or caribou to wander out of the woods at any moment 😏 If you're into cycling outdoors & off road riding you'll be hard pressed to find anywhere better or more exciting than the Afan Argoed MTB centre. The staff were all polite & well informed & every other guest we met there was just the same. We stayed the night in the campsite on the hill but didn't get much kip due to the angle of the pitches(this was our only complaint) but we had a fire going. There were bbq's in place to cook on ~ but most hadn't been used or cleaned in yonks! A little more attention to detail would have made our stay even better - but I guess they don't get many campers...Maybe if they created a few flat areas this could be improved easily. But if you're in a camper van you're laughing ~ as all of the facilities/amenities are in the car park area at the bottom of the hillside. We came on motorcycles. A few of the people I was with were actually too scared to ride their motorbikes up the road/very steep hill to the camping area ~ so I had to ride them up for them...I've riden up many a steep hill on my tours abroad but the abruptness of this one that goes literally straight up was off putting for many ~ especially so with fully laden motorcycles. We had no problems with flies or mozzies during our stay & the scenery & views are breathtaking & the unhindered by street lights starry skies made it extra special 😍😁 I'd give it a 5* rating if it wasn't for the angle if the campsite pitches ~ but all in all it was ace. See you next year...💚

Went here on the mountain bike, very quiet but it was very close to Christmas. Trails are good (the ones I tried). Toilets very good and clean. With a basic bike wash station. Didn't use any other services as either closed or no need.

lovely walk along one of the many walking trails

Wouldn't recommend this for walking, closed routes which we didn't see on the site beforehand. Didn't seem to have much info, paths not obviously signed. Seems brilliant for biking and I feel like walks are an afterthought, bike trails seem to mesh with the only walking route ope and did not feel safe with people flying downhill on bikes whilst walking. No hot food avaliable in the cafe when we went. On a plus site, had eV charging on site and bike rental.

Very quiet, you can beautifully see the landscape and be as high as the clouds, defo recommend, no matter the age.

Great mtb trail centre. Staff are great and very helpful. Mix of easy and long hard trails for everyone. Facilities very clean ,tidy and up-to-date. Cafés serve great food and drinks at both centres. Ample car parking and very reasonable price. In all , a top trail centre.

Great walk and bike trails to suit all abilities. All routes are really well sign posted. Plenty of car parking spaces costing £3.50 for all day and free after 6pm. Food in the cafe is good and popular but service may be slow at busy times. All in all a good day out will be coming back.

Great mtb cycling trails, especially for intermediate and advanced riders, But navigation and routing information is poor. There are not enough waymarkers on the trails, nor enough information signs. The maps on the information signs are hard to understand, and the ones on the website are also out of date (They don't mention the bridge over the river Afan near the main car park). All this does not inspire confidence and makes me worry about getting lost or injured on a Welsh hillside with no idea where I am or how to get home.

Fantastic trails , something for all abilities

Probably the best place for mountain biking known to humankind.

Wow, what an amazing place. Not long opened and they are doing FANTASTIC JOB! Stopped here for coffee then went for a walk and back for lunch at the cafe. Staff are very helpful and the food was yummy! Play facilities are great for kids and safe for them to explore independently. Will definitely be back soon!

This is a world class mountain bike trial centre. It features several trials including the classic Penhydd (red) Trail. The views are fantastic and there are walking routes for visitors who don't want to ride. Plenty of parking and good disabled toilets in the car park.