Queen Elizabeth Country Park
OPEN AT WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS, SUBJECT TO OFF-SITE BOOKINGS - PRE-BOOKING ADVISED
Opening hours and booking
Our base is open most weekends (year round) and midweek during school holidays from Easter to October half term, subject to weather.
Opening hours are 9-5 during BST and 9:30-4 in winter subject to offsite and pre-bookings.
Our fleet of premium e-mountain bikes can be pre-booked online for half days (from 31 Mar to 27 Oct) and full days all year.
What's the riding like?
Located just off the A3 and on the South Downs Way, Queen Elizabeth Country Park (or "QE") is the epicentre for mountain biking in West Sussex and Hampshire. It has both man-made singletrack trails, graded by difficulty, and easy access to the dense network of bridleways of the South Downs.
How much experience do I need?
Whether you are a novice, intermediate or experienced mountain biker, looking for countryside views and pub stops or fast, thrilling technical riding, QE offers something for everyone who is ready to climb a few hills and absorb a few bumps. For anyone looking to build skills and confidence, we recommend the coaching team at Beyond the Mud.
The Forest Trails
Whether you are looking to ride for 2 hours or all day, we have a bunch of routes set up that start and finish at QE and can advise you on where to ride depending on your ability, fitness, riding preferences and the current conditions.
Within the park itself are three official mountain bike trails. You can find more detail on each of them below. You can also see what these are like in our QECP video.
Riding outside the Park
Queen Elizabeth Country Park is right on the South Downs Way and as well as great mountain biking, there are amazing routes that head East and West from the centre. We can suggest routes based on your ability and experience (that take in pubs and cafes) and can also recommend qualified local coaches to help you find the best trails and improve your riding skills.
The South Downs Way
The South Downs Way extends 100 miles from Winchester to Eastbourne and our rental centre is one third of the way along it.
This well-known route is particularly well-suited to electric mountain bikes being largely off-road with constant climbs and descents, but it is only part of the story.
There are endless bridleways that link into the South Downs Way, many of which make for more interesting riding and more varied scenery.
Circular Routes from our centre
One of our favourite routes takes you on a big anticlockwise loop, starting with some easy gravel to get familiar with the bike before tackling some narrower trails through fields and woods which gradually bring you up to the South Downs Way. You head West before arriving back at the top of QECP from where you can descent on an easy gravel trail or on the Blue downhill trail.
If you would like some help with routes for your ride, we will be happy to discuss your ability and fitness levels and make some recommendations based on these as well as current conditions.
