Cwm Carn Forest, near Newport

Welcome

Set in the heart of the South Wales valleys, Cwm Carn Forest is easy to reach from the M4 and is home to a forest drive, mountain bike trails and walking routes.

The Forestry Commission started to plant trees in the hills around Cwmcarn village in the 1920s.

This former mining area is now a popular destination for visitors especially the forest drive which re-opened in 2021 after extensive redevelopment.

Visiting Cwm Carn Forest

Visitor facilities in Cwm Carn Forest include:

• Forest drive
• Walking trails
• Mountain bike trails
• Visitor centre
• Café
• Camping

The visitor centre, forest drive and most visitor facilities are managed by Caerphilly County Borough Council.

For information about visiting Cwm Carn Forest go to the visitor centre on arrival or see the Cwm Carn Forest website.

Cwm Carn Forest Drive

Cwm Carn Forest Drive has been a popular visitor attraction for many years.

The forest drive was closed in November 2014 to allow 150,000 diseased larch trees to be felled and removed from the forest.

After the last trees were felled in November 2019 a project to re-develop the forest drive got underway.

Following significant investment and redevelopment by Natural Resources Wales the forest drive re-opened in June 2021.

The seven-mile-long drive has eight stop-off points with a range of newly-developed visitor facilities including play areas, accessible footpaths, sensory tunnels and a wooden sculpture trail.

There are picnic areas, BBQ facilities and toilets in some of the stop-off points.

Caerphilly County Borough Council runs the forest drive through a partnership agreement with Natural Resources Wales.

For information about visiting Cwm Carn Forest Drive see the Cwm Carn Forest website.

Mountain bike trails

Natural Resources Wales manages the mountain bike trails in Cwm Carn Forest.

The two cross country trails (Twrch Trail and Cafall Trail) are graded red (difficult).

They are waymarked from the information panel in the visitor centre car park.

The two downhill trails (Pedalhounds and Y Mynydd) are graded orange (extreme).

They are waymarked and are serviced by the on site uplift provider Cwmdown. 

Mountain bike trail closures and diversions

Information about current closures is at the top of this page.

Sometimes we need to close or divert trails whilst we undertake maintenance work or other operations.

We may have to close a site in extreme weather, such as high winds or snow.

Please follow any instructions on site and any temporary diversion signs.

More information about mountain biking at Cwm Carn

• For information about the trails go to the Cwm Carn Forest website.
• For information about the uplift service go to the Cwmdown website.
• To find out what the trail grades mean go to mountain bike trail grades.
• For more information about mountain biking in Wales, go to the Mountain Bike Wales website.

How to get here  

Location

Cwm Carn Forest is on the A467, eight miles from junction 28 of the M4.

It straddles the county borders of Caerphilly and Torfaen.

Ordnance Survey map

Cwm Carn Forest is on Ordnance Survey (OS) map 152.

The OS grid reference is ST 229 935.

Public transport

The nearest mainline railway station is in Crosskeys (Cardiff to Ebbw Vale line).

The nearest bus route is 151 (Newport to Blackwood).

For details of public transport go to the Traveline Cymru website.

Directions

Follow the “Forest Drive' signs from junction 28 of the M4 to the forest entrance on the A467.

The postcode for sat nav users is NP11 7FA.

Parking

The car park is operated by Caerphilly County Borough Council.

There is a parking charge.

For information about parking go to the Cwm Carn Forest website.