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cyclingshot-blog · 6 years ago

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Pinar del Rey - Easy Trail

Pinar del Rey is a natural park of approximately 338 Hectares in the municipality of San Roque, Cadiz, Spain. This forest was planted by the Spanish Naval service in the 1800s when Spain required wood for the building of naval ships. Areas of interest within this natural park are the Fuente de La Alhaja, Aula de Naturaleza, Arroyo de Alhaja, Tajo del Pajaracco and Cerro del Aguila.

Pinar del Rey - Basic MTB & Hiking Route

Pinar del Rey is filled with trails suitable for MTB or trekking. These trails have been naturally made by wild animals, cows or cyclists/trekkers over the years. There is however a basic route which needs to be learnt for you to be able to enjoy Pinar del Rey to its full potential. In these 12km, beginners will be able to practice their MTB skills with small climbs, some technical areas and sandy patches. The route is full of fauna, birds and the occasional shy wildlife making an appearance from wild pigs to deer. Do be considerate as there will be other users of these trails be it walking or on bicycles and collect any waste you might be tempted to leave behind. If we don’t take care of our habitats, who shall do it for us?

Where to go

A .gpx file can be downloaded from our Strava account on the following link https://www.strava.com/activities/1842448805. This file will provide you with a track for your navigation system or if a Strava user, just follow the route on your mobile device.

We start the route at the entrance to Pinar del Rey, where there is ample parking facilities for you to leave your vehicle (details on how to get there provided at the end of the post). From here you enter Pinar del Rey and immediately get onto the trail system. You will observe a trail network from the very beginning but it is recommended to learn the basic route of Pinar del Rey before venturing into the numerous off shoots.

After a small climb you shall reach an open area used by day goers for picnics. Stay to your right (close to the property fencing) to avoid the sand patches along the middle. Continue through the trees following the worn trail to a small descent (mind the holes) and continue until you reach a small gate with a white hut on the other side to your left.

Follow the trail (you have a small river to your right, through the trees) until you reach a split path. Keep left as the entrance to the next part of the route is on top of it. Once you get to the top, look for a small opening between the shrubs to your left and continue along this trail until you reach a white hut (we see a pattern developing). Here you reach a junction where a fire break crosses through the trail. Continue straight into the woodland following the only trail available to you. You shall now be nearing the Pinar del Rey ring road which takes you to the top picnic area. Do not get on it but rather follow the trail to your right where you will reach a small parking area. There is a sandy path which you will need to follow to get out of the woodland area and onto the next part of the trail.

Follow the hard packed path on the fire break until your reach an electrical mast at the end. There turn left and you’ll see a trail indicator in the dense grass (wood post with green top). Once on this trail, you will need to turn off after approximately 5 metres to your left again. This trail is a little overgrown as it is not known by many but very easy to follow. Continue on it into a beautiful landscape of shrubs and flowers which will lead you to believe for those few minutes you are in another country. There are a few photo opportunities within this trail so keep your eyes peeled!!

This trail will exit onto the main picnic area at the top of Pinar del Rey. Follow the car track up to the guard house and exit it to your left. Follow the trail into the shrubs (shall be more visible in autumn/winter once people and bicycles use it again) and exit onto what is known as Escalones del Pinar (Steps of Pinar). These small slopes will lead you onto another trail which you shall exit to your left. This off shoot will take you back to the picnic area through the shrubs and trees. Do be careful as more often than not you will find cows roaming in this area.

Follow the fire road to a wooden gate and enter it. You will find a map of Pinar del Rey and your location on it to your right. Again follow the fire road making a bearing for Cerro del Aguila. Still a bit of climbing left to be done!! The terrain will level off and give you numerous options of trail networks. Ignore them for now and continue on the fire road for a final climb to the highest peak of Pinar del Rey.

As you are reaching the summit of Cerro del Aguila, you’ll find a trail leading off to your left. Follow this path as it shall take you back to the fire road and on your way back to the picnic area of Pinar del Rey. There are a few other trail networks which start on this path which we shall leave for another post. Once on the fire road, mind the sand patches and the holes on the fire road as this time you’ll be getting some speed going downhill.

Once on the ring road, head back towards the Escalones del Pinar but this time look for the opening that leads to the basket and football pitch to your right. Once identified travel through it and look for the white hut. Pass by the right of the hut and follow the path to a small “up and down” where a stream used to pass through. This will lead you on to the main path used by cyclists an trekkers alike and will get you on your way back to the entrance. Retrace the original path to finish the trail or make a loop of the route and double the km to be done.

How to get there

Pinar del Rey can be accessed by car, cycling or on foot. Below we provide three access points to it;

Lessons learnt

This trail has helped us identify some areas we need to improve on and how to further develop the project. We would value your feedback (public or private) and any tips you may have. We are passionate about cycling and photography but are on a learning curve when it comes to blogging and video editing.

We hope you have enjoyed this post and the direction we want to take this website in.

Happy cycling!!!

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