If Mansfield Outdoor Centre is the polished, licensed, pay-to-play trail centre in the Mulmur Hills, Dufferin County Forest is the wild, sprawling, free-to-ride cousin that shares the same neighbourhood. Both are worth your time. Both are excellent. But they’re fundamentally different rides.
Dufferin is what happens when you take a 1,066-hectare stretch of managed forest, hand it to a passionate community of trail builders, and let them thread singletrack through it for two decades. The result is a network so big that most Ontario riders — even ones who’ve been coming for years — haven’t ridden every trail. And that’s part of the charm.
What You’re Actually Riding
Dufferin County Forest is broken into multiple tracts, but the one you want for mountain biking is the Main Tract, just north of Mansfield on Airport Road. There’s over 50 kilometres of dedicated mountain bike singletrack in this tract alone, spread across roughly 75 named trails on Trailforks. The Mono Tract to the south adds another 27 or so trails if you want to keep going. Combined with the neighbouring Mansfield Outdoor Centre property, you’re looking at over 1,900 acres of connected riding.
The terrain is classic Mulmur — sandy loam soil that drains fast, gently rolling hills that get steeper as you head east, and a smooth, fast-flowing character that makes Dufferin one of the best XC destinations in the province. Hills are gentle at first, then more punchy as you push deeper into the network. Nothing here is scary. Everything here is fun.
Fifty kilometres of flowing singletrack, sandy soil that stays fast, and a network so vast you can genuinely get pleasantly lost in it. This is why we come.
Who It’s For
XC and endurance riders: This is your home. If you love long days in the saddle, stitching together loop after loop, and watching your Strava tick up without ever running out of trail, Dufferin will make you very happy.
New riders: The gentler trails near the trailhead are welcoming, well-built, and forgiving. It’s a great confidence-builder — just don’t venture too deep on your first ride until you get your bearings.
Intermediate riders: The sweet spot. Fast, flowy, endless. Ken’s Trail has the most elevation gain in the system, and The Lollipop has the most jumps if you want to session features.
Riders wanting to escape crowds: The system is so big that even on a busy Saturday, you can find trails where you don’t see another rider for an hour.
A Few Trails to Build a Day Around
Ralphs + Inner Loop: One of the most popular routes on Trailforks. A great intro to the system.
Ken’s Trail: The most climbing in the network. If you want to feel like you earned lunch, this is where to start.
Max Connector: A local favourite that ties trails together.
The Lollipop: Features and jumps for anyone wanting to work on airtime.
The Yellow Ski Trail: The longest single trail at almost 6 km. Great when you just want to keep pedalling.
Plan Your Day
Where to park: The main trailhead at 937513 Airport Road, just north of the Mansfield Ski Area on the east side. There’s a big lot, an outhouse, and a trailhead map. That’s it — no other facilities, no water, no café.
Cost: Free. This is public forest managed by Dufferin County. If you use the trails a lot, consider dropping a donation to the local trail groups who keep it going.
When to ride: May through October is prime. May is statistically the busiest month — the trails are freshly opened and everyone is excited. Trails are shared with hikers, equestrians in some areas, and cross-country skiers and snowmobilers in winter, so read the signs and stay on the right trails.
Bring a map: Trails all look similar out here, and the older trailhead maps have been known to confuse first-timers. Download the Trailforks region offline before you go. It will save you.
Drive time: About an hour from Toronto, 45 minutes from Barrie, 30 minutes from Collingwood.
Make It a Bikes and Beers Day
Dufferin doesn’t have facilities of its own, but you’re within easy striking distance of the Pine River Café at Mansfield Outdoor Centre next door. Or head into Creemore for one of the best small-town brewery scenes in Ontario — Creemore Springs Brewery is a proper post-ride destination. Shelburne, Alliston, and Orangeville all have solid food options for the drive home.
We sometimes combine Dufferin and Mansfield into some of our best weekend group rides — camping or lodging is available at Mansfield or nearby, no rush, no bike-park queues. Watch for the announcement and come along.