Croatia is a well-known and popular holiday destination. However, it is not a country very often chosen for bike riding. Although the bicycle infrastructure and bike trails do not develop as fast as, for example, in Poland or Austria, but you can already find some very interesting places here. The city of Omiš, located in the heart of popular Dalmatia, has much more to offer than just beautiful beaches and charming old town. On the slopes of the impressive rocky mountains, above the coast, You can find a lot of good bike trails. What is it like riding on a rocky Croatian landscape? Is it worth visiting in winter, when most bike parks in Europe are closed and under the snow? Here is my report from Omiš area and Enduro Perun Trails!
Enduro Perun – Spontaneous winter trip
Earlier, I had the opportunity to ride a bit on Croatian trails. For example in Bike Center Rabac. Being interested in the development of biking places in this part of Europe, a few years ago I heard about another, very nice place and interesting competitions “Enduro Perun”. The Slovenes that I spoke with during Trans Julius adventure praised the atmosphere of the place, the local „Coast Riders” team, and the trails themselves. At the turn of February and March 2022, I had already a week off at work, and planned the trip which was supposed to be focused on winter activities. The main plan was to bring my skis and play in the Balkan powder. However, a week before departure, the forecasts did not guarantee any fresh snowfall. On top of that, my wife said that maybe it would be better to catch some of the Croatian sun. A short exchange of messages with the local team confirmed that an enduro ride in Omiš area could be a nice idea. So, a slight change of plans. I packed both skis and enduro bike to the car and we set off to Croatia.
Enduro Perun – My visit
My adventure with the trails around Omiš, and first ride in season 2022, began on Sunday, February 27. Thanks to earlier contact with the Coast Riders bike club, I got a seat in the shuttle bus for that day. Thanks to this, I was able to ride with local riders who showed me the most interesting lines and trails of the Perun region. The transport picked us up from the parking lot in the town of Dugi Rat and took us up to the town of Stare Duće. From there, there are 3 longer trails and a few additional variants that allow you to extend and diversify the main descents even more. All in all, on that one day, thanks to bus support, I was able to ride almost all available official trails. In the afternoon we finished our ride at a local bar by the sea, where I “met” one of the main partners of the Coast Riders crew, the local Barilo brewery. We also talked about how the Croatian enduro / DH scene is developing and also about my plan for the next day, the Imber trail.
On the second day, I was instructed by the local team to drove my car to Podašpilje. From there I had to hike with bike to a mountain pass overlooking the sea, where Imber trail starts. Due to the fact that I was alone that day, I climbed on by the trail, trying to remember the good lines for the run down. The hike up took me an hour. But as I climbed up I already knew that this descent is worth it. The upper part of the trail is a beautiful, rocky ridge with interesting lines. After a long and awesome ride on Imber, there is short connector on the asphalt road to the next trail marked on Trailforks as Starsky & Hutch. A different terrain here, with ride from the begining in the woods. All in all, these two trails combined together was really great enduro adventure for me. Then all I had to do was climb back to get the car. It might not be the longest trip I had done, but this descent gave me a lot of fun. It was the end of my bike ride in this area as later I was still going skiing to Montenegro.
Enduro Perun – Trails
Enduro Perun bike trails stretch along the Adriatic coast for several kilometers. There is no single starting or finishing point, but the traversing roads makes it easy and quick to get to most of them. The elevation, or their length, aren’t very big, but the terrain is varied and offers a ride with beautiful views of the Adriatic Sea and the coast. This is not an official bike park, but simply a network of trails that the local Coast Riders crew takes care of. All official Enduro Perun trails can be found on the Trailforks web site or app. Most of those trails are relatively easy. However, it should be remembered that we are unlikely to find beautifully smoothed, wide flow trails here as in some bikeparks. Even on the easiest variants You will encounter a lot of rocks and stones. Despite the natural character, You can immediately feel that these are not only typical Croatian hiking paths. While riding, you can encounter a lot of hand built obstacles, to improve the smoothness and diversify the ride. For me, it was a very nice introduction to the new biking season. But there are also a few steep parts and technical elements which aroused respect and provided the right level of adrenaline. Right next to the Perun region are additional trails located in the Omiška Dinara Mountains, on the other side of the Cetina River. This is the place of Imber Trail, often referred to be the best enduro trail in Croatia. Together with the extension marked as Starsky & Hutch on Trailforks, they are more steep and difficult descents, but definitely worth a ride.
Enduro Perun – Viper / Viper B-Line
We started the ride at first day from the Viper trail. It starts just below Stare Duce town, directly from the asphalt road. The beginning is a nicely winding natural downhill path. There are some rocks and obstacles to play with. After quite tight turns, you go to a scenic ridge, where the terrain flattens out a bit. You can speed up quite well here, but you have to be careful not to over do it, because the surface is quite loose. Lower, there is short traverse to get to few nice natural drops. After another faster section, there is an interesting big stone technical section. It looks pretty scary the first time, but the hard rock surface offers great grip. Further on, a few more interesting obstacles and between the houses you go directly to the main road. By short ride along the sea, you can reach the parking lot in Dugi Rat in a moment, where the shuttle bus was waiting for us.
Enduro Perun – Diagonala
The Diagonala trail begins above Stare Duće. Access via a gently traversing road takes just a few minutes. At its start, you can see some interesting jumps, and the most scenic drop from the wooden platform. Unfortunately, during my visit there was „Bura”, a typical Croatian winter wind. Gusts of wind reached 80 km/h that day and in this trail was very exposed to it, so there was no option of flying bigger things. It is a pity, because although the trail is a little bit flat at times, it is generally a very cool extension of the Viper trail described earlier.
Enduro Perun – Sv. Ivan
The Sv. Ivan trail begins a bit to the West of Stare Duće. It can be quickly reached by a gently traversing gravel road. The route itself is a modified old road / walking trail. Mostly it is a nice and very scenic single trail with a slight slope. However, there are also few and steeper segments and interesting rocks rocks to ride. The trail ends directly in the city of Dugi Rat.
Enduro Perun – Viagra
The Viagra variant can be an alternative starting point for the descent on the Sv. Ivan trail. This is the first trail that was created here. It is quite different in character from the others because it is very winding and quite tight. It is not very steep, but you still have to fit well in the corners. Combined with the rest of the Sv. Ivan trail, it offers quite a long and interesting ride.
Enduro Perun – Ponor
Ponor is a difficult trail that starts right next to the village of Stare Duce. From the very beginning, it offers steep terrain with lot of rocks. The trail also includes few drops and small jumps. This is one of those trails where the faster you go, the less it shakes You. It is one of the shorter trails here, but still can be demanding, because there is no point to rest on it.
Imber – The best enduro trail in Croatia
Imber trail is located on the other side of the Cetina River than the Perun Enduro trails. This time you are not going towards the sea, but inland. There is no driveway here, so to get to the start, You must hike a bike in classic style. But the tour is definitely worth it. The beginning of Imber trail is a ride on an interesting rocky ridge that offers many different lines. Further on, you enter the forest, where the trail winds between trees and rocks. You can see a lot of work done in smoothing the ride. Wooden footbridges appear, and all the larger rocks along the trail have been formed into additional rideable obstacles. There are a few short, steep and technical sections, but also simple ones that are good for speeding up. I was delighted and I can safely confirm that this is the best and most interesting route I have ever rode in Croatia!
Starsky & Hutch (Dvornica)- Extension of Imber
After ride on Imber trail, you can easily reach another good trail called Starsky & Hutch (locals call it Dvornica). Here, from the very beginning, you enter the forest, where a lot of stones and rocks awaits. But there are also interesting digged up obstacles, such as a drop-berm-jump feature. This is an old walking trail that has been modified with many interesting things. At times it is steep and with quite tight corners. The end is an interesting traverse along the river. The ride ends by the Cetina River. In total, by combining these 2 trails, you cover about 700 vertical meters and it is a really great ride.
Trails in Omiš area
Summing up the 2 days of riding in Omiš area, was a great experience for me and an awesome start to the 2022 season. The Enduro Perun trails were perfect as a warm-up. Although most of them are relatively easy, there is definitely no room for boredom here. They were also a good introduction to riding the more demanding Imber and Starsky & Hutch trails. Riding the rocky surface here requires some habits, and variants such as Diagonala and Viper perfectly show the nature of the terrain here. Of course, my two days of riding here is definitely to short to try all interesting trails in the area. During my visit, another, completely new trail was under construction. Just browse Trailforks site to discover more options to ride here. Apart from a few additional routes in the region of Omiš, close there are also trails near Split city. The Marian Peninsula is full of many short, but interesting descents. Above the city there is also a newly built DH trail, which was created for the needs of the Croatian Downhill Cup and is considered as one of the toughest in the country.
Enduro Perun – Coast Riders
The Coast Riders team is responsible for the construction and maintenance of most of the trails in the area. It is a positive group of local enthusiasts who are trying to develop mountain biking in the region. In addition to riding and building together, they also organize different trip and training for the young generation of riders. Their efforts are slowly noticed by local authorities, which are also trying to show support in the development of biking topics. The good news is that all newly built routes are legal. Currently, trails are not marked in the terrain, but this will possibly change in this season. The Coast Riders team is also responsible for many interesting events in the region. From the more local ones like “Micro Avalanche” to the Croatian Downhill Cup competition. At the fall of 2022 season, the EWS Qualifier series will be held on the Enduro Perun trails for the first time.
Enduro Perun – When to come?
Interestingly, according to the assurances of local riders, the trails on the coast are suitable for riding all year round. The worst time to ride is in the summer… High temperatures, tricky dust, and in general crowds of people in high tourist season effectively discourage local riders from riding in July and August. Although there is also an option for this, by riding at sunset and after it, at a typical night ride. It must be an amazing experience! Spring and fall are the best months to ride. Quite a long day, reasonable temperatures and relatively rare periods of long rainfalls. In winter, no one hides bikes here, as there is practically no snow on the coast and especially on the trails closer to the sea. Rainfall is also not a big problem as there is hardly any typical clay here. Water simply drips over the rocky ground or seeps into depressions. According to the assurances of local riders, these rocks retain great grip even in rain. The only thing you need to be careful about is that the flowing water can bring a bit more Stones on the route. The day before my arrival in Omiš it was pouring all afternoon. But from the morning there had been no sign of mud or water. One of the annoying aspects in winter may be the aforementioned bura wind. It is a very strong wind, which in Poland would be called a hurricane, while in Croatia it is quite normal during the winter months. On the first day of riding, I felt its strength in the higher part of the trails. I had to skip some jumps there, but it did not prevent me from having a good time on the other trails.
Enduro Perun – How to go up / Shuttle bus
Due to the fact that the season lasts here practically all year round, a shuttle bus also runs here basicaly every weekend. The fact that I got a ride on the last Sunday of February was no exception or some especially set action. What’s more, I got a ride inside of old bus, and two weeks later the Coast Riders team launched their own shuttle bus with a trailer. Interestingly, the shuttle not only runs along the Enduro Perun trails, but also visits other places in the area. When creating new trails, the team always takes into account the issue of transport to the top and there are many more trails where the shuttle bus can run. Sometimes it runs along the new DH route above Split, other time along the trails of Perun or even by the Starsky and Hutch trail. If you would like to take a shuttle and ride together with locals (which I highly recommend!), write directly to Coast Riders crew. There is an option to arrange an shuttle bus asisted ride also in the middle of the week. The price is 15 euros per person for 4 hours of riding, or 25 euros per person for the whole day.
If you prefer to climb up on your own, or the bus is not available, then there are fairly gentle uphill routes at the Enduro Perun trails. Following the aforementioned principle that there must be good access to the beginning of each trail, I can guess that with the enduro or trail bike You will not have big problem with climbs also in other nearby regions and trails. Similarly, there will be no problems if you have e-bike support. The only one harder climb is to the start of Imber trail. There, as I mentioned before, you have to climb up with pushing your bike. But this one is definitely worth the effort!
Enduro Perun – what bike to take
Although some of the trails are not very difficult, it should be remembered that You will not encounter typically smooth flow trails here. You can expect here a lot of rocks everywhere. Experienced riders will do well here even on a hardtail, but I would definitely recommend a full suspension bike. For most variants, a trail bike with a smaller suspension travel is enough. But if You start to go faster and on more difficult variants, then an enduro bike will have a lot of work to do. What you absolutely need to remember are solid tires, preferably wider and with a reinforced walls. I also advise you to use decent insert to tires, or at least a pressure higher than normal. I also recommend caps for the ends of the cranks, and a fairly solid cover for the lower frame tube. It is also worth remembering about your own helmet and protection, because an emergency landing in such terrain can be very painful.
Enduro Perun – Summary
Summing up, I am glad that I finally managed to ride in this region and try various paths of Enduro Perun trails and also the Imber trail. While coming here, I knew more or less what to expect, but an awesome ride absolutely lived up to my rather high expectations. The trails are very interesting and can be a great option for a nice ride also in the winter season. More difficult variants are very interesting, and the downhill ride along the Imber trail connected with Starsky and Hutch is a one long and really great ride. I also believe that other trails in the region are equally good and I would love to come back here for more than just 2 days. Of course, cool guys from Coast Riders crew, the beautiful surroundings and the Croatian atmosphere add up for the great time I spent here. Omiš, apart from bike riding options, offers many other interesting experiences. In short, Enduro Perun is a very interesting spot for bike riding. During spring, autumn or even winter can be an interesting alternative option to famous trail parks in Italy. Also when going on a vacation to Croatia in the summer, it is also worth considering to bring a bike with you.
