Ljubljana, the Pearl of Slovenia. I stopped there for the first time on the way to a race a few years ago, I had no expectations as I hadn’t really heard anything about it being a mountain bike spot. I was blown away by the amount and quality of the trails, but even more so by the people. A thriving community, sharing love and passion for the sport. I knew immediately I had to come back for some more, and this happened in the spring of 2024.
Golovec Trails
We decided to kick off our trip with the Golovec Trails. This trail center is located on the southern slope of the Golovec hill, only a short pedal away from the old city center of Ljubljana. Because of that it is one of the local’s favorite spots, and you won’t be surprised to see people riding here at weekends or for a quick after-work lap. To make it even more welcoming, it is home to a great variety of trails, suitable from beginners all the way to expert riders.
We started things off with one of the staples of the Golovec, Trije Bratje, a blue trail with endless berms and some small tables. It is super smooth and offers lots of flow making it the perfect warm-up lap.
The Golovec trails are concentrated on two parts of the hill, the main part which we just rode where you will find 5 trails and another one slightly further south, home to another 4 trails. The transfer to get from one part to the other is quick and easy, so before we go we decide to stop at the jumpline for a push-up session.
The jumps are fairly accessible but they are mostly gaps which could put off some people. To complete the riding experience the Golovec has on offer, we were recommended to ride the black-graded trail 9.Krog.
Right from the top, as we drop into the trail, we see why it was recommended to us. 9.Krog contrasts with the other trails we have ridden so far, as our tyres dig into the fresh loam, we try to build up speed, fighting to keep the grip and control on the steep and offcamber sections. After what felt like only a few seconds, we reach a fire road, where the trail ends and goes into the red-graded trail Rifter, or the blue-graded Nebeska. We decide to follow the second and we find a great flow line with huge berms and tables, a lovely way to get to the bottom before making our way back to the car and heading towards our next stop.
Ljubljana City
One of the main things that made me come back to Ljubljana, is Ljubljana itself. It is the capital city of Slovenia, and as such, has a rich history shaped by its geographical position between the Germanic, Latin and Slavic cultures.
Home to a few 280000 residents, it isn’t really what I would call a big city, and that’s one of the things that I love about it!
When we were there, we parked our van near the center and took our bikes with us to make the visit a breeze. We started off by going up the hill to the Ljubljana Castle and enjoyed the view over the city below. From there we made our way down to the old town where we followed the river banks, navigating our way between the cafes and restaurants until the dragon bridge, one of the symbols of Ljubljana.
If you get the chance to go there on a Friday, I recommend going to the central market where you will find a lot of food stands to fuel up before continuing your visit.
Črnuče trails
Located in the North of Ljubljana, Črnuče Trails, pronounced Tcher nooh che trails, is the newest addition to the city’s incredible riding potential. The lower part is full of jumps of all shapes and sizes, and if you go up slightly higher you will get to the top of the R-Line, a jump line that starts one thousand meters further up the hill. It’s impossible not to be impressed by the amount of dirt that was moved to create this beautiful piece of trail art. The trail starts with two small tables to build up some speed and immediately drops into the serious part, vertical berm after vertical berm. The forces are so hard that I am fighting to keep my head up and look far enough ahead.
After a run that feels like the rinsing cycle of a washing machine, you will be spat out the last berm and into a steep straight line, building up a lot of speed to go into the jump section.
We finish the afternoon by pushing up and riding some of the other jumps available, some hips, shark fins and even a trick jump. I can only begin to imagine how much local riders will be able to improve their jumping with facilities like this. Every rider’s dream garden. Talking about dream gardens, it isn’t the only one Ljubljana has to offer, because just a short drive away, is the Bike Park Ljubljana.
Bike Park Ljubljana
As its name suggests, this is the original bike park in Ljubljana, and its success in the past is what made the other locations around the city possible.
As you arrive at the spot, you are greeted by a jump park at the foot of the hill. You can pick and choose between a dual slalom track, pumptrack, and various dirt jumps, including a huge freeride jump line. This is the original Flat Out Line, and the birthplace of the very successful Flat Out Days event that then moved to the nearby hill of Kocevje. My favorite line ended up being the table line, a jump line that starts off with a few berms to build up some speed, followed by a step-down and two big tabletop jumps with, for both of them, two take-off options.
But the fun doesn’t stop at the top of the roll-in, as a short pedal further up the hill will bring you to a multitude of loamy natural and built single trails, there are so many lines crossing each other that it is hard to map but a bit of exploration will get you to some hidden gems. Thanks again to the relatively small hill, the rotations are quick and easy, and we really enjoyed lapping the upper part over and over, making the most of our last day in Ljubljana.
A great way to finish off our trip, with the confirmation that Ljubljana is a great destination, with great riding on offer for every mountain bike rider.