Donovaly is a ski resort located in the central part of Slovakia. It’s located halfway between the town of Ruzomberok, well-known to most bikers as home to Malino Brdo bike park, and city of Banská Bystrica. Formerly, it housed a small bike park, known primarily for its downhill trail, which for many years hosted the Slovak Downhill Cup. Construction of a new bike park for bikers of all skill levels began in 2025. We had to wait a while for the results, but finally, at the end of June 2026, a completely new opening took place. In July, I came to see what had been made and how are looking the trails, built in collaboration with the company and people directly involved with the famous bike park in Whistler, Canada,. Do the trails feel as impressive on a bike as they do look in the photos? Below is my trail report.
Donovaly – Slovakia
As I mentioned in the begining, Donovaly is located a short distance from the town of Ruzomberok. This is great because you can combine a weekend visit in the area to ride at two places. Both bike parks are about a 30-minute drive. Donovaly itself is a picturesque, small ski resort. The lifts are built around a mountain pass that reaches an altitude of about 950 meters above sea level. Around it rise majestic peaks, some of which fall within the boundaries of the Low Tatras and Veľká Fatra National Parks. The resort’s relatively high elevation means there aren’t any significant elevation gains, but the terrain is nice and varied. There’s no major town here. Most buildlings are hotels, apartments, restaurants, etc. The choice of accommodation in summer is extensive. Finding a restaurant is also easy, but there’s only one grocery store.
Riders Park Donovaly
Even the map on the Riders Park Donovaly website reveals that this is just a foretaste of what will ultimately be built here. Currently, the main starting point and Bike Base Camp is located just below the Donovaly Pass. From the main road, you can easily spot the winding trails, which run through gentle meadows along the short lift. There are plenty of parking options, and in the summer, all of them were free. The parking lot closest to the trails and pump track was packed with various attractions for kids during our visit, but finding spaces in the other parking lots around was easy. Everything you need is on site: automatic ticket offices and those with the staff, a ROSE bike rental and testing center, a clothing and protective gear store, a café, bar, bike washers, tools, and service stands. It’s clear that this is a comprehensive project.
Riders Park Donovaly – Trails
Currently, bikers have 10 trails available, totaling approximately 7 km of lenght. It’s clear that the first phase of bike park focuses primarily on beginners and young riders, who can confidently explore the bike park. Currently, only two trails are marked red, meaning they’re intented for advanced riders. The rest are green or blue, meaning very easy or easy. To complement the trails and warm up before heading downhill, the main square at Bike Base Camp also features two pump tracks. One is easier and smaller, made of dirt, and the other is paved and features wallrides, allowing for faster and more adventurous ride.
Riders Park Donovaly – Mini Bike Park
The Donovaly Mini Bike Park is an entire zone designed to prepare youngest bikers for their first bike park descents. There are 3 green, very easy, trails available: Dragon, Husky, and Yippi. The only obstacles on those trails are gentle rollers and very easy profiled turns. The entire area is served by a “moving sidewalk,” so it’s easy for everybody to get to the top. I haven’t personally tested this section, but from a distance, it looks like an ideal area for first steps.
Riders Park Donovaly – Yard Line and Roller
Another zone consists of trails that start at the bike base camp and descend along the platter lift. These are beautifully shaped flow trails. We begin the ride on the Yard Line trail, marked as green “very easy”. After a few perfectly built switchbacks, you can continue on the green trail or turn onto the blue Roller trail which I usually did. It has tighter turns, a few fairly tight transfers, and a small drop. Only at the end of my day I did refresh myself by lap on the green trail, and overall, it’s smoother, more enjoyable, and also has a few table jumps to get off the ground. The entire Yard Line trail is perfectly shaped, there’s practically no need to touch the brakes during the entire run. Huge respect to the builders for such a well designed and built line.
Riders Park Donovaly – Main Trails
The next section of the park is hidden in the forest. This is where the main trails of Riders Park Donovaly are currently located. To get to the starting point, you have two options: the 4-person Buly Expres chairlift or the detachable platter lift Lomena Poma. Interestingly, the platter lift is much faster and more comfortable. Unfortunately, the chairlift is a slow, non-detachable version, and although it covers only 650 meters in length and less than 120 meters of elevation gain, the ascent takes more than 10 minutes. The good news for beginners is that the staff will load and unload bikes, so this lift makes a good sense for families. However, if you want to ride more and aren’t intimidated by the detachable and turning lift, the Poma will transport you directly to the starting point in just a few minutes. This lift is equipped with the proven Easy Loop system, known for example from trails in Wexl. What is interesting is that after going up, at the entrance to the forest there is a gate where you have to validate your pass again.
JoyLine and Stoner trails
The JoyLine trail is marked as the flagship trail in the entire Riders Park Donovaly. It’s a green flow trail over 2 km long, covering 122 meters of elevation gain. Along the way, you’ll encounter a variety of rollers and tables, perfect for pumping up a bit more speed. There are also plenty of beautifully shaped berms. Personally, I often skip the green trails because they can be downright boring, but I have to admit, I had plenty to do here too, and I recommend to try this option for an extra warm-up. The section that’s the most twisty and has the most turns can be shortened by turning onto the shorter Stoner trail, which is a bit steeper and more technical.
Off Roader trail
Next up is the blue Off Roader trail, 750 meters long and with a gradient almost twice as steep as the green JoyLine. This is a very interesting variant that combines elements of a constructed flow trail with natural sections laid out on fresh loam. The tighter turns are nicely shaped berms while on straightaways, traverses, and gentle curves, you’ll need to work with roots and the natural terrain. There aren’t any particularly challenging sections, but it does require some practice to ride it smoothly and efficiently. It is a great fun.
Pinball trail
The red flow trail has plenty of elements to jump, but I wouldn’t call it a jumpline. It’s 1.5 km long and has less than 100 meters of elevation. It was built in close collaboration with Austrian Bike Republic Sölden. This is the main trail for more advanced cyclists, although practically anyone can ride it. Its main feature is its incredible flow. After riding it few times, I reached a point where I was lightly touching the brakes in three places from the start and had to put in pedal stroke in one place. Other than that, it was just a matter of pumping and enjoying the ride. There are plenty of big and well shaped berms, some rather safe jumps to get off the ground, and a small wooden on-off with a wallride option. Riding it feels a bit like riding a roller coaster. The trail regulates its speed accordingly; it’s not particularly fast or difficult, but there’s always something happening, and the trail don’t get boring.
Kamcore trail
A red enduro trail with a natural feel. Roots, rocks, natural traverses, and depressions play the main role here. A pleasant enduro variant with a few added obstacles, such as a skinny drop. During my visit, wet roots from the previous night’s rain could be a bit of a surprise, but there are no very big obstacles here. It is a nice change from the totaly smooth flow trails.
Riders Park Donovaly – new trails?
A quick glance at the bike park map reveals that many more trails are planned. The website even includes already a description of the black Vipera trail, which was supposed to open in the summer of 2026. Summer is slowly coming to an end, but there’s still no information about its opening. And that is something really to look forward to. This black trail is stated to be 2 km long and, more interestingly, it has a whopping 440 meters of elevation. It will be located on the other side of the main road, and near another lift, marking the opening of another section of the bike park. Furthermore, in the current main forest, at the start of the Pinball trail, there’s already a launch ramp for new trail options. During my visit, flags and ribbons were visible, symbolizing that the new trails had already been marked out thru the fores, but there were no signs of construction. This means that we won’t be able to ride the additional trails in this section until the 2027 season.
Riders Park Donovaly – My visit
My visit to Riders Park Donovaly was driven by several factors. I’d already seen the hyped announcements about the new location’s opening, which were impressive. After opening there weren’t many reports of visits. Furthermore, I broke my arm at the beginning of June. It wasn’t anything complicated, and in July I was slowly returning to more ambitious riding. I was looking for a place that would be good for a mountain bike test on my arm. Donovaly, as a newly opened bike park with some interesting flow lines, seemed like a good option. So I decided to spend the weekend in the area with my wife, although after studying the map and the length of the trails, I decided that one day of riding would probably be enough. A one-day pass for an adult costs 32 euros when purchased online (3 euros more at the ticket office). It’s not cheap, but it’s not terribly expensive either.
We stayed overnight in Donovaly, near the lower lift station, at the Kamzik apartments, so there was no need to drive anywhere. We can recommend this option. Driving late on Friday evening, we arrived amidst a heavy storm and torrential rain. Although sunshine was forecasted from the next morning, I was worried the conditions on the trails. In the morning, however, I was pleasantly surprised, encountering maybe three puddles, and wator mostly on the sides of trails. This speaks about the high quality of the construction and water drainage. On the easy slopes, I could easily check my hand’s condition and slowly explored trails from green to red. All the slopes were in excellent condition, although some of the very high and deep berms at pinball trail, had a few holes, but it was clear that the team was constantly reshaping them. Several berms had been already repaired, and riding them was a pure joy. Overall, I had a great time, although a full day of riding here was more than enough for me. In the afternoon, we took a scenic walk around the area and stopped for lunch at a local brewery (we recommend it!). We really enjoyed the atmosphere of this small, and pretty empty resort in summer time. It’s a good place to relax.
Riders Park Donovaly – impressions
Is Riders Park Donovaly a must-visit place? It depends. In its current form, I would definitely recommend it to families with young bikers and to those looking to improve their flow trail riding skills. As a place to learn and improve, it’s absolutely top-notch, and it is hard for me to name a better single place that offers such amazing flow trails for learning. There’s a strong Austrian influence here, and at times, you might forget you’re in Slovakia. All the facilities are also perfectly equipped. Bike rentals, protective gear, accessories, bike washers, and more. Everything is as it should be.
If you’re planning to ride a lot of jumps, steeps and harder trails, the current red trails are quite short and there aren’t many of them. It’s worth remembering, however, that this isn’t the final version of the project. If the new trails will maintain the same level of refinement as the current ones, but offer more elevation gain and perhaps a specific jumpline, it’s definitely worth considering a visit to Riders Park Donovaly. For 2026, it’s more of a half-day destination or a day of very relaxed riding. Before I broke my arm, I considered a 1-day Donovaly + 1-day Ruzomberok option. After that visit, if I were planning to have some heavier bike weekend, I’d opt for 2 days in Ruzomberok – Malino Brdo, unless additional trails open.
Riders Park Donovaly – Summary
In short, as a rehabilitation spot for my broken arm, it was the perfect choice. Beginners looking to improve their skills or those looking for a family friendly spto should put Donovaly high on their list of places to visit. More advanced bikers looking for a more relaxed day will also have good day here. But I generally recommend to wait for the opening of the additional trails, which I hope will be soon. Regardless, the place is very impressive in terms of the quality of the trails and its comprehensive approach to the bike park status. Full information, a map, trail conditions, prices, and opening hours are available at: riderspark.sk. I hope the development of this place will go according to plan and that in 2027 there will be more trails to choose from. If the level of refinement of the trails remains at the same high level, it could be one of the most interesting bike parks in this part of Europe. Then I’d be very happy to return!
About Riders Park Donovaly
Riders Park Donovaly is a farm to grow cycling talents. From safely conquering your first roller and berm to tackling your first jumps, you can confidently develop your skills on our network of diverse trails.
Oficjal website: riderspark.sk
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