CORALLY

Where can you ride a motorcycle off-road in Spain?

Last reviewed: October 30, 2026

It depends on the autonomous region: the national Forestry Act leaves it to each one to set how motorcycles may use forest tracks. Common to the four in the table: never off the track; not on singletrack or firebreaks either; and on drove roads only with an exceptional permit. In summer, a wildfire closure overrides everything else.

Dirt track, singletrack, drove road and firebreak

The rules go by the type of way, not by how it looks from the saddle:

  • Forest track (dirt track): an unpaved way for vehicles. In the Valencian Community, one with 2 metres of surface or more (Decree 91/2023, art. 112). In Catalonia, outside protected areas, it must be paved or at least 4 metres wide to be ridden (Act 9/1995, art. 6).
  • Singletrack (senda): a narrow footpath. In the Valencian Community, less than 2 metres of surface. On a motorcycle, banned in all four regions in the table.
  • Drove road (vía pecuaria): cañada, cordel, vereda or colada, the traditional livestock route. It is public land and not a track, however wide and unpaved it is.
  • Firebreaks and logging tracks: strips that stop fire and ways for hauling timber. They are not for riding (Catalan Act 9/1995, art. 7; Murcia Order of 24 May 2010, art. 7.1).

What national law says

The Forestry Act 43/2003 leaves the conditions for motor vehicles on forest tracks outside the road network to each autonomous region (art. 54 bis.2). It also allows access to high wildfire-risk areas to be restricted when the risk calls for it, with visible signs (art. 54 bis.4).

The Drove Roads Act 3/1995 only lets non-agricultural motor vehicles use drove roads exceptionally, for a specific use and with a permit from the region; never with livestock on the move or on drove roads of ecological or cultural interest (art. 16.1). For a ride out, the answer is no.

Riding a motor vehicle off roads, ways and tracks without authorisation, or where there is an express ban, is an offence under the Forestry Act (art. 67.k). With no damage it is minor: 100 to 1,000 € (arts. 68 and 74).

Natural parks and Natura 2000

Being inside a protected area does not ban riding in itself: each area's plan (PORN, PRUG or management plan) decides, together with the regional law. Many limit motorcycles to signed or paved tracks. Before going in, check the area's plan or the sign at the entrance.

Four regions, compared

The regions where Corally has routes, with the article for each fact. On top of this, the track has to be open to traffic: a barrier, a sign or a closure overrides this table.

Valencian Community

Where
Open tracks with 2 m of surface or more on public forest land. Never on singletrack or off the track (arts. 112 and 113)
Speed
30 km/h (art. 113.6)
Group
Up to 25 vehicles without authorisation; from 26, with authorisation (art. 105)
Banned
Enduro and trials bikes, motocross tyres on the driven wheel, quads and three-wheelers (art. 113.3)
Protected areas
Whatever each area's plan says
Wildfires
At pre-emergency level 3, tracks and singletrack can be closed (art. 139.3)
Law
Decree 91/2023, Forestry Act regulation

Rules in the Valencian Community

Aragon

Where
Tracks open to traffic on public forest land; tracks not open, with authorisation. Never off ways and tracks (arts. 91.2 and 92)
Speed
30 km/h (art. 92.2)
Group
Up to 5 vehicles in convoy (art. 92.2)
Banned
Riding off ways and tracks; on drove roads, sport or competitive motorcycle use (Act 10/2005, art. 39.c)
Protected areas
Whatever each area's plan says
Wildfires
Danger season 1 April to 15 October; tracks are only closed when a red-plus alert is declared (Order AGM/681/2023)
Law
Legislative Decree 1/2017, Aragon Forestry Act

Routes in Aragon, with the rules in two lines

Catalonia

Where
Paved tracks or tracks 4 m wide or more, and authorised ways in the county inventory (art. 6)
Speed
30 km/h on unpaved ways (art. 13)
Group
At most 7 motorcycles in specially protected areas; elsewhere, no more than 15 vehicles together (art. 16)
Banned
Off-track riding, firebreaks, logging tracks, livestock routes and riverbeds (art. 7)
Protected areas
In specially protected areas (ENPE), only the tracks in their plan (art. 6)
Wildfires
Ways can be closed at high wildfire risk (Decree 166/1998, art. 6.3); riding a closed one is a serious offence
Law
Act 9/1995 on motorised access to the countryside and Decree 166/1998

Routes in Catalonia, with the rules in two lines

Region of Murcia

Where
Only on ways expressly intended for traffic (Order of 24 May 2010, art. 7.1)
Speed
No general limit found: whatever each track's sign says
Group
No general figure
Banned
Off-track riding, firebreaks, logging tracks, singletrack and riverbeds (art. 7.1); motor events on forest land, only with authorisation (art. 7.3)
Protected areas
Whatever each area's plan (PORN or PRUG) says
Wildfires
Danger season 1 June to 30 September; in extreme heat, forest ways are closed by resolutions in the BORM
Law
Order of 24 May 2010 on wildfire prevention

Routes in Region of Murcia, with the rules in two lines

What is not clear: Murcia

The Region of Murcia has no law of its own on motor vehicles in the countryside. The general rule comes from a 2010 wildfire-prevention order that applies all year to all forest land and the 400-metre strip around it, and renews itself automatically.

We have not found a speed limit, a group size or a minimum track width in it, and there is no public list of which are the "ways expressly intended for traffic". Until there is: only clearly open tracks and ways, signs prevail and, if in doubt, ask the town hall or the regional Directorate-General for the Natural Environment.

Summer and wildfires

Every region has its wildfire danger season and can close tracks when the risk rises: the Valencian Community at pre-emergency level 3, Aragon with the red-plus alert, Catalonia with temporary closures and Murcia with BORM resolutions listing the closed ways. A closure overrides the rules even if the track is legal the rest of the year.

Before a summer ride, check the day's risk level on the region's emergency or environment website and the signs at the forest entrance.

What to carry

Off-road, a road-registered motorcycle is still a road vehicle: the paperwork is the same.

  • Your driving licence (General Drivers Regulation, art. 3.2).
  • The registration certificate and the MOT (ITV) card, originals or certified copies (General Vehicles Regulation, art. 26).
  • Valid compulsory insurance: taking it out and keeping it is the owner's duty (Royal Legislative Decree 8/2004, art. 2.1).
  • In Catalonia, Decree 166/1998 repeats it for the countryside: number plate, driving licence and registration certificate (art. 4).

Fines

Under national law, riding off the track or where it is banned is a minor offence with no damage, 100 to 1,000 €; with damage of 10,000 € or more it becomes serious, 1,001 to 100,000 € (Act 43/2003, arts. 67.k, 68 and 74).

Regions also have their own scales. In Catalonia, 60.10 to 300.51 € for minor offences (speed, group size), 300.52 to 3,005.06 € for serious ones (unsuitable way, off-track riding, way closed for wildfire) and up to 30,050.61 € for very serious ones (Act 9/1995, arts. 27 and 30).

How Corally applies it

  • Singletrack is outside the way-type filter by default: the planner does not use it and the analyzer flags the sections of a GPX that go along it.
  • If OpenStreetMap says a way is closed to motorcycles or motor vehicles, the planner avoids it and the analyzer flags it as "Closed to motorcycles".
  • The Enduro profile is a difficulty level, not a type of bike: if the route goes through the Valencian Community, the plan carries the article 113.3 warning.
  • What Corally does not know: whether a track is open today, new chains and signs, wildfire closures, untagged drove roads and each park's plan. The data is public and collaborative (OpenStreetMap) and may differ from the ground: signs prevail.

Plan a route on dirt tracks

Frequently asked questions

Can you ride a motorcycle on dirt roads in Spain?
On tracks open to traffic, yes, with each region's conditions: width, speed, group size and, in the Valencian Community, the type of bike. Off the track, on singletrack or on firebreaks, no, in none of the four regions in the table.
Can you ride a motorcycle on a drove road?
Only with an exceptional permit from the region for a specific use, and never with livestock on the move (Act 3/1995, art. 16.1). For a ride out, no. In Aragon, sport use of motorcycles on drove roads is expressly banned (Act 10/2005, art. 39.c).
What is the fine for riding a motorcycle on forest land?
Under the Forestry Act, 100 to 1,000 € with no damage, and more if there is (arts. 68 and 74). Each region also has its own scale: in Catalonia it goes from 60.10 € to 30,050.61 € depending on severity (Act 9/1995, art. 30).
Can I ride forest tracks on a road-registered enduro bike?
It depends on the region. In the Valencian Community, no: Decree 91/2023 bans enduro and trials bikes on its forest tracks, registered or not (art. 113.3). In Aragon, Catalonia and Murcia the general rules do not ban a type of bike: they regulate where and how you ride.
How fast can you ride on a forest track?
30 km/h at most in the Valencian Community (Decree 91/2023, art. 113.6), Aragon (Legislative Decree 1/2017, art. 92.2) and Catalonia (Act 9/1995, art. 13). In Murcia we have not found a general limit: follow the track's sign.
How many motorcycles can ride together?
Up to 5 vehicles in convoy in Aragon; up to 7 motorcycles in Catalonia's specially protected areas and no more than 15 vehicles together elsewhere; up to 25 vehicles without authorisation in the Valencian Community. Murcia has no general figure.
Can a track be closed in summer?
Yes. The Forestry Act allows access to be restricted when the wildfire risk calls for it (art. 54 bis.4) and each region applies it its own way, with alert levels or resolutions. A closure overrides the rules even if the track is legal the rest of the year.
And inside a natural park?
Each area's plan decides. Being in a park or in Natura 2000 does not ban riding in itself, but many plans limit motorcycles to signed or paved tracks. In Catalonia's specially protected areas, only the tracks their plan allows (Act 9/1995, art. 6).

Sources (with the article)

A practical guide written by Corally from the rules cited at the end. It is not legal advice: rules change, every protected area has its own plan, and signs on the ground always prevail.