CORALLY

Protected areas

Can you ride an adventure bike in a Spanish natural park? ENP, PORN and PRUG explained

Last reviewed: November 9, 2026

A protected natural area (ENP) is a park, nature reserve, natural monument or protected landscape declared as such. Being inside one does not close the countryside by itself: its resources plan (PORN), its management plan (PRUG) and the regional law decide. In many of them, bikes stay on tarmac or on the tracks they signpost.

Acronyms and names

ENP
Espacio natural protegido, a protected area: park, nature reserve, marine protected area, natural monument or protected landscape.
Law 42/2007, art. 30
Parque natural
Natural park: a large area with natural value, the most common kind. It has its own management plan (PRUG).
Law 42/2007, arts. 30 and 31
Reserva natural
Nature reserve: declared to conserve specific ecosystems or species.
Law 42/2007, art. 30
Monumento natural
Natural monument: a single feature, such as a rock formation, a tree or a cave.
Law 42/2007, art. 30
Paisaje protegido
Protected landscape: a place protected for its natural, aesthetic and cultural value.
Law 42/2007, art. 30
PORN
Natural resources plan: it zones an area and prevails over land-use and urban planning.
Law 42/2007, arts. 17 to 19
PRUG
A park's use and management plan: it sets out the uses, for example which tracks you can ride.
Law 42/2007, art. 31
Zona de reserva
Reserve zone: the most protected part of many plans, with the most limited access.
Each area's PORN or PRUG

What a protected natural area is

Spain's Law 42/2007 on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity sorts protected natural areas into parks, nature reserves, marine protected areas, natural monuments and protected landscapes (art. 30). The regions declare them and sometimes add designations of their own, such as parajes naturales or parques regionales.

On a bike, the category matters less than the plan: two natural parks can have very different rules. What you need to find is the plan of that specific area.

PORN and PRUG: which one decides

The PORN zones the natural resources of an area. Its provisions prevail over land-use and urban planning, and sector projects can only depart from it for overriding reasons of public interest, justified and made public (Law 42/2007, art. 19).

The PRUG is each park's use and management plan (art. 31). It is usually the document that says which tracks you can ride, at what times, at what speed and which zones are off limits. The region approves it and publishes it in its official gazette.

Many plans also split the area into zones (reserve, limited use, compatible use…) with different rules in each. The same park can have open tracks and zones closed to any vehicle.

What it usually means on a bike

  • On the area's public roads you ride under normal traffic rules; the plan may limit parking or some access points.
  • On tracks, the usual rule is that you can only use the ones the plan or the signs open to motor vehicles.
  • Reserve zones are usually closed to vehicles, and some are closed even on foot in the breeding season.
  • Many plans set opening hours, a speed limit or a group size, and require a permit for events and organised rides.
  • Never off the track: riding a motor vehicle off roads, paths and tracks without a permit is an offence under the Forestry Law (Law 43/2003, art. 67.k), inside and outside protected areas.

How to check before you set off

  • Look the area up on your region's natural areas website: its PORN, PRUG or visitor-use rules are there.
  • Check its route or visitor-use map, if it has one: it often marks the tracks open to motor vehicles in a colour of their own.
  • Check the day's notices: closures for wildlife, wildfire risk, hunting or works.
  • At the entrance, read the signs: the sign takes precedence.

What changes from region to region

Besides each area's plan, some regions have a common rule. In the ones we have reviewed:

  • Andalusia: riding away from the places set aside for it is an offence (Act 2/1989, art. 26.1.d); the «tarmac only» rule goes park by park, as in Sierra Nevada and Cazorla.
  • Aragon: off-track riding and riding on unauthorised forest ways, paths or trails is banned (Legislative Decree 1/2015, art. 43.j).
  • Asturias: riding in zones with restrictions is an offence (Act 5/1991, art. 43.7); in Picos de Europa, visitors do not ride the tracks (2026 PRUG, art. 42.2).
  • Canary Islands: nothing in integral reserves or exclusion and restricted-use zones; elsewhere, only roads and tracks at 30 km/h (Decree 124/1995, arts. 2 and 3), and no motor events (Act 4/2017, art. 80.2). In Teide, no tracks at all.
  • Cantabria: in every protected area, leaving the track or riding singletrack, firebreaks or riverbeds is banned (Act 4/2006, art. 87.d), and an unauthorised event is serious (art. 86.ñ).
  • Castilla-La Mancha: each area's plan decides and, where it is silent, Decree 63/2006: groups of 3 at most, no ways 2 m wide or less and no competitions (arts. 8.2, 14 and first additional provision).
  • Castile and León: riding off the ways is banned on all natural land (Act 4/2015, art. 8.1), and each plan can restrict further, as in Gredos's reserve zones.
  • Catalonia: in specially protected areas (ENPE), only the tracks in their plan (Act 9/1995, art. 6.1).
  • Community of Madrid: in the Guadarrama National Park, roads only; in Cuenca Alta del Manzanares and Sureste, the ways their management plan lists.
  • Valencian Community: whatever each area's plan says.
  • Extremadura: riding a motor vehicle outside the authorised places is incompatible in every protected area (Act 8/1998, art. 46.1.n).
  • Galicia: whatever each area's plan says; riding where it is banned is an offence (Act 5/2019, art. 121.c).
  • Balearic Islands: off-track and restricted tracks without a permit are banned, Natura 2000 included (Act 5/2005, art. 50.1.d).
  • La Rioja: riding unauthorised forest ways and singletrack is banned, Natura 2000 included (Act 2/2023, art. 55.j).
  • Navarre: only on what is expressly allowed (Foral Act 9/1996, art. 36.2.g), and nothing inside reserves and enclaves except on roads (Foral Decree 36/1994, art. 11.2).
  • Basque Country: only on the roads provided (Act 9/2021, art. 40.1); in Urkiola and Gorbeia, no leisure motorcycling, and in Meatzaldea, no motorcycles at all.
  • Region of Murcia: each area's own rules apply; the wildfire order is supplementary (Order of 24 May 2010, art. 16).

Real examples

Pinares de Rodeno (Teruel): a protected landscape with a use order

The Pinares de Rodeno Protected Landscape, between Albarracín, Bezas and Gea de Albarracín, lost its Protection Plan when the High Court of Aragón struck down the 2014 one (judgment 20/2020). Its PRUG is still being drafted.

In the meantime, Order AGM/456/2022 regulates sport and leisure in the area. Its annex II marks in red the ways open to motor traffic, mostly the roads and the paved forest tracks that run through the area. Bikes do not go on tracks that are not marked in red. On top of that, Aragón's law bans motor vehicles on forest paths, trails and singletrack that are not authorised inside protected areas (Legislative Decree 1/2015, art. 43.j).

Source: Order AGM/456/2022 (BOA no. 74, 19-04-2022), with the maps in annex II · Checked on November 3, 2026

Rules in Aragón

When several designations overlap

They add up. A natural park can be an SAC and an SPA at the same time, contain public forests and be crossed by a cañada: the rules of all of them apply at once, and if one of them closes the track, it does not matter that the others say nothing.

The other designations

How Corally applies it

  • The map's «Areas with their own rules» layer draws protected natural areas as «Protected area».
  • Your plan's badge tells you which area the route goes through and how many km it spends inside.
  • Corally does not read PORNs or PRUGs, so it does not know which tracks in a park are authorised: it tells you that you are inside so you can check its plan.

Plan a route on dirt tracks What Corally tells you on your plan: areas with their own rules

Frequently asked questions

Can I ride into a natural park?
On its public roads, yes. On tracks, only on the ones its plan authorises; whatever the plan does not authorise or the signs close is off limits. Check its PRUG or visitor-use rules before you go.
What is the difference between a PORN and a PRUG?
The PORN zones the natural resources of a wide area and prevails over urban planning (Law 42/2007, art. 19). The PRUG is a park's management plan and sets out the uses: it is usually where you find the open tracks, the hours and the closed zones (art. 31).
Do a park and a reserve have the same rules?
No. Each area has its own plan. Nature reserves tend to be stricter than parks, but what counts is the plan of each one.
Where can I see which tracks are open to bikes?
In the area's plan (PRUG, PORN or visitor-use rules) and on its route map, if it has one. The region publishes them on its natural areas website and in its gazette.
Can I ride on the tarmac inside a park?
On roads open to traffic, yes, under traffic rules. Some plans limit parking or close an access point: read the signs.
Can a track be closed even if it is on my map?
Yes, and the closure takes precedence: for wildlife, wildfire risk, hunting or works. Maps, Corally's included, lag behind what is on the ground.

Sources (with the article)

A practical guide written by Corally from the laws cited. It is not legal advice. The areas come from public data that can lag behind what is on the ground, and a barrier, a sign or a wildfire closure always takes precedence over this page.

Rules across Spain, region by region