Adventure bike routes in Castellón
Text reviewed on October 16, 2026 · OpenStreetMap data from October 8, 2026
Castellón is the Valencian province with the most dirt: 75 % of its network of tracks and roads is unpaved, with 13,732 km of dirt track and 6,307 mapped fords. Its tracks have the highest average difficulty in the region, because of the inland climbs: Els Ports, the Maestrat, Penyagolosa and the Alto Mijares. OpenStreetMap figures from October 2026.
Whole region:Valencian Community
What the terrain is like
Inland Castellón is real mountain. Els Ports, around Morella, is firm high track with villages far apart and a ford in every gully. The Maestrat (Ares, Culla, Benassal, Vilafranca) has tracks between dry-stone walls and farmhouses, rutted as soon as it rains. And the Alto Mijares, from Montanejos towards Penyagolosa and Vistabella, is the most demanding area: steep climbs, rough sections and a dozen fords in a row on some tracks.
Heights pass 1,700 m on Penyagolosa and sit around 1,200 m across much of Els Ports and the Maestrat: in winter there is ice and snow on the track, in summer more than enough heat. Towards the coast, the Plana is flat farm lane; the Sierra de Espadán, between Segorbe and Eslida, is a natural park, with tracks closed to motor traffic on many sections, which the planner respects where they are properly mapped.
Here OpenStreetMap has the surface tagged much better than in the rest of the region: three out of four kilometres of dirt track carry a grade, so the colour of each section is more reliable. There are 6,484 km of singletrack, off-limits to motorbikes across the whole region.
The terrain in figures
What is mapped in OpenStreetMap as of October 2026, scored with the same difficulty model the planner uses. Ways that cross the boundary count only for the part inside.
- Unpaved ways (dirt tracks, lanes and singletrack)
- 21,934 km
- Paved roads and streets
- 7,399 km
- Share of the network that is dirt
- 75 %
- Of which, dirt tracks
- 13,732 km
- Very firm dirt track1,077 km
- Firm dirt track3,956 km
- Rough dirt track4,600 km
- Very rough dirt track831 km
- Barely passable dirt track130 km
- No surface data3,137 km
- Other dirt lanes (rural, service)
- 1,717 km
- Singletrack and footpaths (almost always off-limits to motorbikes)
- 6,484 km
- Easy8,593 km
- Medium5,701 km
- Hard1,147 km
- Expert9 km
- Mapped fords
- 6,307 (6,291 points and 16 sections)
- Elevation (terrain model, approximate)
- from 0 to 1,780 m
- Fuel stations
- 198
- Bars and restaurants
- 1,376
Dirt tracks by surface (as tagged in OpenStreetMap):
Difficulty of tracks and lanes, singletrack excluded · average 26/100
Each way's difficulty comes from its surface, grade, condition and the real slope from the terrain model, in the easier direction; singletrack is left out of that average because on a motorbike it is almost never an option. Fords are the ones somebody has mapped in OpenStreetMap: there are more. It is all public, crowd-sourced data: it may not match what you find.
Routes to get started
Five routes with no singletrack, from easiest to hardest: two quiet ones across the Maestrat for a big bike, the half-day loop through Els Ports, the eleven-ford route from the Palancia to the Mijares and the long one from the Alto Mijares to Penyagolosa.
Calculated with Corally's planner with no singletrack and at the level shown; times are riding time at adventure-bike pace, no stops. They are saved: the link does not expire.
Maxitrail level · take it easy
Benassal → Vilafranca
Short and high across the Maestrat, with ruts in places: the firm track turns rough when it rains.
- Distance
- 39 km
- Time
- 60 min
- Dirt
- 61 %
- Max. difficulty
- 44/100 · Medium
- Climb
- +874 m
- Warnings
- 7 warnings · 4 fords
Maxitrail level · take it easy
Culla → Ares del Maestrat
Quiet Maestrat tracks between two hilltop villages; the fords it crosses are gullies that usually run dry. Good for trying a maxitrail on dirt.
- Distance
- 53 km
- Time
- 1 h 19 min
- Dirt
- 55 %
- Max. difficulty
- 38/100 · Medium
- Climb
- +1,227 m
- Warnings
- 17 warnings · 17 fords
Trail level · a bit of spice
Jérica → Montanejos
From the Palancia to the Mijares over tracks with water: a string of mapped fords. After rain, each one is a decision.
- Distance
- 57 km
- Time
- 1 h 38 min
- Dirt
- 76 %
- Max. difficulty
- 47/100 · Medium
- Climb
- +1,388 m
- Warnings
- 26 warnings · 24 fords
Trail level · a bit of spice
Montanejos → Vistabella del Maestrat
The long one from the Alto Mijares to Penyagolosa: fords galore, steep climbs and plenty of dirt. The most demanding we propose.
- Distance
- 144 km
- Time
- 4 h 2 min
- Dirt
- 77 %
- Max. difficulty
- 59/100 · Hard
- Climb
- +4,128 m
- Warnings
- 58 warnings · 50 fords
Maxitrail level · take it easy
Bucle desde Morella
Half a day through Els Ports from Morella: half firm track, half mountain road, a dozen fords and a lot of accumulated climbing. For a big bike with intent.
- Distance
- 158 km
- Time
- 3 h 17 min
- Dirt
- 27 %
- Max. difficulty
- 44/100 · Medium
- Climb
- +3,111 m
- Warnings
- 17 warnings · 13 fords
Fords and crossings to watch
This region has 6,307 fords mapped in OpenStreetMap. The planner and the roadbook warn about them and tell apart the ones that carry water from the ones that may (ramblas and gullies that run dry most of the year).
Castellón has more fords per kilometre of track than any other region we cover: gullies of the Mijares, the Palancia and Els Ports, many of them chained. Most run dry, but the Mijares and its tributaries carry water all year and rise fast after rain.
The roadbook groups consecutive fords and the navigator announces them by voice; even so, a ford with water gets checked on foot before you go in. If the route crosses more than you fancy, the planner can detour around the section.
What the rules say in Valencian Community
- The Valencian Community rules apply: open forest tracks 2 metres wide or more, registered bike, 30 km/h; no footpaths, no cross-country, no livestock trails, and no enduro or trials bikes or motocross tyres (Decree 91/2023, arts. 112 and 113).
- In the natural parks (Penyagolosa, Espadán, the Tinença de Benifassà) the park's own plan rules: tracks closed with a chain or a sign are not to be passed.
The rules in Valencian Community, explained article by article →
Base towns, fuel and food
Llucena, Atzeneta and Figueroles have Penyagolosa at hand but little fuel; Segorbe, Altura and Geldo, on the Palancia, have everything and are the gateway to the Alto Mijares. Morella, Vilafranca and Ares are the bases for Els Ports and the Maestrat: fill up before you climb.
Ranked by kilometres of hilly dirt track (sustained climb or descent of 6 % or more) within about 8 km. Fuel stations within 5 km and bars or restaurants within 3 km, according to OpenStreetMap. The region has 198 fuel stations and 1,376 places to eat mapped.
| Town | Hilly track (8 km) | Fuel (5 km) | Food (3 km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Llucena / Lucena del Cid | 475 km | 1 | 4 |
| Atzeneta del Maestrat | 464 km | 1 | 9 |
| Figueroles | 437 km | 1 | 1 |
| Altura | 437 km | 5 | 14 |
| Segorbe | 430 km | 5 | 14 |
| Alfondeguilla | 422 km | 4 | 8 |
Plan your own
Set a start and an end (or a loop by time) in Castellón, pick your level and Corally gives you the route over dirt tracks with the difficulty of every section, the fords, the road exits for the group and the roadbook. You can try it without an account.
Page written by Corally with the figures from its database (OpenStreetMap and public terrain models) and routes calculated with its planner. It is public, crowd-sourced data: difficulty, fords and tracks may not match the ground. What you find on arrival, the signs, the closures and each region's rules always win.