Adventure bike routes in Girona

Text reviewed on October 16, 2026 · OpenStreetMap data from October 8, 2026

The province of Girona has 15,597 km of mapped dirt track and 27,120 km of unpaved ways: 74 % of its network is dirt, but 10,685 km of it is singletrack, which is almost never an option on a motorcycle. Green, damp and full of water: the Garrotxa, the Ripollès and the Guilleries are its adventure-bike country. OpenStreetMap figures from October 2026.

Whole region:Catalonia

What the terrain is like

The Garrotxa (Olot, Santa Pau, Besalú) is volcano and beech country: short tracks between villages, lots of forest, streams across the track every little while, and a natural park where only the tracks set out in its plan are allowed. The two routes below, Santa Pau → Besalú and Olot → Besalú, have 19 fords each in under 40 km.

The Ripollès (Ripoll, Sant Joan de les Abadesses, Camprodon) climbs towards the Pyrenees: more climbing and more difficulty; the route below between Sant Joan and Camprodon reaches 60/100 in under 25 km. The Guilleries (Sant Hilari Sacalm, Osor, Arbúcies) are forested hills with medium-difficulty tracks: Sant Hilari → Osor is 88 % dirt track.

Several routes we tried in Girona didn't make it: Olot → Camprodon and Ripoll → Olot came out with less than half dirt track, and a Maxitrail-level loop from Olot found no route within the limit, so we leave them out. More than half of the dirt tracks have no surface tagged in OpenStreetMap.

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): 27,120 km
Paved roads and streets: 9,399 km
Share of the network that is dirt: 74 %
Of which, dirt tracks: 15,597 km
Other dirt lanes (rural, service): 839 km
Singletrack and footpaths (almost always off-limits to motorbikes): 10,685 km
Mapped fords: 3,043 (2,912 points and 131 sections)
Elevation (terrain model, approximate): from 0 to 2,900 m
Fuel stations: 272
Bars and restaurants: 3,525

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

Four routes with no singletrack: two short ones full of fords through the Garrotxa (Santa Pau → Besalú and Olot → Besalú), a short but demanding one through the Ripollès (Sant Joan de les Abadesses → Camprodon) and the gentlest, Sant Hilari Sacalm → Osor, through the Guilleries.

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
Sant Hilari Sacalm → Osor
Almost all dirt track (88 %) through the Guilleries: 19 km of medium difficulty and a single ford.
Distance
19 km
Time
29 min
Dirt
88 %
Max. difficulty
43/100 · Medium
Climb
+308 m
Warnings
4 warnings · 1 ford
Open it in the planner
Trail level · a bit of spice
Sant Joan de les Abadesses → Camprodon
Short but demanding through the Ripollès: 23 km, 44 % on dirt track, up to 60/100 difficulty and a high point of 1,178 m.
Distance
23 km
Time
33 min
Dirt
44 %
Max. difficulty
60/100 · Hard
Climb
+609 m
Warnings
6 warnings · 4 fords
Open it in the planner
Maxitrail level · take it easy
Santa Pau → Besalú
Through the Garrotxa: 26 km between Santa Pau and Besalú with 19 fords. Easy track (max 25/100) and lots of water: made for a quiet morning and, if it rains, for another day.
Distance
26 km
Time
38 min
Dirt
59 %
Max. difficulty
25/100 · Medium
Climb
+333 m
Warnings
19 warnings · 19 fords
Open it in the planner
Maxitrail level · take it easy
Olot → Besalú
Through the Garrotxa from Olot to Besalú: 36 km, 41 % on easy dirt track and 19 fords.
Distance
36 km
Time
49 min
Dirt
41 %
Max. difficulty
25/100 · Medium
Climb
+512 m
Warnings
19 warnings · 19 fords
Open it in the planner

Fords and crossings to watch

This region has 3,043 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).

Girona has 3,043 mapped fords, a sign of a damp land: what crosses the track here is mostly streams rather than dry ramblas. In the Garrotxa, Santa Pau → Besalú flags 19 fords in 26 km.

In the Ripollès the water comes down from higher up and rises suddenly with snowmelt or a storm. The planner tells the fords that carry water from the ones that may; if in doubt, don't cross.

What the rules say in Catalonia

In Catalonia, Llei 9/1995 on motorised access to the natural environment and Decret 166/1998 only open to motor vehicles the paved tracks or those 4 metres wide or more, plus authorised lanes (art. 6); riding cross-country, on firebreaks, on skid trails and on livestock routes is banned (art. 7) and the speed limit is 30 km/h (art. 13).
Each comarca keeps an inventory of tracks with an access traffic light (art. 11), group sizes are limited (art. 16) and in protected areas (in Girona, among others, the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park) only the tracks set out in their plan are allowed. Corally does not check that inventory or the width of each track: a track on your route may not be open to motorcycles.

We don't have the rules page for this region yet. Meanwhile: public open tracks only, and signs and closures always win.

Base towns, fuel and food

Anglès, la Cellera de Ter, Breda and Can Salvà have four petrol stations within 5 km and between 17 and 26 places to eat: the best bases around the Guilleries. Sant Hilari Sacalm has two petrol stations and six places to eat; Osor has no petrol station and two places to eat.

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 272 fuel stations and 3,525 places to eat mapped.

Town	Hilly track (8 km)	Fuel (5 km)	Food (3 km)
Can Salvà	714 km	4	17
Breda	637 km	4	17
Osor	628 km	0	2
Sant Hilari Sacalm	615 km	2	6
la Cellera de Ter	589 km	4	26
Anglès	583 km	4	23

Plan your own

Set a start and an end (or a loop by time) in Girona, 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.

Open the planner Which level is yours

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.