Visitor information
Opening hours
How to find us
Parking & prices
Facilities & access
Contact details

Opening hours

Open every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Visitor centre opening hours change seasonally.

The car park is open 8am - 8pm every day.

How to find us

How to find us
Dalby Visitor Centre, Low Dalby, Thornton-Le-Dale, Pickering
By Car

Follow the A169 Pickering to Whitby road. Look out for the brown tourist signs.

 

Or go car-free

By Public Transport

We welcome car-free visitors and offer free admission to those arriving by public transport or bike – plan your journey at Good Journey.

The Moors Bus operates a weekend service to the forest between Easter and October. Other service buses are available in Thornton Le Dale to major towns and cities.

For more information visit Moorsbus.

OS Grid Ref
SE855878

54.278586151198, -0.68829823474579

Parking and prices

If you arrive car-free there is no charge, find out more.

ANPR system in operation. We are currently operating a cash free site (card only payments). Credit cards accepted. No overnight parking or camping.

Parking Charges

Peak charges (March to October)
Until 4pm £10.00
After 4pm £5.00
Off peak charges (November to February)
All day £5.00

Coaches/Minibuses charges

Minibuses - £25.00

Coaches - £50.00 (£40.00 if booked in advance - call 0300 067 4300)

Additional information

Regular visitors can save money by becoming a Member - Find out more about our membership offer

Please note that the accessible parking spaces are available at the following car parks: 

Main car park – 9 (4 top and 5 bottom)

Staindale roadside parking  – 2

High Staindale car park – 2

Nissen Hut car park – 3

Crosscliff accessible parking area – 1

Number of accessible parking spaces: 17
Card payments accepted
Coaches/Minibuses welcomed
Disabled parking available
Pay on foot system

Facilities and access

Hire a mobility scooter 

You can hire a mobility scooter free of charge, please contact 01751 460295 to book.

The Dalby Forest Weather Station gives live weather updates to help you plan ahead and get the most out of your day. 

For more information on planning your visit, take a look at our accessibility information:

Accessible toilet
Assistant dogs welcome
Baby changing facilities
Bike wash
Cafe
Cycle hire
Dogs allowed
Easy access trail
Information point
Picnic area
Play Area
Ranger's Office
Shop
Toilets
Tramper/Mobility Scooter hire
Visitor Centre

Contact details

Dalby Forest, in the heart of the North York Moors National Park offers the perfect place to escape, relax and adventure

Home to over 8,500 acres of breath-taking views, endless walking, running and cycle trails and Gruffalo adventures, a great day out awaits at Dalby Forest.

A visit to Dalby will uncover many magical things such as The Gruffalo orienteering course, Zog trail, some of the very best mountain biking trails and endless stunning views. Keep your eyes peeled along the way for our unique sculptures which are dotted throughout the forest, get the adrenaline pumping at Dalby Activity Centre or test your nerve and swing amongst the trees on our Go Ape courses.

Dalby Forest is home to an abundance of internationally important wildlife species and is also a designated Dark Sky Discovery Site, where you can experience the magic of seeing the Milky Way with the naked eye.

If one day leaves you wanting more, join us as a member! With heaps of benefits such as free parking, discounts in the cafe, Go Ape and Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, there's tons of reasons to join. Click here for more information.

Read Dalby Forest's accessibility guide.

At a glance

  • 13 walking trails (including easy access)
  • 6 cycling trails
  • 4 running trails
  • Visitor Centre 
  • Shop & Cafe
  • 2 play areas
  • Go Ape 
  • Bike shop and hire, including accessible bikes
  • Activity Centre
  • Dogs welcome
  • Barbeques not permitted
  • For filming enquiries, please contact communicationsYFD@forestryengland.uk
Forest event
Easter Holidays 2023
All day everyday
Dalby Visitor Centre

Join us this Easter for a dragon puppet making workshop in Dalby Forest. You will be guided by a dragon puppet making expert who will help you choose your materials and safely craft your mystical friend...

Learn how to craft your very own dragon, inspired by the forest and then take them out for adventures aplenty in the forest!

The dragon puppet workshop is for ages 3 years plus. Accompanying siblings/friends will be given a free activity. For ages 1-3 years old this will be a nature-based play exploration basket. For 3 years and over, a dragon inspired Forest Craft and Play activity sheet (age appropriate). 

Each workshop is £9, or two participants for £16 which can be paid on the day. Simply turn up to join in the fun!

Forest event
Wednesday 12 April
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Dalby Visitor Centre

Join us at the Dalby Forest Visitor Centre for a relaxing and grounding evening filled with connection, relaxation, and the opportunity to stabilise your root chakra energy.

We will open our circle with cacao, which is naturally heart opening, and we will consider why feeling connected and safe through our root chakra is so important.

We will then embark on a journey of breathwork and yoga, focusing on poses that will ground and connect you to Mother Earth.

Yoga will melt into a guided meditation, snuggled in your blankets and pillows. We will have the space to journal and/or share any thoughts or feelings.

Herbal teas and homemade cookies will finish off the evening.

 

Only £20 per person, book online or on the Balance Rooms app.

Forest event
Every Wednesday evening from 19 April - 10 May
7:45pm - 8:45pm
Dalby Visitor Centre

Want to deepen your practice after yoga in Dalby?

Join Chantelle from The Balance Rooms for an informative introduction to breathwork and meditation, integral aspects of a full yoga practice.

Over the course of the four nights, you will learn two energising breath techniques as well as two relaxing breath techniques. You’ll also learn various ways to get yourself into a deep meditative state.

Only £39.99 for all four nights, this course is bound to deepen your practice and take you to new realms of introspection and relaxation, all within the lovely setting of Dalby Forest. 

Forest event
Sunday 23 April
Morning workshop - 10am - 1pm, Afternoon workshop - 2pm - 5pm
Dalby Forest

Each class will begin with an introduction to the basics of glass fusing, explaining how the kiln is used to create a variety of different effects. Students will have the opportunity to use the glassmaker’s specialist tools to mark, score and break glass in a controlled way. Students will then design and make their own glass panel landscape with clear and coloured fusible sheet glass and other compatible glass products to produce a woodland scene, to be collected 2 weeks after your workshop.

Artist Bio:

The course is led by artist David Teece, an established maker and seller of specialised glass art from the heart of Yorkshire. Inspired by light, colour and with a hint of the dramatic, David creates decorative items in fused and stained glass. 

A graduate in Art and Design and a fully qualified teacher, David works from the Garden Studio in the heart of Masham. The studio houses three kilns and all the other necessary equipment, where David creates his own art works for sale in local outlets and completes individual commissions for private clients. 

David also offers individual and small group tutorials in fused and stained glass for beginners and intermediates and the more specialised use of the vitrigraph kiln for more established glass artists. 

Where and When:

Sunday 23rd April 2023

Morning Workshop 10am – 1pm

Afternoon Workshop 2pm – 5pm

Cost: £60 per person (10% discount for Forestry England members)

Book your ticket directly at Dalby Visitor Centre or call 01751 460295

Food and drink

Dalby Forest Cafe 3

Dalby Forest Cafe

Located in the Dalby Forest Visitor Centre, the Dalby Forest Cafe is the perfect place to refuel and relax after your forest adventure. Dalby Forest Cafe offers a delicious selection of hot and cold drinks, sweet treats and both hot and cold food to replenish your senses.

Whether you've just bought your first bike, or you're happy shredding through rock gardens, Dalby Forest offers a fantastic opportunity for natural cycling. Exploring this stunning forest on two wheels will leave you grinning from ear to ear.

Based just a short walk from Adderstone Field and the World Cup Car Park, Dalby Activity Centre can host an exciting day or half day of outdoor activities including paintball, airsoft, archery and even tree climbing!

Dalby Activity Centre pride themselves on enabling people with a disability to access their activities believing that outdoor adventure should be available to everyone - so give them a ring or call in at the Centre on site to discuss any needs that you or your group may have.

Whether you're a seasoned naturalist or enthusiast amateur it's easy to take part, just start recording wildlife on your next visit...

Download the free iNaturalist app before you visit 

Discover and record wildlife through the app on your forest adventure

Download now on iOS

Download now on Android

iNaturalist is an independent third party application. Please check their full privacy policy and terms of service before signing up.

You can create records without having 4G or Wi-Fi in the forest. Download our full user guide and top tips

Forest Holidays is a picturesque location with 57 woodland cabins situated in a grassy meadow, enclosed by the leafy woodlands of Cropton Forest. With underfloor heating, log burners, incredible views and even your own outdoor hot tub, this Forest Holiday is one you aren't likely to forget.

Spend time with a dedicated Forest Ranger on location. You can plan a programme of unique experiences to discover the wonders and secrets of the forest.

Cropton is a great base for a walking holiday in North Yorkshire. With forests and moorland, hills and dales, coast and countryside, nothing can beat the variety or the views. 

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