Sherwood Pines

Visitor information

Have an adventurous day out in the great outdoors, at any time of the year

Come and explore one of the Midland’s most well-known forests! With activity trails, play areas, bike hire, wild running and mountain biking trails, Sherwood Pines will set the scene for a great day out for all.

Get back to basics on one of our bushcraft experiences or soar through the trees on Go Ape’s famous zip wires. If you are feeling a bit peckish after adventuring around the forest, drop in to the Sherwood Pines Café for a range of locally sourced snacks.

Top off your trip with an overnight stay! Forest Holidays have a selection of stunning cabins located in the heart of the forest, perfect if you are looking to escape the everyday. Camping in the Forest also provide the perfect spot to pitch your tent and stay in the great outdoors, now open.

What's on

Back to top
Forest event

Nottinghamshire Mind’s Mental Elf 2023

03 December 2023
10:00am registration run at 11:00am
Extra location details? (eg. Where to meet?) Register and play some fundraising games in the classroom and marquee opposite Mushroom Village

Mental Elf is a 5km festive, family, fancy dress fun run.

Bring your family, friends, colleagues and dogs to enjoy some exercise and fresh air in the beautiful Sherwood Pines and help Nottinghamshire Mind start conversations and break the stigma surrounding mental health.

The event is designed to bring the community together while raising funds for our much needed community mental health support service.

Find out more
Forest event

Clancy Briggs MTB Camp – Red Group Masterclass

Thursday 04 January 2024
10am to 4pm
Arrival & drop off at the Arena area grass near the car park café.

Our red group is aimed at having fun on bikes & developing riders’ technical skills. We’ll use our ramps and equipment to asses riders’ existing skills & develop them further. Before heading out onto the trails (red) and working on some of the technical sections. We’ll finally move onto the dirt jumps and bike park trails to develop some advanced techniques and have more fun.

Led by our expert coaches, we'll use a mixture of the natural terrain, woodland & our ramps & kit to work on some key skills and develop off-road techniques.

Find out more
Forest event

Clancy Briggs MTB Camp – Blue Group Masterclass

Thursday 04 January 2024
10:00 (or 13:30 in case of half day) to 4:00 (or 12:30 in case of half day)
Arrival & drop off at the Arena area grass near the car park café.

Our Blue session is all about having fun on bikes. We’ll start off on a wide grassy area using our ramps and pieces of equipment to assess and build fundamental techniques. Riders will then progress out onto the trails. Starting with the pump track riders will begin to apply their skills to real world settings, we’ll move out onto the new sections of the Sherwood pines blue trail, where riders will experience steeper downhills, and sweeping berm turns. Along the way we’ll including plenty of skills games and mini challenges to keep riders entertained.

Find out more

Food and drink

Back to top
tea and coffee enjoyed at a forest cafe

Sherwood Pines cafe

Relax with a coffee or try one of the legendary sausage rolls, made with locally sourced ingredients.
Find out more

Things to do

See more things to do | Back to top

Cycling and mountain biking trails at Sherwood Pines

Whether you've just bought your first bike, honing your skills on the Skills Loop or looking for a two-wheeled family adventure, Sherwood Pines offers everything you need for a traffic-free natural cycling day out. There are three way-marked trails to choose from, whatever your ability there's a route for you! 

Find out more

Gruffalo Sculptures at Sherwood Pines

If you venture into the deep dark wood, you may bump in to the Gruffalo characters from Julia Donaldson's classic story. 

Not only is the Gruffalo here at Sherwood Pines but we are really excited to have the other characters from the book here too. The Gruffalo is near the Visitor Centre and then if you head down through the play areas you find them all along the woodland. If you ask at the Visitor Centre they will show you the way.

Post your Gruffalo photos on our Facebook page  - we'd love to see them.

Find out more

Walking trails at Sherwood Pines

We've got three great walking trails to help you and all the family discover Sherwood Pines including the Ranger's trail which explores the outer areas and some of the historic features of this fascinating forest. The trails are all way-marked so no map is required!

Find out more

Zog activity trail at Sherwood Pines

Pick up your Zog Christmas clue leaflet for just £1.50, or free if buying a Zog Trail pack and go in search of festive clues along the Zog Trail. Once you've cracked Zog’s Christmas code, return your clue leaflet to pick up your prize, a special Zog Christmas decoration.

Get ready to join Zog on his latest forest adventure with a brand-new family activity trail and free app!

How does it work?

1. Download the new ‘Zog: A Forest Adventure’ app before you visit

Point the brand new app at special markers along the trail and access all sorts of exciting challenges as you go.

Thanks to amazing augmented reality technology, you’ll be able to collect golden stars, just like Zog and have the chance to take a photo with everyone’s favourite dragon at the end of the trail!

Capture the fun by saving videos and photos as you complete the bonus activities!

Get it on Google Play     Get it on the App Store

2. Get your claws on a Zog trail activity pack 

Grab the Zog trail activity pack for £4 from the Visitor Centre.

Inside you’ll find: 

kraft bag to colour in.

dragon wings to decorate and wear. 

Zog glasses. 

stickers. 

trail leaflet. 

pencil and crayon. 

3. Follow the trail

Collect golden stars as your little dragons learn how they can help care for the forest, and how the forests can care for them.  

Share your Zog fun using the #ZogTrail hashtag.

Zog © 2010 & TM Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler. Licensed by Magic Light Pictures Ltd.

Find out more

Nearby forests

Woodland path running through trees

Birklands Sherwood Forest

With an extensive path network, varied history and special wildlife to discover, Birklands, near Edwinstowe, is a fantastic place to explore.

Find out more
Leaves turning orange at the start of autumn

Boundary Wood

Located near the villages of Blidworth and Rainworth, Boundary Wood is a young woodland with newly planted broad-leaved areas as well as conifers that tower above a beautiful wild-flower meadow. 

Wander the range of surfaced paths that criss-cross through the wood, or explore the SUSTRANS national cycle route that passes through, connecting you to Sherwood Pines in the north or Haywood Oaks in the south. 

Find out more
Field of purple orchids in the sun

Oxclose Wood

Enjoy the mixture of woodland, wetland and grassland at Oxclose Wood. Banks of orchids, the song of the skylark and the hovering kestrel are all here for you to discover.

The surfaced trails make it a lovely place to walk, reflect, be creative and simply enjoy the beauty around you.

Steep climbs are rewarded with spectacular views and you may even catch a glimpse of a buzzard.

Find out more
Views from Ollerton Pit Woods, Nottinghamshire

Ollerton Pit Wood

Once a former colliery site, Ollerton Pit Wood now boasts a wild strawberry walk, nesting water birds and a whole host of thriving wildlife and different plant species. Enjoy spectacular views of the surrounding area and depending on the time of year you visit, you may see butterflies and dragonflies while flower lovers can expect to enjoy bee orchids and birds foot trefoil.

Find out more
Membership invitation - click to find out more about membership
Volunteer with us invitation - click to discover volunteer opportunities across England