Welcome to the Yenice Forest Trails
Biking and trekking routes through spectacular countryside

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Yenice Forest

In 1999 the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) designated one hundred  “Hot Spots of European Forests” regions of extraordinary biodiversity requiring immediate protection. The Yenice Forest in Karabük Province, is one the nine “Hot Spots” in Turkey.

 

The area is a natural wonder, comprising virgin forest, monumental trees, a unique ecosystem, and a wealth of biodiversity rare outside the tropics. Undoubtedly the most important parts of the Yenice Forest are the “Nature Protection Zones” which contain the monumental trees, and the Arboretum area. The protection zone was established primarily to protect the biodiversity of the unspoilt forest, with its many species of monumental trees, the most valuable part of the heritage. The trunks of some of the trees reach diameters and heights that are rarely seen in the world, and grow amid the green valleys, steep summits, and rich plant life created by the abundant water and humidity.

 

About the Route

The route was created as part of a project instigated by the Governorship of Karabuk and the Administrator of Yenice County in October 2009. 21 trails were marked along 210 kilometres, and together with the alternative trails the total route adds up to 396 kilometres. The trails are classified either as daytrips, short trips or long trips and include forestry roads and footpaths. Mountain bike trails total 292 kilometres. Trail marking is in accordance with the international “Grande Randonnée” system, with red and white paint markers and signposts mark the routes’ beginnings, ends and junctions.

Later the trails are extended to Eskipazar (Karabük) including the ruines of Hadrianoupolis. 8 more paths have been added and the extension project is called ‘Trekking Routes From Nature to History – Eskipazar’.

For more information in Turkish, visit http://ersindemirel.blogspot.com/2011/01/yenice-ormanlari.html

The best season to walk the routes is between April and November.