We recently visited Bang Phra to look for some cycling tracks and found some pretty good trails, although many were overgrown and difficult to ride through. We parked the car near the reservoir pumping station and cycled over the embankment of the reservoir heading towards the hills in the background.
About 1km from the reservoir is a large Chinese cemetery with hundreds of domed graves in the unique Chinese style. There is a very well paved road leading through the cemetery and the there are lots of nice landscaped gardens.
We researched the best cycling route and found the traditional route goes around the lake, however we found an old sign leading up the hill so decided to take that. The route was fun single track for a few hundred meters however we soon had to push up a very steep and overgrown hill to a small shrine.
From here things got worse and we had to push through thorny bushes / overgrown jungle for about an hour to a rocky outcrop at the top of one of the hills. The views were nice but hard to justify for all of the pushing and lack of riding!
Another hour of pushing through bamboo which was almost as difficult as the thorns lead us to the summit of the highest of the hills and where the communication towers were concentrated. There was a steep road leading down from here back to the cemetery.
Whilst there seem to be lots of areas to explore, if you are looking for mountain biking in Chonburi I would recommend Khao Mai Keaw which is not far from here. The trails are far better maintained and more fun. I will check out Bang Phra again as the lakeside ride may be nice.
Action Sport Asia features a number of locations for cycling in Thailand as well as other sports and activities. Please contact us if you have any questions.
