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Biking Destinations in and around Manila

Kara Santos

Compared to many other cities around the world, Metro Manila is not a bike-friendly destination. The city itself, with the urban sprawl, horrible traffic, and lack of safe and secure bicycle lanes, makes it pretty scary to explore on two wheels. Sure, you can find many areas for urban biking in the city but chances are, these spots are difficult to get to or you’ll be exposed to the polluted city most of the time.

For those who want to bike safely somewhere with a refreshing view of nature, there are only a handful of places in and near the metro that have scenic trails and parks ideal for cycling. These are just a few of the best that I can personally recommend.

NOTE: This was originally written during the pandemic in 2020. Some areas around Metro Manila have developed better bike lanes, while others have been paved over or privatized for commercial developments.

UP Diliman Campus, Quezon City

The 493-hectare campus of the University of the Philippines is a haven for joggers and cyclists. The State University is known for its 2.2 kilometer long tree-lined Academic Oval with a designated bikers’ and runners’ lane, one of the best places to do rounds in the city on any type of bike.

On Sundays, the entire area is closed off to motorized vehicles so it’s a top destination for runners, bikers, longboard skaters and families who just want to enjoy the shade of the trees.

Aside from circling the oval, you can also find a lot of wide grassy areas and hidden trails around the campus including behind The Science Complex, Heartbreak Hill, University Avenue Pump Track and Lagoon area.

Points of interest in UP include the Oblation statue, UP Vargas Museum, public art installations, street food and street art. Seasonal sights include the fire trees (summer), sunflowers planted along the University Avenue during graduation season and the Lantern Parade (Christmas). Sadly, the UP Bike Trails, the two short XC tracks near the College of Human Kinetics (CHK) which used to serve as a venue of various races and bike events, has been turned into a baseball field.

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Quezon Memorial Circle

The Quezon Memorial Circle or QMC is a national park located inside a large traffic circle known as the Elliptical Road in Quezon City. QMC is known mainly for the 66-meter tall mausoleum containing the remains of Manuel L. Quezon, the second official President of the Philippines, which is the main landmark of the city.

The QMC serves as the main park of the city, housing a shrine, museums, playgrounds, picnic cottages, and open spaces for rest and recreation. The urban park features several smaller gardens within its grounds including a flower garden, a tropical garden, and a demo urban farm.

Aside from being a refreshing place to jog, walk and go biking and have picnics, QMC is also a great place to buy plants including potted herbs, ornamental plants, succulents, and other home gardening essentials. A new Elevated Landscape Promenade is currently being built to connect Quezon Memorial Shrine to Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center, which is something to look forward to.

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Marikina River Park

The Marikina River Park is a system of parks, trails & open spaces along an 11-kilometer (6.8 mi) stretch of the Marikina River in the eastern part of Metro Manila.

This urban riverside park covers an area of 220 hectares (540 acres) running through several villages. Since the main walkways are closed off to motorized vehicles, this offers a safe and refreshing area to get some exercise and fresh air.

You can find a short tree-shaded bike trail here with statues of different animals and recreations of iconic landmarks from around the country. A nice addition to the area (put up during Christmas 2019) is a set of 16 Mosaic Art displays of nature scenes made from materials like glass tiles, bottle caps, stones, plastic bottles, foam bits, slippers, plastic clothespins & more.

However, as of April 2024, some sections of the Marikina Riverbanks were damaged by a typhoon while others are no longer accessible due to river dredging.

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The Bike Playground at Circulo Verde

Hidden right in the city accessible by C-5 near Eastwood and Libis is The Bike Playground in Circulo Verde. This is the country’s first internationally-designed indoor bike park, which has a world-class pump track, a 1-km long outdoor trail and a kid’s trail.

The highlight here is the internationally designed pump track, built by Velosolutions headed by Swiss mountain biker Claudio Caluori. Unlike other pump tracks, this one has a roof which makes it a good biking destination even in the rainy season. The pump track is made of asphalt, giving tires more traction.

The outdoor trail is very short, but well-designed and offers a few twists, ramps and jumps for a quick trail biking fix. Bikers can bring their own mountain bikes suitable for the trail and pump track, but they also have bikes for rent. There’s a shower room and lounge for bikers and lots of bike parking spaces near the restaurants. Since the area is secluded, not a lot of cars pass here, making it safe for kids to bike on the road.

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Intramuros, Manila

Intramuros is the oldest district and historic core in Manila, Philippines. It’s the only district of Manila where you can see old Spanish-era architecture.

It’s also one of the few places in the metro where you can actually rent bicycles and go on bike tours. Plus, you get to use Bamboo Bicycles crafted by a social enterprise.

For first-timer foreign visitors who want a quick tour of the historic sights in the city, this is a good option. The route is mostly paved, but you will be biking through cobblestone streets and some scenic areas like Fort Santiago, a well-maintained park, the Baroque San Agustin Church and Manila Cathedral. As of 2024, better bike lanes within the area are being developed.

There’s a network of bike lanes and pedestrian walkways being built as part of the Pasig River Esplanade, with scenic areas behind the Manila Central Post Office and good lanes crossing Jones Bridge and the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge.

TIP: Bambike also offers Bamboo Bike Tours in different parts of the city like Poblacion, BGC and offers bike rentals in other places (Corregidor, Iloilo, Bohol, Baler, etc.)

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La Mesa Nature Reserve, Quezon City

La Mesa Watershed Nature Reserve is a forest reserve with multi-use trails located northeast of Quezon City near SM City Fairview. It surrounds the La Mesa Reservoir, which is the source of most of the drinking water of Manila. Take note that this is different from La Mesa Eco Park.

NOTE: La Mesa Nature Reserve and Laa Mesa Eco Park are currently closed, but they are set to reopen in June 2024 under the management of MWSS.

Often referred to as the last remaining rainforest in Metro Manila, La Mesa Watershed Nature Reserve offers 52 kilometers of amazing mountain single tracks, dirt roads and firetracks all within a dense forest.  La Mesa offers great trails for both beginners and advanced riders. It’s a popular venue for bike races and duathlons. Bring a hydration pack with trail food enough to last you for half a day if you plan to bike here..

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Heroes Bike Trail, Taguig

Nestled right smack between C-5 and BGC is Heroes Trail, a short cross country track located inside a military camp. It’s actually located inside the Libingan ng mga Bayani compound, a cemetery. According to bikers who frequent the area, it’s pretty well-maintained, cheap and relatively easy to get to for those who live in the area.

The Heroes Trail can be ridden by riders of all skill levels – from Downhill riders to newbies. It’s a good training ground for those who live in the area and is used as a venue for biking events like Bike Demo Day.

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C-6 Bike Lane, Taguig

The C-6 or Circumferential Road-6 Bike Lane is part of the Laguna Lake Highway, a thoroughfare connecting Paranaque to the City of Taguig, Pasig, and the municipality of Taytay in Rizal. While the main highway is still under construction, there are some portions that are already open to cyclists and runners including a 3-meter wide bike lane and a 1.5 meter wide sidewalk.

It may be a couple of years before the whole route becomes fully operational, but this lakeside route looks like a promising biking destination and shortcut to the areas in the South like Alabang, Paranaque and Muntinlupa.

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Timberland Mountain Bike Park, Rizal

Mt. Maarat in Timberland Heights is often referred to as the mountain biking capital of the country, offering a variety of purpose-built mountain biking trails. Technically, it’s no longer in Manila, but it’s near enough for a day ride. The park reopened in 2024, launching 12 trails with varying degrees of difficulty—featuring single-track, drops, rollers, and berms.

This area in San Mateo, Rizal just on the outskirts of the city used to be a regular training ground for trail runners, mountaineers, and mountain bikers. Bikers coming from the metro usually passed through Marikina to access the main entrance of Timberland Heights.

Bikers who want to test their endurance uphill can scale “The Wall”, a 2 kilometer-long paved road ascending up to the gates of Timberland. There’s also “Shotgun”, an even tougher and longer climb that you can bike to for free. But you could skip that and go directly to the technical trails (which has a separate entrance fee) by bringing your mountain bikes up by car.

Sample the trails full of fire roads and singletracks at the Green Zone, Blue Zone and Black Diamond. Other points of interest here include the pine tree-lined avenue of the Roxas Basic Trail, the Ten Commandments Statue in Mt. Sinai and the Sandugo BaseKamp Trail and Pump Track.

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Eastridge, Rizal

Previously, Antenna Hill was another biking destination in a town on the outskirts of the city near enough for a day trip. Located in Tayuman, Binangonan, Rizal, getting up the hill involved a very challenging ascent, but once you get to the top, you could enjoy steep tracks and drops which are popular with downhill riders.

Aside from the downhill bike trails, this biking destination had a lot of bonus areas you could explore including a Thunder Trail.

While I’m not certain if these trails are still accessible as of 2024, you can still visit the historic Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs and take a tour of the art galleries and restaurants in Angono.

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Rodriguez, Rizal

Though Tanay in Rizal offers more scenic and beautiful biking destinations, it can take a while to bike all the way there.

For those who have limited time or want something nearer (for a half-day biking trip), there’s Rodriguez (formerly known as Montalban), the northernmost town of the neighboring province of Rizal. It’s relatively near the city, but brings you close to a surprisingly scenic view of mountains.

One of the popular tourist spots you can bike to is Wawa Dam, a gravity dam constructed over the Marikina River situated in the 360-meter high Montalban Gorge or Wawa Gorge, a water gap in the Sierra Madre Mountains, just east of Manila. The rocky river dam is a popular destination for swimming, mountain biking and hiking.

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Nuvali, Laguna

Nuvali is a 2,290 hectare master-planned residential, commercial and recreational development complex located in Sta. Rosa, Calamba, Laguna. Nuvali has a good network of paved roads and designated bike paths that offer a lot of opportunities for leisurely road biking.

Previously, it offered an extensive bike tracks and a trail system, which included approximately 50 km of off-road biking and running trails. Unfortunately, as of April 2024, some of the mountain bike trails are no longer accessible due to new developments in the area.

Nuvali used to be the venue for Nuvali Dirt Weekend, one of the biggest and most anticipated mountain biking events in the country. On regular days, bikers who bring their own mountain bikes can enjoy going around the flowy singletrack and scenic cross-country riding with fresh air and great views.

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Other Bike Trails / Destinations in and near Manila

NOTE: Additional photos from Outside Slacker. Check out his page for more biking resources.

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