I went on three outings to explore dirt options around Athens — north, northeast and east. From the heart of the city around the Acropolis all three destinations take about 45min to reach. The closest TET would have been a bit farther out, about 65min northwest around Sotiras. Here’s what I found.
Orthodox monasteries in Greece are often situated in very desirable locations. Typically on the side of a picturesque mountain or close to a summit of one. As the sites are often remote, dirt roads in the area are common and dirt rider’s prayers are readily answered. Mount Hymettus, which separates Athens from its airport, fits this pattern well.
The city lies on the west side of the Hymettus mountain ridge, the airport on the east. The views from the serpentine drive to the summit offer 100km views of the Aegean as well as the city’s urban sprawl. The non-dirt portion of the drive is a park-like climb amidst wooded forests. The road is quite a contrast to the city itself. Narrow, but relaxing and serene. You’ll find two monasteries along the way.
Although there are quite a few dirt tracks along the road as one climbs up the mountain, nearly all are blocked off and officially inaccessible until one nears the summit.
Here, a single, wide and hard packed dirt road breaks off from the tarmac in the direction of the cell and tv antennas. About 1.5km farther down the road there’s a fork. The left leads to the antennas and other forks, the right to the dirt trails.
I visited this area twice. The initial part is so wide and well maintained that it would be suitable for a fast ride if it weren’t for the occasional hikers one encounters along the road. Technically, there’s plenty of room for both people and bikes, but the last thing I’d want to do is disturb a party of five enjoying a family outing away from the city.
Further down as the trail splits off into high mountain pastures, you may encounter other bikers or 4×4 off-roaders in their little Suzukis. This scene reminds me of Colorado pastures around Silverton and Ouray. Not technical at all, but enjoyable as the views are endless.
Directly north of Athens lies Mount Parnitha. Unlike the narrow Hymettus parkway, this is a well maintained highway which happens to scale a mountain in a series of long zigzags. Still only one lane in each direction, it’s comfortably wide and built to handle a good amount of traffic. In sheer character, the ride reminded me a bit of the fire parched Santa Monica mountains north of Los Angeles. This, too, is a desert climate and vestiges of former forest fires are not hard to find.
As one approaches the mountain but long before any switchbacks countless dirt tracks start breaking off from the highway.
Most of those north of the highway leading into the wooded foothills are blocked off with a barrier though some bear signs of recent dirt bike breaches. On the south side all the tracks are open and accessible. I tried accessing almost all of the north dirt tracks that were NOT blocked off, but all proved to dead end within 500m or less once I left the pavement.
The only dirt trail worth the adventure I found was half way up the mountain, breaking off of a hairpin turn. This was very much like a dirt road one finds in southern New Mexico. Easily accessible by car, leading seemingly nowhere in particular with no end in sight. I enjoyed the first 3km of it at high speed until I saw forest and/or fire clean up crews. There was no way to bypass as the burnt trees were piled high across the road, but I’d definitely explore again in a month or two if we stayed longer. Very promising indeed.
On the way down the mountain I came across a little open track south of the highway leading to a lone, stone house which continued on through the foothills and eventually ended up back on a highway.
Only about 5-7 minutes long in all the ride ended up taking me to the back of one of the north facing barriers I encountered on the way up. My entry point seemed legitimate, the exit did not. Just as I passed the bar, a dirt biker waived as he chose one of the other three bypasses as he ignored the barrier going up. I could see how the area would make the perfect after work playground for someone living close-by, but, personally, I’d have a hard time ignoring the red and white bars. Probably a recovery area.
This was a satellite find. As with my other explorations of this type, I looked at satellite imagery of the area, found probable dirt trails then confirmed access via street views. This technique has worked well in the past and it didn’t disappoint in the Pentelicus area either.
All the way up to the town of Penteli, the ride is just a metropolitan hustle. Once above it, the land quickly grows barren and desolate as it climbs a few hundred meters above the sea level to its eventual summit of around 1100m. The dirt tracks start at about 500-600m and are plentiful, long and vary in difficulty.
From a good vantage point above, the trails are easy to asses both in terms of length and difficulty. I explored several of them both below and above the 600m line. The higher ones were wider, more easily accessible by a normal car, but with occasional washouts. The lower ones had more signs of erosion. 4×4 or dirt bike only.
On the most technical of the tracks I explored I ran into local dirt bikers on 350 Husky’s and KTMs. They seemed a little surprised to find an Italian plated Tenere in their back yard, but were both welcoming and curious. Asked about where they rode dirt around Athens they responded: “mostly here”. Makes sense. Of the three areas I explored this one offered the most technical trails that could keep one busy for hours. Fantastic sea views of the Aegean as well.
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