Haldon Forest Park

Get ready to explore

We come here with our three young children each year.

This is the best value day out in Devon. All you do is pay for parking and that’s it.

Pack a packed lunch and a bag of snacks, bring plenty of water and hit the trails. We took the yellow butterfly trail this time which was great for our three who are 4,6 and 8.

The woodland is beautiful and very well maintained. Fantastic exploring to be done all over the place. You can spend a whole day here and bring the kids home tiered ready to sleep.

Great coffee too!

Afternoon walk

Visited with 6 adults,1 child,1 toddler and 2 dogs
We chose to do the Gruffalo trail for the 6 year old which we found took about an hour but it kept the attention throughout.
We had let the dogs off the lead which was really good as others had also let their dogs off.
There is a playground at the end of the trail
There is a Go ape there which we didn’t participate it but seemed very popular.
This a huge place of which we didn’t see I think if you liked walking and cycling you could stay the whole day.
We finished with a coffee at then end from the cafe.
Good afternoon out definitely recommend

Great place

Wet windy and soggy bottoms covered in mud and that was just the adults. Family walk which turned it to a mud bath. Boy did we have a fantastic day though! It was brilliant and the laughs till tears ran down our cheeks. To end our amazing walk with a super hot chocolate and cake. Highly recommend with the children and adults alike. Hire a bike tie your own or just yourselves and a dog you’ll have a lovely amble through the woods with some great views across Exeter.

Great time at Go Ape

Great time at Go Ape. Really kind and friendly staff who were great with kids that were scared. Our 4 and 6 year old loved it.

Great Place

Nicely kept park, well drained and sloping so your dog won’t get too muddy when it is wet, though can make walking some of the routes an effort. Parking charges can be forgiven as they go towards keeping the park nice. There is plenty to entertain children too, from butterfly trails, to swings and for older children flywires through the canopy. Good little cafe too. Great for mountain bikers, dog walkers and families.

Good place for walks and other activities with stunning view over Exe estuary

My first time to Haldon Forest. In my mind I had associated the name with the busy and noisy A38 – but this place felt peaceful.

Well organised entrance and good range of activities available (cycle, running and walking trails) with more available in non-coronavirus times. Easy to pay parking fee (took card) and charge seemed reasonable £5 for up to 4 hours. So I don’t agree with some comments I’ve seen that too much (in particular as I understand money goes to help support the place).

We did the Butterfly walk (4 miles, I think). The signage was very clear – meant a rare treat of a family walk without moans about getting lost and my incompetent map reading. The view of Exeter and Exe Estuary was particularly impressive (only a short stroll from the car park). Felt tranquil for most of the walk with a plenty of bird sound, dappled sunlight through woods, lots of fox gloves and rhododendrons in flower.