Doug's Trail Ride Log
Here’s a comprehensive list of places I’ve ridden. Reviews for most of these rides can be found on MTBreview.com. My goal is to ride on dirt in all 50 states before I leave this world. The map below highlights in green the states I have ridden. So far I have ridden in 44 states, plus three countries on two continents. Detailed “Doug’s Dozen” trail reviews follow the list. The list continues to grow each year, as trips out west and to other parts of the country seek out new singletrack. I’m always searching for that perfect singletrack. A couple rides in I’ve done in Colorado will be hard to beat.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
· Ice Cave Park, Decorah Over 20 miles of steep hills with some exposure. A real cave too, but bring a light.
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
· Holzinger Lodge, Winona Outer XC ski trail network with singletrack going up and around bluff.
· Memorial Park, Red Wing Purpose built singletrack that is marvelously fun to ride. Fast. Races held here.
Montana
New Hampshire
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Ontario, Canada
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Quebec, Canada
Rhode Island
Scotland, UK
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
· Human Powered Trails, La Crosse 10+ miles of purpose built singletrack. Fast, fun, lots-o-climbing. Features to test skill.
Wyoming
Doug’s Dozen Trail List
Top 12 Favorite Rides: Six Within One Hour from Home, Six from Around the Country.
1. Bear Brook State Park,
Allenstown, NH (map)
I rate Bear
Brook number one because I ride it regularly and never get bored with
it. Bear Brook provides 10,000 acres with miles and miles of singletrack.
My favorite loop starts out from the parking on Podunk Road just off Deerfield Road. Start on singletrack Pitch Pine Trail, picking up Broken Bolder Trail
at Campground Road, then Podunk Road to Hall Mountain Trail. The final
assent up Hall Mountain will put a good burn in your legs. Coming back
down the same way on Hall Mountain Trail, unmarked singletrack is picked up at Podunk Road. This begins the technical portion of the ride. A portion of this
trail, sometimes referred to as the “I-trail,” has been logged recently. You
can follow the back edge of the cleared area where a path is starting to get
beat down. The singletrack will eventually dump you out near the intersection
of Podunk Road and Bear Hill Road, but not before taking you over numerous rock
formations, drops, and tight twisty sections. Ferret Trail is taken to
pick up Hedgehog Ledge Trail. Enjoy the view from the point out into Bear
Hill Pond first. Hedgehog Ledge Trail is taken back to Podunk Road. Watch out for the granite stair case! At the parking lot at the
bottom of the hill, Carr Ridge Trail with some very challenging single track
descents is taken. Where Carr Ridge meets Cascade, a decision must be made:
Head back to the parking lot along Bear Brook Trail, or if you are up for some
real punishment, take Cascade Trail up to Catamount Trail. There are nice
views from peaks that Catamount services, but the climbs and descents will
challenge even the most skilled riders. I usually take Lane Trail (two-track) back to Podunk Road, Podunk up to Chipmunk Trail. Chipmunk is then
taken back down to Podunk, doubling back slightly to pick up Little Bear
Trail. Little Bear is mostly downhill singletrack back to the parking
area and can be ridden scary fast. This loop runs about 22 miles and 2.5
– 3.5 hours, depending on skill/fitness level. I recommend obtaining a
map with your summer access fee, but I have posted a marked up map of “my ride” (240kB JPEG) here for your
convenience.
I often add some additional climbing outside of Bear Brook to my ride. Fort Mountain (map) looms over Bear Brook to the
Northeast. It has a summit of 1400 feet, giving an elevation gain of
about 1100 feet from the parking area on Podunk Road. I take Deerfield Road to Mount Delight Road, but immediately after turning left onto Mt. Delight, bear left onto dead-end residential street. Take this straight off end
onto jeep road. A mile or so down, take right onto jeep road just after
large rocks on right. After about 0.7 miles of jeep road, continue
straight on dirt road. About 0.6 miles of dirt road takes you to paved
road. After only short distance on pavement, go straight off end of
pavement (don’t follow pavement to left) onto another jeep road. In a
quarter mile, you’ll see pavement again, but bear right to stay on gravel
surface. Once you see heavy-duty power lines, follow them. They go
up the service road to the communication tower on top of Fort Mountain. This begins the serious climbing. I usually can’t hold 5 mph all
the way up. Very steep, switch-backed, loose gravel climb, gaining
several hundred feet in a fraction of a mile. The view at the top is
worth it, offering unobstructed views over 360 degrees. The ride back to
Bear Brook is a real hoot. My brake rotors reach “sizzle spit” hot at
bottom of service road. Altogether it’s about 10 miles out and back.
2. Leominster State Forest, Westminster, MA (map)
Leominster is probably my second most ridden state forest or park. Leominster is 4100 acres in size and has many miles of technical singletrack. I
usually park at Rocky Pond Rd on Rt 31. This gives good access to nearby
2000 foot “Wa Wa Wachusett” Mountain for a good warm-up climb. To climb
Wachusett by road, take Rocky Pond Rd across Rt. 31 and Rt 140. Rocky
Pond becomes Mirick Rd on the other side of Rt 140. Watch for Pine Hill Rd on the right. Take Pine Hill up to Mountain Rd, then a quick right/left
into the Wachusett auto road entrance. From Rocky Pond parking lot to
summit is approximately 1000 ft elevation gain in just under 5 miles.
Enjoy the view! Round trip is about 9 miles (shorter, steeper one-way
auto road is taken down). Take same way back to begin off-road
ride. Since most of the trails in Leominster State Forest (LSF) are not
named or color blazed, it is difficult to describe my loop. That’s why I
include a map of “my ride” (134kB
JPEG). LSF is one of the rockier places I ride, so I usually bring my
full-suspension bike. No fear of death stuff here, but the numerous rock
gardens will frustrate even seasoned riders. Plenty of climbing is
available also. Referring to the map, I usually start in the area of King
Tut’s Hwy and Wolf Rock Rd. All singletrack, all rocky. Then I
cross over Rocky Pond Rd for a good climb, the biggest in LSF. This links
up with the end of Fenton Rd, where another recently NEMBA-built loop of
singletrack is taken. Sweet stuff. Some more singletrack is picked
up off Fenton Rd. This NEMBA trail is less rocky, nicely bermed, and can
be taken very fast. On the way back to the parking lot, a small loop of
singletrack is taken on the left side of Parmenter St. The complete ride,
including the Wachusett climb, runs about 24 miles and 2.5 to 3.5 hours.
3. Fort Rock (Oaklands/Henderson-Swasey Town
Forests), Exeter, NH (Oaklands Map)
(Henderson Map)
Fort Rock is becoming a popular destination for riders from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Its location not far from the coast makes it very
accessible. The Town of Exeter has been very receptive to proposals from
the mountain biking community, and many new trails and bridges have been built
recently. The divided highway, Rt 101, splits Fort Rock in half. A
tunnel below the highway joins the two halves. The Oaklands half, north
of Rt 101, is the largest and has the most miles of trails. There are
lengthy sections of new singletrack that don't show on the town forest maps.
One trail contains two bridges, one that has a peaked, dog-legged section
in the middle several feet above swamp water (photo). Very intimidating when I
first encountered it. One winter there was a large hole in the ice where
somebody went off the narrow bridge, dropped several feet to the ice and
crashed through! The other bridge is about 300 feet long, a few feet
above wetlands, and is flat with gentle turns in it (photo). Both bridges are well built
with pressure treated lumber. There are numerous other bridges consisting
of ladder, log, rock, and lumber construction types. The town land
adjoins other private unposted land with many miles of single- and double-track
trails with a few climbs. The Henderson-Swasey half, south of Rt 101, is
smaller in size, but has a very high density of singletrack trails. Some
are quite technical, with a large boulder playground area in the center.
I once saw a large contingent of trials riders in there filming 8-foot
drops off large rocks. Nearly all the trails on this side show on the
town forest map and are color blazed.
4. Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsborough State Forest, MA (map, website)
Several years ago, this was a pretty trashy place to ride. Park was full of
dumped appliances, cars, tires, garbage, etc. Then ATV and dirt bikes shredded
what was left of the place. But NEMBA volunteers started working with the
forest management to clean the place up, help curb illegal activities, map
existing trails, and cut new singletrack. The riding here now has become a
whole different experience. Being only a few miles from my house, I ride here
frequently on my singlespeed. There are no long hills, but a few short steep
pitches can be found. There are open fast trails, rocky tech stuff, and a
couple large boulder playground areas for freeride/trials type activities.
Something for everybody, but the park is not huge. Most of the trails in this
state forest can be covered at good pace in two hours. The trails are not
named or blazed, but an updated map shows most of the trails and marker posts
with unique intersection identifiers correlate with the map to help you orient
yourself. It is best to hook up with one of the NEMBA group rides to find the
best trails. On Sunday mornings, LDT can be filled with mountain bikers. LDT
also seems to lose snow earlier in spring than points north, and the new
(non-ATV) trails seem to drain well too. A great place to hit every few weeks.
5.
Friends of Massabesic Bicyling Association (FOMBA), Auburn, NH (map)
The FOMBA trail system and surrounding
network of other trails has grown to the point of making it a frequent
destination of mine. The FOMBA network itself consists of 10 singletrack
loops linked together with fire roads. Riding all 11 and counting loops
will produce at least a 12-15 mile ride. FOMBA singletrack is extremely
tight, twisty, rooty, and rocky in places. No climbs, and don't expect to
go too fast here. My average speeds hover around 9 mph. The trails
are aggressively maintained, some say too aggressively. Areas that become
quite challenging seem to get manicured before less skilled riders have a
chance to cut work-around trails. The rebuilt and extended Fireline trail has
many natural rock features built into it now. A few of them I do not dare
attempt.
When I visit FOMBA, I add in many miles of additional non-FOMBA riding.
First, I head north to Tower Hill, the site of the Watershed Wahoo Race
each spring. The loop around Tower Hill Pond from FOMBA is over 10 miles
of riding with one 400 and one 200 foot climb. I'll ride this to get my
anaerobic fix in, since much of the FOMBA riding is too tight to redline your
heartrate. Another direction I'll head off to is the rocky overlook on
the east side of Massabesic lake. This consists of about a five mile
out-and-back with a 100 foot climb to the top. The last couple hundred
yards is ledgy, bare granite and is very fun to ride. Great view looking
over the lake. Finally, the other trail I hit is a gem of a trail.
Not sure who built it or what land it is on, but this singletrack loop is
4 miles long, chock full of features. There's two modest ladder bridges,
one very narrow log bridge over water, one large see-saw
made from giant log, and several stone bridges through stream crossings.
This trail is more open than FOMBA trail, so one can go faster and harder
if one wishes. The trail head is about 1.5 miles east down the rail trail
from the Depot Rd parking area. Hard to follow at first, but then it's
all narrow singletrack. The loop dumps you out a quarter mile further
down the rail trail. [Note: As of late 2005, beaver dams and logging have
destroyed much of this trail. Not sure if it will come back to life.] Riding
all of the FOMBA trails, the Wahoo circuit, Massabesic overlook, and the
4-miler will produce a 30+ mile ride, close to what I would call an epic. My map highlights each of these areas. Latest FOMBA map
should be located here (pdf).
6. Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH (map,
website)
Beaver Brook is very close to my house and only minutes from Nashua, NH. Over 20 miles of pristine, technical single and double track. There are a
few short but steep climbs and plenty of rocks, roots, and narrow hewn log
bridges, lest you forget you’re in New Hampshire. There are also sections
that can be ridden fast for those who have a need for speed. Beaver Brook
stays reasonably dry in most areas during wet parts of the year. Beaver
Brook is a nature preserve and much of the singletrack is off-limits to
mountain biking, so ride responsibly. I’ve not had any run-ins with
hikers yet, unlike what riders experience in the Middlesex Fells. You can
spin over to Birch Hill (map) one mile by road for
a nearly 500 ft vertical climb up the service road to the communication
tower. The ATV trail decent down to Rocky Pond is a real hoot.
Couple of good rock launches. There are multiple ATV trails that lead to
the summit of Birch Hill. Experiment to find what you like. The
Beaver Brook/Birch Hill makes for a very interesting night ride.
7. Monarch Crest/Silver Creek/Rainbow Loop, Poncha Springs, CO (website, LBS)
Riding the Monarch Crest Trail in September 2006 tops my list of all-time
favorite trail riding experiences. The 403/401 loop not far away in Crested Butte comes in a very close second. The Crest loop has that “just right” magical mix of
climbing, ridgeline singletrack with killer views, and miles of the flowiest
descent imaginable. My friend Dave and I began this 54 mile loop by riding 18
miles up to Monarch pass on paved Rt 50. Easy grade, good views, a little
traffic, but makes that ridgeline ride all the more meaningful. Most “normal”
riders will hire a shuttle service from Salida to the pass and begin their ride
there. Contrary to what the website says, a shuttle is NOT required, as we’ve
demonstrated. Almost immediately after leaving the highway, we found ourselves
on pristine singletrack climbing some more until we leveled off around 12,000
feet on the Continental Divide. Views were incredible to either side. We
zigzagged along the divide several times over 10 miles to Marshall Pass. Marshall Pass sits a little lower than Monarch Pass, so there’s some descending along the way.
We continued south along the crest beyond Marshall Pass, tackling a fairly
respectable climb. More views popped up along the 5 miles to the Silver Creek
Trail, which began our descent back to town. Silver Creek was a blast. It
starts out with some full speed switchbacks which eventually stay deep in the
valley along the creek. Every now and then a meadow would open up just to let
you know how tall the mountains around you were getting as you sunk further
into the valley. High speed was carried continuously. We followed Silver
Creek until reaching the junction with the Rainbow Trail. Rainbow continues
the descent for another 10 miles on singletrack, but is no longer a monotonic
descent. It undulates something fiercely, forcing a couple dismounts on very
short but very steep pitches to scale. Most of the trail was buttery smooth
and followed the contour of the deeply corrugated landscape. You couldn’t take
your eyes off the trail for one second. The trail was maybe only 10 inches
wide in places with very steep drops to the left. While carving into banked
drainages, you would experience 2x or more G-forces. Likewise, when popping
out of drainages or divots, you would experience moments of weightlessness.
More fun than adults should be allowed to have! Eventually the trail dumps out
on Rt 285, and the ride and fun are almost over. Another 6 miles bombing down
smooth pavement brought us back to the car in Poncha Springs.
8. Trail 403/401 Loop, Crested Butte, CO (website)
Crested Butte was my all time top mountain biking experience when I visited in
September, 2005. I was so impressed with the riding here that I returned with
a friend in 2006 There are hundreds of miles of singletrack riding accessible
from Crested Butte, but many locals agree trails #403 and #401 form the best
loop. This ride begins right from town, gradually climbing on Washington Gulch Rd. This jeep road follows a highly scenic valley and progressively gets
steeper as the junction with Trail #403 is approached. Trail #403 climbs more
aggressively at first, leveling off as the pass between Mt Baldy and Gothic Mtn
is reached. The expansive views of valleys to either side will blow you away.
This is at an elevation of around 11,500 feet. Descending Trail #403 to Schofield Pass Rd is extreme. This was the steepest cascade of switchbacks I ever
attempted. A few were just too scary to even try. Lots of loose rock about
too. You are practically looking straight down on Schofield Pass Rd the whole
time you’re carving switchbacks. Once reaching Schofield Pass Rd, the ride
heads north and begins climbing again. Schofield Pass Rd is climbed for
several miles to Schofield Pass where the northern most junction with Trail
#401 is located. Trail #401 climbs first in trees, but then pops out into the
open. The trail is cut high above Schofield Pass Rd on the mountain range side
skirts. The view down the valley towards Mt Crested Butte is breathtaking and
is frequently photographed for magazines and calendars. This narrow ribbon of
singletrack has a nice downhill bias too it and goes on and on. You don’t even
seem to get any closer to the valley floor after descending for considerable
distance, and the view stays wide open the whole way. A series of fast switchbacks
drop back down to Gothic Rd in the valley below (Schofield Pass Rd turns into Gothic Rd). But a left at this junction with a bit of climbing brings you back into
singletrack bliss. This section is a little more wooded and can have some
color in the fall. Cows are also more prevalent here. This finally pops out
on a Jeep road that goes back down to reality at the base of Gothic Mtn on Gothic Rd. This dirt road is then bombed back to Crested Butte with more downhill along the
way to enjoy. This ride covers about 36 miles and entails over 5000ft of
climbing. The views will stay with you for a lifetime.
9.
Resurrection Pass/Devils Pass Loop, Seward, AK (website)
A cycling-centric family trip to Alaska in the summer of 2006 entailed riding
that rivaled Crested Butte riding. Even though Alaska is thousands of miles
from Colorado, some of the scenery is similar. While rides in Crested Butte
range from 9,000 to 12,000 feet, rides in Alaska range from sea level to 4,000
feet. The difference is Alaska is much further north. Generally, rising above
a couple thousand feet places you in alpine tundra – no trees, scrubby
vegetation, and expansive views. It is these qualities that make riding in
these two disparate locations so similar. The capstone ride of this trip was
the Resurrection Pass/Devils Pass loop near Seward. This ride runs about 50
miles with over 5000 feet of climbing, but does include some highway to get
back to the car. Parking in Cooper Landing, the ride is begun at the southern
terminus of the Resurrection Pass Trail. This singletrack climbs modestly much
of the time for almost 20 miles to Resurrection Pass. Streams are crossed,
waterfalls are passed, and lake shorelines are followed, all the while stunning
snow capped mountain peaks rise up around you. There are some steep climbing
sections, particularly the section after passing Swan Lake. But it isn’t long
after this the views really start to open up in tundra environment. Everything
was so green. This area reminded much of Trail #401 in Crested Butte. Upon
reaching the high point at Resurrection Pass (elevation 2600 feet), the loop
ride with Devils Pass Trail requires backtracking about two miles to begin the
descent down this trail. You could continue straight on Resurrection Pass
Trail for another 20 miles north to Hope, but then you would either need to
have a car spotted there or ride roads for 44+ miles back to the Cooper Landing
trailhead. I opted to come down Devils Pass, which descended to the east in a
deep “V” valley. The trail was bench cut into steep terrain and offered open
views much of the way down. The high speeds, carving in and out of streamlets,
tall vegetation all had me concerned I’d run into a bear... literally. Didn’t
see any bear on this ride, but did see lots of recent (fresh) evidence they
were around.
10.
Ape Canyon Trail, Mt Saint Helens, WA (website)
The Ape Canyon Trail on the flanks of Mt Saint Helens made such an impression
on me I had to ride it twice in the same trip. If I ever visit the Portland, Oregon area again, this ride will be on my must do list. I rode it as an out and
back, but it can be ridden as a large loop that I’ve read is hard to follow
unless somebody shows you the first time. The ride begins climbing on
singletrack along a huge chasm of a mud flow from the 1980 eruption. This mud
flow is actually minor compared the main flow that resulted when the whole
north side of Mt Saint Helens was blown away in the eruption. There are many
views along the way, including many huge old growth specimens that survived the
1980 blast. After gaining about 1200 feet, the Loowit trail is reached. This
is taken north through the Plains of Abraham where the grade flattens for a
while. The landscape here is surreal. It is devoid of vegetation as far as
you can see. The surface is mostly white pumice, but punctuated with huge
black volcanic boulders. Riding here can be tricky too. Most parts of the
singletrack ribbon are firm and fast, but once and a while the pumice is like
riding in six inch deep marbles. One needs to be especially careful when
dropping into the many washes along the way. Finally, the Truman Trail is taken across Windy Ridge. This too was fantastically fun to rip on. There are
no trees standing as far as you can see here, as everything was wiped clean in
1980. Simply amazing how all the dead trees lie on the ground in the same
direction. The ridge line comes to a fine cusp that was scary steep to either
side. No fear of death, but scary enough you didn’t want to gaze at the
postcard views while rolling. I turned around at the Windy Ridge terminus for
about 1500ft of singletrack descent back to the car. Views I missed while
climbing were captured on the return trip. Because you can get to Windy Ridge
with a car, many riders will shuttle this ride to avoid the climbing, but it
really is not that steep. It’s much easier to take in the views at slower
climbing speeds. If I have the opportunity to do this ride again, I will try
to make a loop ride out of it with the Smith Creek Trail.
11. Alpine Trail, Westfir, OR (website)
This ride is the venue for the famous annual Cream Puff 100 mountain bike race. It is anything but a “Cream Puff.” The race does three 33 mile laps, each with about 6000 feet of climbing. That’s 100 miles and 18,000 feet of climbing, and it’s touted as the toughest 100 mile MTB race in the world. I rode the Cream Puff 100 course in September 2004. The climb, 17 miles long and gaining 3600 feet, begins on 3 miles of pavement, then 14 miles of forest service roads in good shape. Not steep at all, with one significant downhill on the way up. In fact, single-speeders place in the top five on this course. The roads were poorly marked up top, and with heavy overcast the day I rode, I had no sense of bearings. I did eventually find the Alpine Trail trailhead without taking any wrong turns. The trail is a narrow, smooth, brown ribbon of singletrack. It first climbs a couple hundred feet over a small peak through magnificent old growth forest before descending a little. Then a more aggressive several hundred foot climb ensues to the summit of Sourgrass Mountain. The mountain is covered in a unique grass, presumably sourgrass, but no view the day I rode due to cloud cover. The trail then rolls up and down around 4000 feet elevation for several miles. Wicked fun stuff. Finally the descent begins in earnest, at times very steep with switchbacks. Views opened up along the way. When I thought I was getting close to the bottom, another view would open up, still way above Westfir. Some more rolling benchcut singletrack is followed before steep descending resumes. Portions of the final descent were extremely fast and smooth. Couldn’t help but wear ear to ear grin coming down this stuff. Finally the covered bridge in Westfir pops into view and I knew the ride was about over. A great loop, one I will do again if visiting Oregon. What I liked most about this ride was the remoteness of it, the lush, green old growth forest, and about 16 miles of continuous singletrack descent. There are many other trails in this area I’ve yet to explore.
12.
Gridley-Pratt Loop, Ojai, CA (website)
This is perhaps my favorite ride in SoCal. In three visits I have ridden
it twice. Even though there are so many places yet to explore, this ride was
so good the first time I did it that I had to do it again. I start right from
the national forest ranger station in town. Gridley Trail starts as a
double-track on the edge of town, winding through orange groves. The
first little bit is very steep, then the grade moderates. As the climb
continues, the trail gets narrower and narrower, until it becomes a ribbon of
singletrack. The entire trail is benchcut into extremely steep pitches,
but rises at a surprisingly moderate rate. There are many areas that are
very scary to look down, almost looking straight down your outside leg at the
singletrack you were on minutes ago hundreds of feet below. Shaly rock
slides also fill the trail in places, leaving nasty off-camber, loose surfaces
to ride on. If you washed out on some of those, nobody would ever find
you again! From town, Gridley gains about 3750 feet in 10 miles of
continuous climbing to the summit of Nordhoff Peak. The views are
incredible as you switchback many, many times working up steep canyons to the
top. From the top, Pratt Trail is taken back to town. This descent
is very similar to the climb: moderately steep grades, near shear drop-offs to
side of trail, and hair-pin switch-backs. Really need disk brakes for
this kind of riding. Not sure if a set of rim pads would hold up whole
way down. The full loop ran about 17 miles.
