Best Mountain Biking Trails in North America
By Mike Boisvert.
These are four of the best mountain biking trails in North America.
If the Monarch Crest Trail were a beauty queen, she'd have no shortage of suitors; the 30-plus-mile alpine singletrack is so fine it belongs not only to the Colorado Trail, but to the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail as well.
The mostly downhill ride starts at 11,312-foot Monarch Pass on U.S. Route 50 [a short shuttle ride from the town of Ponch Springs]. There's a little climbing as you follow the ridge, but you won't notice as the narrow singletrack, polished smooth by thousands of feet and tires, snakes for 11 miles between ridgetop meadows dotted with wildflowers and dense pine groves.
At Marshall Pass, peel off the ridge onto the Rainbow Trail, which drops into the trees and offers a roller coaster-like flow through perfectly bermed corners carpeted with pine needles all the way to the valley.
This ride requires a vehicle shuttle for $20 and leaves at 8, 10 and noon. Bike rentals are available at $39.95/day. Check out MonarchCrest.com.
The North Shore is rightfully renowned for some of the most challenging off-road mountain-bike trails in the world. Most of these have only recently been constructed as the popularity of single-track riding has outpaced road riding.
One of the attractions of the North Shore slopes, particularly at lower elevations, is that trails stay snow-free throughout most of the winter. This is a prime reason why many of Canada's elite mountain-bike riders live and train in North Vancouver.
Mount Seymour Provincial Park(see Hiking), near Deep Cove in North Vancouver, has several trails on which mountain biking is sanctioned. In turn, these link with many unofficial ones outside the park's boundaries, including the infamously challenging and colourfully named Severed Dick Trail. The well-marked Baden-Powell Trail runs east and west through the park and is always a good touchstone with which to orient your scrambled senses; however, it's more suited to walking than riding. Severed Dick is reached by heading west on Baden-Powell from its intersection with Old Buck. Where the Baden-Powell changes from a wide pathway to rough single-track, watch for the entrance to Severed Dick on the left. Severed Dick eventually connects with the Bridle Path Trail. Bear left here to return to Old Buck. Along the way, granite outcroppings amid a second-growth Douglas fir forest provide twisting drops over loose, loamy soil. The maze of trails here is so dizzying that you may quickly lose your bearings. Maps are scarce. Try these trails with a friend who knows the topography, and ask directions wherever you go.
Additional trails in the vicinity of Mount Seymour Provincial Park can be reached from the north ends of Riverside Drive and Berkley Road, both of which intersect with Mount Seymour Parkway immediately east of the Seymour River. Anglers and horseback riders also use these trails, so be cautious as well as courteous.
Cypress Provincial Park in West Vancouver has only one official trail, named BLT (boulders, logs, and trees), which begins just north of the entrance to the old logging road at the first switchback on the Cypress Pkwy. Another entrance is from the maintenance yard above the fourth switchback. BLT may be the only trail, but at least it's got length (10 miles/16 km return) in its favour. There are a number of trails just outside the park, ranging from the idyllic Fern Trail to the psychotic Sex Boy, both of which link with BLT. Fern Trail begins where BLT meets Cypress Bowl Rd's third switchback. Entrances to upper and lower Sex Boy occur along BLT north of a BC Hydro substation and the third switchback. Mountain biking elsewhere in the park is illegal (rigorously enforced). Expect fines or bike confiscation (as well as scorn and ridicule from park authorities) if caught. Another series of trails is found at the second switchback higher up Cypress Pkwy. These trails, including Skyline, Panorama, No Stairs Allowed, and My Friend the Stupid Grouse, run through the forested British Properties neighbourhood. Although they haven't been officially sanctioned, they haven't been officially condemned, either.
They currently have about 25 miles of trails completed and hope to have the full 32 mile system completed by the end of 2010. Altitude is from 6,700 to almost 8,000 feet. Curt Gowdy State Park is located where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains. The Middle Fork of Crow Creek bisects the area creating three different eco-systems within the park; i.e. high plains, upland montane and riparian. In the western area of the park, overlying Tertiary sandstone and siltstone of the Laramie Range have gradually eroded exposing the Pre-Cambrian granite underneath. The granite makes for excellent mountain biking and is an important part of the trail system. The eastern area of the park is characterized by high plains topography with reservoirs and the large deeply incised canyons of Middle Crow Creek.
From Cheyenne, Wyoming take Interstate 25 to Exit 10 and travel west 25 miles west on Highway 210, Happy Jack Road. Turn left on Granite Reservoir Road. In about 1 mile you will come to the entrance booth for Curt Gowdy State Park. About a 1/4 mile past the entrance booth turn right on the Aspen Grove Road. The Aspen Grove trailhead will be in about a 1/4 mile.
From Laramie, Wyoming take Interstate 80 east to Exit 323 and travel east 14 miles east on Highway 210, Happy Jack Road. Turn right on Granite Reservoir Road. In about 1 mile you will come to the entrance booth for Curt Gowdy State Park. About a 1/4 mile past the entrance booth turn right on the Aspen Grove Road. The Aspen Grove trailhead will be in about a 1/4 mile.
Go to the Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails website. Once you are to the website click on state parks, click on Curt Gowdy State Park and click on Trail Brochure.
For camping, to to the Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails website. Once you are to the website click on state parks and then click on Curt Gowdy State Park.
Kingdom Trails is a not-for-profit community-operated organization that has developed more than 120 miles of double and single-track mountain bike trails, said by many to be the best in the east. Trails include some technical, lots of easy and intermediate, singletrack, doubletrack, and old logging roads.
The majority of the trails are cross-country, though there are several downhill runs and a freeride trail. New trails are being added each year. Most of the center's trails dry up quickly, even after a heavy rainfall. However, the trails on Burke Mountain are more suaceptible to weather. See the Kingdom Trails blog or their Facebook site for the latest trail conditions. The Burke Mountain chairlift operates on weekends from mid-September to mid-October. IdeRide provides a shuttle service on weekends from the village to the summit. Bike rentals and repairs are available at East Burke Sports across the street from the Kingdom Trails Welcome Center. Trail pass: Adults (16-69) $10/day, youth (8-15) $5/day, $50/season includes map; Chairlift: $5/ride, $15/day (2010) Kingdom Trails is located about 14 miles north of St Johnsbury in the northeast corner of Vermont. From Interstate 91, take exit 23, Route 5 north to route 114 north, 6 miles to the Village of East Burke. The Welcome Center is located beside the Bailey's and Burke Building in East Burke Village. There are a few different accesses to the trails. Start at the Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, VT on Darling Hill off from route 5. Or you can pick up the trail from route 114 in East Burke, or from Burke Mountain on the Mountain Road from East Burke.
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