Best "Sleeper" Riding Areas

[cydwhit]

While I love the mountain bike Meccas of this world as much as anyone else, I also have a huge soft spot for local bike parks, small areas where locals made the most of what they had to get some riding in town.

There aren't the sort of spots that can get "blown up," nobody is going to plan a trip to a place like this to camp in their Sprinter. But these trail systems are awesome to stop at, grab a few laps and stretch the legs on your way to your riding destination.

So what's your favorite local zone?

I'll start:

Driggs Bike Park

Behind the skatepark on 5th street there are a few acres of wooded land that folks have been building bike trails on forever. Right now we've got about two miles of singletrack, a fun tabletop line, a couple of big, almost scary doubles, a sweet wood berm, a concrete "slickrock" section, a wooden "rock roll" and a few technical climbs and descents. Awesome place to burn an afternoon, groomed for fat bikes all winter, unless I'm off skiing pow instead of getting the grooming sled stuck.

Victor Bike Park

Not as cool as the Driggs bike park, a little more singletrack, some dirt jumps, two pump tracks, and a cyclocross course. Less sessionable in my mind, but still fun to run hot laps on. Perfect for small kids.

7N Ranch

This one is on the way to Kelly Canyon Ski resort, near Heise Hot Springs. $10 honor system to ride. A bunch of fun, short singletrack loops, including some super rad descents. One main climbing trail with a bunch of downhill options. A bunch of sort of sketchy wood features, a couple of sweet jump trails, and a couple of big mulch jumps. Could easily burn a day sessioning stuff here. Put in 11 miles the other day and didn't even ride every trail they offer.

Meeker Bike Park

Hit this one on the way home from Grand Junction. Heated public bathrooms, a couple fun small singletrack loops, and then the coolest local flow trail I've ever seen, with a bunch of mellow but fun jumps and berms, and a few wallrides and bigger features. Can't emphasize enough how much fun we had here. Totally worth stopping if you're ever headed through.


So what's your favorite in-town system?

[snowaddict91]

Vulture's Knob, Wooster, Ohio
If you are traveling through the area it is absolutely worth a stop. A little bit of everything mixed in a 5ish mile loop.

[dexterq20]

Sandy Ridge in Sandy, OR.
Tiger Mountain and Raging River near Snoqualmie, WA.
Mt Tzouhalem in Duncan, BC (Vancouver Island).
Corner Canyon in Draper, UT.
Pineview in Kamloops, BC.

[bagtagley]

Kanawha State Forest in Charleston, WV. Good trail network that’s always empty. Technical with some fast and roudy descents.

[volklpowdermaniac]

Laugh away but Philadelphia has too 10+ mile loops within the city limits, Wissahickon and Belmont Plateau, both legit solid riding.

[robnow]

Black Rock in Oregon for sure...with some sweet cliff jumping in Falls City.

[Dhiler17]

Kellogg ID is quite the little gem. Silver mtn is starting to become something really special


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[Groomer Gambler]

Black Rock in Oregon for sure...with some sweet cliff jumping in Falls City.

And Alsea Falls, OR. Mac-Dunn forest, too, outside of Corvallis.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Stephens State Park, NJ
Ringwood, NJ
Sals aka Walking Purchase, PA

[happytimefunbox]

October mtn lee ma
stewart mua newberg ny
Trailside pc ut
Corner canyon draper ut
Highstarr ranch kama ut

[jono]

Beacon Hill in Spokane is not quite disappointing, but seems to fit here. So much trail in that space it's got multiple choices for everyone.

[One (+) Sentence]

I ride Corner Canyon in Draper a ton, but mostly because of time constraints and because I can ride right from my front door or work (and because I really enjoy it and it continues to grow.) I’m not sure it can be considered “sleepy” though. I’m pretty sure according to Trailforks or Strava it is the single most ridden network in all of the U.S.

[JerseyDave]

The trails in my town. I think they might be the best 2.5 hours in the state for climbing, descending, tech, and flow on my bike without having to drive. Not the best terrain around, more foothills then spine, but the right amount of chunk, buff trail, and low traffic keep it tight, tech and misty. The filter of climbing is key to having good in-town riding IMO.
Might be dry enough to ride this week...been a long winter in Vt.
A peek...a little bc single track
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0-rvO-SxZs
a little flow trail...900 vertical pump track built by Sinuosity...the same guy that invented the fat bike ski that was on the front page actually.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF2IgoHjsSE

[LHutz Esq]

Hwy 16 - PG to Terrace and almost every little town in between

[snowaddict91]

I ride Corner Canyon in Draper a ton, but mostly because of time constraints and because I can ride right from my front door or work (and because I really enjoy it and it continues to grow.) I’m not sure it can be considered “sleepy” though. I’m pretty sure according to Trailforks or Strava it is the single most ridden network in all of the U.S.

Agreed. Not that its not great riding, but nothing sleepy about it.

[3PinGrin]

Camp Robinson, North Little Rock, AR

[bagtagley]

I ride Corner Canyon in Draper a ton, but mostly because of time constraints and because I can ride right from my front door or work (and because I really enjoy it and it continues to grow.) I’m not sure it can be considered “sleepy” though. I’m pretty sure according to Trailforks or Strava it is the single most ridden network in all of the U.S.

What about Bobsled? It's been a while, but BITD even at its busiest, it was never really busy. In the hottest months of the summer, it was completely empty. Which was awesome because Dry Creek stayed pretty cool despite the heat, and it was close to my house.

[cydwhit]

Beacon Hill in Spokane is not quite disappointing, but seems to fit here. So much trail in that space it's got multiple choices for everyone.

Exactly!

Used to love riding Beacon when I lived in Moscow. Rad network up there.

[Dantheman]

I ride Corner Canyon in Draper a ton, but mostly because of time constraints and because I can ride right from my front door or work (and because I really enjoy it and it continues to grow.) I’m not sure it can be considered “sleepy” though. I’m pretty sure according to Trailforks or Strava it is the single most ridden network in all of the U.S.

It's sure as hell not "sleepy," but I suppose you could consider it "sleeper" in the sense that most people who don't live here probably haven't heard of it.

[One (+) Sentence]

Agreed. Not that its not great riding, but nothing sleepy about it.

Seroiusly, on any given Saturday the scene in the main parking area for CC closily resembles that of a Greatful Dead (well ok, maybe a Creed) show...

[happytimefunbox]

CC is a sleeper because if you dont live here youve probably never heard of it and nobody is hopping a plane to do laps with every high school mtb rider in sl and utard counties. Its a good trailnetwork and midweek during the day... it can be blissful.

[rideit]

There is a great little one called Indian Creek just outside on Twin Falls, Idaho.
Great for an afternoon if you are traveling through.
And a micro one at Massacre Rocks near there, which would count as a place to stretch your legs if you are trucking through.

[Dantheman]

(well ok, maybe an Imagine Dragons) show...

FIFY

[BCMtnHound]

Hwy 16 - PG to Terrace and almost every little town in between

Just about every little town north of Kamloops on either hwy 5/16 or 97. Chu chua/Barriere, Clearwater, Valemount, Williams Lk, Quesnel, PG and west to terrace. Amazing what each small local community group has put together. Not to say the riding isn’t great in the south thompson and okanagan, but those are huge centres in comparision to most of the towns in the northern 2/3rds of the province. One day soon I would like to check out the Yukon areas too.

[El Kanone]

When I went to school in Gunnison 26 years ago I thought the riding at Hartman’s Rocks was super fun. I never hear people talk about it so maybe it qualifies as “sleeper”. Probably over shadowed by CB, but they are very different.


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