Best Places for mountain biking in America
CRESTED BUTTE, COLORADO
Crested Butte, Colorado, has a core bike culture that lures riders from all over the world. Its mountain bike history goes back to the sport’s infancy (the mid-1970s), when intrepid riders tackled Pearl Pass on one-speeds. Crested Butte Bike Weekdates back to 1980, making it the country’s oldest mountain bike festival.
With more than 700 miles of singletrack—from buff trails casually winding through wildflowers to rugged backcountry rides climbing to 13,000 feet—Crested Butte boasts a solid week’s worth of quality rides (including classics such as Trail 401 and Reno/Flag/Bear/Deadman Gulch) with perhaps the most spectacular bike-accessed scenery in the country.
Several close-to-town cross-country trails have popped up in the last few years like the beginner-friendly Lupine Trail, which follows the bike path from town north to the ski area and back. Evolution Bike Park at Crested Butte Mountain Resortincludes more than 30 miles of downhill and cross-country trails. What’s more, the small town of Crested Butte is ridiculously charming (think colorful Victorians and dirt side streets) and packed with delicious eateries and fun watering holes.
MOAB, UTAH
It’s almost impossible to overhype Moab. Its red-rock landscape is truly like nowhere else on Earth, and the best way to appreciate it is by riding it. Famed trails like Porcupine Rim, Slickrock, and the Whole Enchilada steal the spotlight, but it’s the area’s newer and lesser known trails that make a trip to Moab a mandatory pilgrimage for any mountain biker.
With sunbaked desert riding, high-alpine singletrack in the nearby La Sal Mountains, and everything in between, it’s possible to ride in Moab year-round, but temperatures are most comfortable in spring and fall (fall being your best chance to ride the Whole Enchilada).
Beyond the riding, Moab is the gateway to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, a spectacular stretch of the Colorado River, and world-famous climbing at Indian Creek in Bears Ears National Monument.
EAST BURKE, VERMONT
East Burke, Vermont, isn’t just the best mountain bike destination in New England, it’s one of the best places to ride in the country. Bike magazine’s reader poll rated its Kingdom Trails the best mountain bike trail network in the country. And Dirt Ragmagazine called the area “one of the premier mountain bike destinations on the East Coast, if not the entire United States.”
Soft, buffed singletrack that winds from Darling Hill Ridge to the Passumpsic River combines with more technical trails on Burke Mountain to form more than a hundred miles of well-designed multiuse trails. . The lift-accessed Burke Mountain Bike Park on the ski area offers 2,000-vertical-foot downhill trails.
Access from East Burke is as easy as it gets. All the aforementioned riding is a quick peddle from the village, which with a library lawn, gazebo, and babbling brook as the centerpiece of downtown is about as postcard Vermont as one could imagine.
DURANGO, COLORADO
Located in southwest Colorado, bordered by huge mountains and high desert, Durango enjoys a near perfect climate and an extended mountain biking season. With a wide variety of trails, easy access (think two-hour loops leaving downtown in all four directions) and a history of breeding elite cyclists (local riders include legends such as Ned Overend, Juli Furtado, Myles Rockwell, and Tom Danielson), Durango is a cycling hotbed within a bike-crazy state.
HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA
A small college town in Virginia’s scenic Shenandoah Valley, Harrisonburg is enjoying a mountain bike boom that’s bringing the community front and center as an example of productive cooperation. IMBA designated the area a bronze-level ride center for its progressive trail-building philosophy and organized network that caters to everyone from novices to the many hard-core mountain bikers (like Jeremiah Bishop) who call “the Burg” home.
Around 500 miles of diverse trail weave around town and George Washington National Forest. Novices can start off on the green loops at Hillandale Park and work their way up to intermediate and advanced trails. Ride the lift at the Gravity Logic-designed Bryce Mountain Bike Park for downhill flow trails or ante up for one of the epics—the Southern Traverse or Spruce Knob.
The revitalized and bike-friendly downtown includes 19th-century architecture, ethnic restaurants, local fare, event-heavy bike shops, breweries, and a designated Arts and Cultural District. James Madison University keeps Harrisonburg’s population youthful.
DOWNIEVILLE, CALIFORNIA
More than an hour’s winding drive from the nearest interstate, tucked into the Sierra foothills at the confluence of two rivers, the tiny town of Downieville relies on mountain bikers to keep it alive. Most weekend warriors come to check the Downieville Downhill off their bucket list, but the area offers around 500 miles of trails. While the trail network includes something for every skill level, most of Downieville’s terrain is challenging, steep, and rugged. A short drive from town, Lakes Basin offers technical and challenging trails along numerous alpine lakes. Nearby Mills Peak offers a 3,000-foot descent locals call one of the flowiest downhills you'll ever ride.
The picturesque gold rush town includes historic buildings, narrow streets, and wooden sidewalks. The Downieville Classic, a two-day mountain bike festival, includes a point-to-point cross-country race to the crest of the Sierra Nevada and down to Downieville, as well as a downhill race that drops 5,000 vertical feet in 15 miles.
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO
History, art, culture, and food have long lured visitors to New Mexico’s capital. Now, thanks to attention from IMBA (it’s now a silver-level ride center) and better marketing to outdoor tourists, mountain biking draws a new crowd. From its high desert valley to the summits of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Santa Fe offers trails for days—and 320 days of sunshine a year to enjoy them.
The La Tierra Trails offer around 17 miles of fast, flowy, well-signed trails from downtown, and two jump parks to boot. For more technical singletrack near town, the Dale Ball Trails serve up 22 miles of the rockier version. The famed Winsor Traildrops 3,400 feet in 10 miles and starts with a scenic climb along a creek or a shuttle. Endurance lovers can ride the Big Friggin’ Loop, a 65-mile route that the grassroots New Mexico Endurance Series races each year, and the Angelfire Bike Park offers 60 miles of lift-accessed trails for the downhillers.
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
Louisville opened a defunct railroad bridge over the Ohio River to bikes and pedestrians, launched a bike share program, and hosted the Cyclo-cross World Championships. Once complete, the 100-mile non-motorized Louisville Loop will encircle the city and link neighborhoods to parks and, the Kentucky Mountain Bike Association hopes, 100 miles of natural-surface singletrack.
For now, the Cherokee and Seneca Park systems offer the most accessible singletrack in town. Combine the intermediate trails of Cherokee Park with the 2.2 miles of technical sections and short, steep climbs of Seneca Park, plus the golf course lap, for a 10-mile loop. A popular after-work ride, Waverly Park offers fast trails with some challenging hills through 300 acres of hardwood forest.
The most surprising mountain bike trails in Louisville can be found in a limestone cavern 75 feet below the city zoo. The Louisville Mega Cavern—the world’s first underground bike park—comprises 320,000 square feet of 45 trails, jump lines, pump tracks, BMX, singletrack, and more.
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