# Best US states for mountain biking



## jodebane (Mar 12, 2010)

Hello fellow mtb riders. I've been wondering about this question a little bit. I've personally only biked in Northeastern US states and a couple of places in Europe, but what do you guys think are the best US states for mountain biking? Personally, I have ridden in NH, VT, and MA. My vote out of the ones i've ridden goes to VT. There's several growing trail systems like Kingdom Trails, Millstone, and they just allowed mountain bikes more access to a few trails in Green Mountain national forest. In second place I would put MA. The quantity of mtb-legal state and town parks with a variety of good New England trails is big here. Although it pains me to do this as I have had great MTB experiences here, I would put NH at the bottom of the three. There just aren't that many big trail systems that are good for mountain biking. They've got some good state parks in the southern part, but in the more scenic northern part (including the white mountains), good mtb trails are fewer and further apart than in Massachusetts or Vermont.

Based on what I've read about other states, my vote would go to Utah. It looks like it has so much variety of mountain bike trails and it goes far beyond Moab. The mountain areas that are close to salt lake city are more scenic than most ones close to a major city.

But that's just my opinion. What do _you_ think is the best state in the US for mountain biking?


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## Dion (Oct 22, 2009)

California
Colorado
Utah


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## thesmithsdesign (May 29, 2011)

I would say Colorado, as that's where I live, we have many ski areas with great trails if you like downhill, singletrack all over the state, thousands of miles of dirt and jeep roads, and we even have our own trails similar to moab with the Fruita trail system (over 1,000 miles of single track by the COPMOBA) with a LOT less traffic.


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## crewjones (Aug 24, 2007)

i've biked in N.J. P.A. N.Y. Cali and Colorado
So far Colorado is my Favorite. I live in Cali and do like the biking here, but Colorado is quite amazing.
Plus it is super bike friendly there, love the bike culture in the west.


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## John Kuhl (Dec 10, 2007)

I'm with Dion,

California
Colorado
Utah

Best, John


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## pursuiter (May 28, 2008)

crewjones said:


> ...Plus it is super bike friendly there, love the bike culture in the west.


Is AZ better than CA based on MTB bike culture and proximity to CO and NM? The anti-MTB events that occur in CA are extreme,it's a long drive to CO and NM.


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## Ericmopar (Aug 23, 2003)

I grew up in CA and I don't think it's one of the best states for mountain biking. It's to anti bike period. 
Hikers with an attitude block trails to often and if you're a rodie, the road rage in CA is legendary. 
I moved to Nevada 8 years ago and you can ride almost anywhere here. Even without a trail system, you can find all kinds of places to ride in the desert and mountains.


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## Kona0197 (Oct 19, 2004)

Oregon.


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

Look on a map. If you see mountains, that is a good start. 
Every State from the Rockies to the Pacific ocean is good.

The West is best because of the amount of public land, the quantity of open space, the MTB culture, and the size of the mountains. 

I have done some great rides in the Southern appalachians, Like North Georgia, Tennessee, and Western North Carolina. I mean great. But, I don't think the quantity of riding could come close to a place like CO,UT, AZ, NM, CA, ID, MT, OR, WA.


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## AZ (Apr 14, 2009)

Arizona MTBing is second to none.


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## Eckstream1 (Jul 27, 2011)

Pennsylvania is great! There are TONS of well known trails and almost every trail is open to MTBers... Can't say that about California!

The diversity of trail type is amazing!


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## customfab (Jun 8, 2008)

I suppose it really comes down to what kind of riding you like to do. Personally I hate super rocky terrain so I could never imagine moving to Arizona to ride. Other things to consider are winter! If you don't care for skiing Colorado starts to loose it's appeal. The one state that nobody has mentioned that actually has some killer riding is Arkansas.


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## VTSession (Aug 18, 2005)

I was convinced VT had the best mountain biking in the country, then I rode in Moab.


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## natrat (Mar 20, 2008)

the mountain west is nice in the summer and fall but unless you ski forget about winter, same i guess with the east coast. West coast gets points for year round fun:thumbsup:


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## jekramerjr51 (Nov 7, 2009)

I'm going with Kona! X2 for Oregon!


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## Spinning Lizard (Nov 27, 2009)

Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia all have great riding!


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## ArmySlowRdr (Dec 19, 2003)

There seems to be good trails in every state ! I haven't even ridden in most of the "mecca" states of mtb (just wv) but have found the trails are tasty in Texas, Hawaii, MO, OK, PA, VA,MD, WV and gasp--even Illinois.


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## pyrotyro (Mar 27, 2011)

colorado. duh


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## Eric Z (Sep 28, 2008)

not illinois.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Dion said:


> California
> Colorado
> Utah


Exactly. Even if I've never been there (yet).

David


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## dickeydoo (May 11, 2007)

Eric Z said:


> not illinois.


Now thats funny, and sadly true from a fellow flatlander. People may laugh but Wisconsin has some really great riding, obviously nothing like the Rockies or out east but ok if you are stuck in the midwest.


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## Eric Z (Sep 28, 2008)

dickeydoo said:


> Now thats funny, and sadly true from a fellow flatlander. People may laugh but Wisconsin has some really great riding, obviously nothing like the Rockies or out east but ok if you are stuck in the midwest.


yeah, it sucks here. there are a couple trail systems that are fun in the chicagoland area- palos and swk. peoria is fun too.

i agree with wi having nice trails- it's all about the involvement of the community to create trails. we have a ton of forest preserves in the suburbs but mostly paved trails- there could be some great singletrack even if it's just a tad hilly. i enjoy kettle a lot and want to hit up more singletrack there.

i don't think you need to have the rockies to mtb- obviously you don't. flat trails are a lot of fun too- we just need the trail part and we'll be good


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## ArmySlowRdr (Dec 19, 2003)

I bet there are tons of good trails in Illinois. In "my" region of Illinois alone there are two nice trail systems--one on thecampus of SIUE and one on Silver Lake in Highland.



Eric Z said:


> yeah, it sucks here. there are a couple trail systems that are fun in the chicagoland area- palos and swk. peoria is fun too.
> 
> i agree with wi having nice trails- it's all about the involvement of the community to create trails. we have a ton of forest preserves in the suburbs but mostly paved trails- there could be some great singletrack even if it's just a tad hilly. i enjoy kettle a lot and want to hit up more singletrack there.
> 
> i don't think you need to have the rockies to mtb- obviously you don't. flat trails are a lot of fun too- we just need the trail part and we'll be good


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## dirt farmer (Mar 28, 2005)

Oregon sucks! Don't come here.

Thanks


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## Brewtality (Jul 25, 2007)

You have to include Oregon on any list of the best states for mtn biking. Great things going on there:thumbsup:
California
Colorado
Utah
Arizona
New Mexico
Idaho


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## ptfmb71 (Mar 22, 2004)

Coloardo
California
Oregon
Utah

California gives you the best weather throughout the year


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## Scott O (Aug 5, 2004)

jodebane said:


> Although it pains me to do this as I have had great MTB experiences here, I would put NH at the bottom of the three. There just aren't that many big trail systems that are good for mountain biking. They've got some good state parks in the southern part, but in the more scenic northern part (including the white mountains),


Have you checked out the MT Washington Valley? There is some top notch riding up there with some incredible mtb specific trails. Also, what's the criteria for what state has the best riding? # of trails/acreage? (California). Loooong lung seering climbs and big a$$ downhills? (Colorado). Lush forest riding followed by gallons of hoppy hippy-made organic beer? (Oregon). Makes you feel like you're riding on the moon with Amazon Morman women? (Utah) .

Don't sell New England short, bro. Mountain biking here lacks the unending panoramic views of the west, but the quality and quantity and variety of trails here is outstanding. Just wish we had more Amazon women here.


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## BruceBrown (Jan 16, 2004)

jodebane said:


> But that's just my opinion. What do _you_ think is the best state in the US for mountain biking?


Best?

Mountain biking covers the entire gamut based on terrain available and the type of trails and riding that develop based on the terrain, soil, seasons, trail advocacy, access to trails, etc... . I've lived in the mountains, near the mountains, on the west coast, in the south, near the Canadian border, and in the Midwest. Excellent riding is available in all areas. So it is hard to label one state or another as the "best" for US mountain biking since "US mountain biking" covers such a wide gamut and such a huge area.

As others have mentioned, there are great trails in many places. Who would have thought North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, etc... have such nice trails, trail advocacy, trail builders, access to trails, state race series, and so on and so forth? The usual states always get mentioned such as Colorado, Utah, California, Arizona, Oregon, but great riding can be found throughout the entire country.

Enjoy what you have locally, then load up the car or catch a train to travel and experience other locations during your vacation time. At least one thing is certain - none of us will ever get the chance to experience all of what is available out there.


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## STT GUY (May 19, 2009)

BruceBrown said:


> Best?
> 
> Mountain biking covers the entire gamut based on terrain available and the type of trails and riding that develop based on the terrain, soil, seasons, trail advocacy, access to trails, etc... . I've lived in the mountains, near the mountains, on the west coast, in the south, near the Canadian border, and in the Midwest. Excellent riding is available in all areas. So it is hard to label one state or another as the "best" for US mountain biking since "US mountain biking" covers such a wide gamut and such a huge area.
> 
> ...


+1 For what Mr Bruce said here...

There is so much out there. We live in SW Utah and have ride-out access to some great trails and are fortunate enough to have about 50 good trails inside of 45 minutes drive.

We have expanded our horizons and ridden in Sedona, Black Canyon AZ, Jackson WY, Ketchum and Stanely ID, Idyllwild and some So Cal costal trails.. it's ALL good. Different but good.


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## Shark (Feb 4, 2006)

It depends what type of riding you like, but my favorites so far are utah and colorado.

Singletrack is good in indiana, just lacking the mountains lol


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

This is getting to be like the "what's the best state for beer" thread. 

Come to think of it, there seems to be a correlation between states with the best riding and the best beer.


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## BruceBrown (Jan 16, 2004)

smilinsteve said:


> Come to think of it, there seems to be a correlation between states with the best riding and the best beer.


That's right - Germany and Austria win every time.


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## Dion (Oct 22, 2009)

Ericmopar said:


> I grew up in CA and I don't think it's one of the best states for mountain biking. It's to anti bike period.


I grew up in Santa Cruz, Ca. It's a little oasis for riding.


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## Shark (Feb 4, 2006)

smilinsteve said:


> This is getting to be like the "what's the best state for beer" thread.
> 
> Come to think of it, there seems to be a correlation between states with the best riding and the best beer.


Except utah lol


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## Eric Z (Sep 28, 2008)

ArmySlowRdr said:


> I bet there are tons of good trails in Illinois. In "my" region of Illinois alone there are two nice trail systems--one on thecampus of SIUE and one on Silver Lake in Highland.


good is relative. not much at all in the chicagoland area but yes more south. i enjoyed my time in southern illinois in college- much more outdoor oriented then the burbs of chicago.

nice to see others from illinois here!


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## pointerDixie214 (Feb 10, 2009)

Gonna have to throw in another vote that AZ has some fantastic riding. 

I would say CO, AZ, UT, CA, and OR for the top 5. I have only ridden in three of those, but I know UT and OR are great too.


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## Kona0197 (Oct 19, 2004)

> Come to think of it, there seems to be a correlation between states with the best riding and the best beer.


Well Oregon does have the best microbreweries.


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

Kona0197 said:


> Well Oregon does have the best microbreweries.


Oregon has a great microbrew culture, and so does Colorado. 
As far as who has the best combo of beer and riding, it would probably be between those 2 states, although I'm sure there will be plenty of disagreement.


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## BacDoc (May 31, 2011)

Dion said:


> I grew up in Santa Cruz, Ca. It's a little oasis for riding.


+1
I lived in Santa Cruz for 4 yrs while I was going to graduate school early/mid 90's and full suspension xc bikes were just getting legit, traded in my hard tail bought a Santa Cruz Heckler with student loans and thought I died and went to heaven.

Have had the opportunity to ride Utah and Colorado and there is great terrain for sure but the number of spots in such a small radius with killer views of the Pacific and some of the best surf breaks - Santa Cruz is awesome:thumbsup:


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## 2ridealot (Jun 15, 2004)

No love for Florida...j/k North Carolina is the best I've ridden in the east. I'm sure many western states would be better.


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## bpressnall (Aug 25, 2006)

Colorado, Utah, and West Virginia have probably done the best job of promoting mountain biking for tourism. California, birthplace of mountain biking, has done little to promote it's mountain biking and many trails near urban areas are closed to bikes. Sadly, in this huge state that ranks 3rd in total public land, there are few areas that could be considered national mountain bike destinations. CA has plenty of good trails scattered around, but the only areas I would consider as national destinations are Tahoe, Downieville, maybe Kernville if you stretch it, and Pinecrest if you're hooked up with the underground. In the smaller states of Utah and Colorado you have Moab, Park City, Hurricane, Durango, Fruita, Crested Butte, Breckenridge, plus other reputable areas such as Cedar City/Brian Head, Price, Fraser Valley, Gunnison, Salida, Telluride, and, well you get the idea. BC would certainly be a contender if you include Canada.


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## Thor29 (May 12, 2005)

Colorado and Utah are the bee's knees for mountain biking.

California... I don't think so. There may be pockets of good riding here and there, but the sheer number and variety in Colorado or Utah kicks California in the nuts. Heck, they keep ADDING new places to ride along the Front Range in Colorado, whereas Marin County (birthplace of mountain biking?!?!) has a dismal number of legal singletrack trails and the best one (Tamarancho) costs money to ride and only has one freaking loop.


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## Duratai (Nov 13, 2007)

My vote is for sweet home Colorado...


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

I moved from Tucson to the Denver area. Since I've been in Denver I have done some of the best rides of my life, and it's nice to know that there are many more out there that I haven't explored yet. But, a lot of those rides were far from home and quite an ordeal. Closer to Denver, they get crowded on weekends and evenings sometimes. 
Tucson has some advantages over Denver:
- Rides very close to town
- Never crowded
- Weather is always ok for riding. Summers are hot but early mornings are ok. 

The bottom line is that I did more riding in Tucson because of the weather and the convenience. And there are some world class rides and great variety around Tucson as well. 

On the other hand, being in Denver, there are overwhelming possibilities for what I could do this weekend. Any kind of "best of the best" rides of a lifetime are available if I choose. 

So, being in Denver is great. And Tucson is great.


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## 2wheelsnotfour (Aug 18, 2010)

Eric Z said:


> not illinois.


Not to make this a anti-best state thread but Illinois pretty much sucks....for everything but pizza.


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## Heckled (Jan 31, 2004)

Illinois wasn't that bad, I lived in the far north burbs. I started mtbing at Kettle in the early 90's, it's changed a lot since then. Palos is another option that's not bad. After 15 years of riding that stuff I packed up and moved to Fruita, with Moab a little over an hour away and most of the high country trails with in two hours, we get to ride pretty much year round. In a three hour radius, I think I could ride a different trail every day for the rest of my life and still not hit them all. Life doesn't suck here, at all.


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## Kona0197 (Oct 19, 2004)

Still trying to guess why some choose to live in a state without a beautiful coast.


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## 2wheelsnotfour (Aug 18, 2010)

Kona0197 said:


> Still trying to guess why some choose to live in a state without a beautiful coast.


Its often less expensive inland. In my native Midwest (Chicagoland...its like Disneyland but with Gangsta Disciples and Latin Kings) a lot of folks rarely travel or venture far from where they were raised. My advice to people is to travel or live away somewhere before you get serious about a career....experience different places and have some experiences and memories to draw perspective from.


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## Eric Z (Sep 28, 2008)

2wheelsnotfour said:


> Not to make this a anti-best state thread but Illinois pretty much sucks....for everything but pizza.


yeah, no joke. i do enjoy the food and the city has a lot to offer but nothing much outdoorsy until you get near wi or in southern il.


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## 2wheelsnotfour (Aug 18, 2010)

My advice for people visiting Colorado is to get two for one on beers. Upon arrival immediately drive to Summit County and promptly visit The Dam Brewery in Dillon for beers. You won't be disappointed. To heighten the effect enjoy a growler on Loveland Pass or ride a gondola to the top of a ski area and enjoy a brew.


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## Berkeley Mike (Jan 13, 2004)

Euphoria.


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## MtbRN (Jun 8, 2006)

customfab said:


> If you don't care for skiing Colorado starts to lose it's appeal.


Ah, but if you DO like skiing then Colorado is heaven! 
Biking season from April through November. 
Skiing season from December through May.

:thumbsup:


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## Wherewolf (Jan 17, 2004)

*Year-round*

If you can't ride year-round then it can't be the best.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Wherewolf said:


> If you can't ride year-round then it can't be the best.


I can ride year round with my snow tires


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Wherewolf said:


> If you can't ride year-round then it can't be the best.


Very few places can't be ridden year round, it just takes the willpower. If ppl are riding in PHX (115°+) and the ididarod on a bike...well what *isn't* year round?


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

MtbRN said:


> Ah, but if you DO like skiing then Colorado is heaven!
> Biking season from April through November.
> Skiing season from December through May.
> 
> :thumbsup:


Biking season depends on how much you like cold and can put up with snow on the trails. For me, January and February are pretty much out, but December and March can be ok depending on the weather. But when there is snow on the ground, hiking is great and trails are empty, and of course, skiing....



> If you can't ride year-round then it can't be the best.


I almost have to agree with this. Like I mentioned earlier, in Tucson I rode much more, and biking was always a part of my life. In CO, I have to forget about it for a while and divert my attention to hiking and skiing, (which isn't so bad).

I know people ride in snow, in dark, and in sub freezing weather, but for me, that is not so fun.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

smilinsteve said:


> I know people ride in snow, in dark, and in sub freezing weather, but for me, that is not so fun.


That's the best part man ! When you have the right gears, freezing night riding in snow is damn good.

David


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## Shawnee 1 (Feb 15, 2011)

Southern IL, NoCal, FL, CO, UT, NM, imo


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## jwilliams (Jun 6, 2011)

The best state for mtb'ing is the one your in right now. Until you can go somewhere else.

Like my grandpa used to say when asked " When's the best time to hunt? "

" Whenever you can. "


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## jodebane (Mar 12, 2010)

Its interesting how even the flattest states can have great mountain bike trails. The sport shouldn't really be called "mountain" biking, even if the first mountain bikers biked on mountains. This isn't in the US but here's a place with a huge MTB scene: The United Kingdom. No big mountains, but a huge variety of trails to ride, and numerous bike brands. It is very interesting how that can happen. Its one of the reasons MTB is a more versatile sport than skiing, you don't need big mountains to have a great time on trails. In fact, in the Northeast, some of the big (by Northeastern standards) mountain ranges, like the whites and the adirondacks have surpringly few mountain bike trails compared to slightly flatter places like Eastern Massachusetts and some parts of Vermont.


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## MtbRN (Jun 8, 2006)

Wherewolf said:


> If you can't ride year-round then it can't be the best.


So a place with awesome trails that are rideable 3/4 of the year is not as good as a place with [email protected] trails that are rideable year round? I don't follow that logic at all.


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## STT GUY (May 19, 2009)

MtbRN said:


> So a place with awesome trails that are rideable 3/4 of the year is not as good as a place with [email protected] trails that are rideable year round? I don't follow that logic at all.


Try this logic....neither are as good as a place with great trails that are ridable all year long. :thumbsup:


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## Wherewolf (Jan 17, 2004)

*Neither*



MtbRN said:


> So a place with awesome trails that are rideable 3/4 of the year is not as good as a place with [email protected] trails that are rideable year round? I don't follow that logic at all.


Neither of those could qualify as best since there is room for improvement. Only great trails year-round could qualify as "best".


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## BuiltforSin (Sep 10, 2011)

Spinning Lizard said:


> Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia all have great riding!


I was going to post the same thing. :thumbsup:


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## webgeek (Sep 15, 2011)

I grew up in Utah so I have to go with that. Slick rock in the south and alpine in the north. Lots of high desert forest in the middle.

-Mike


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## 247 (Apr 23, 2009)

> Pennsylvania is great! There are TONS of well known trails and almost every trail is open to MTBers... Can't say that about California!
> 
> The diversity of trail type is amazing!


--*Agree Totally!! The only place that has more trails is California.. AND these are REAL TRAILS!!--Rocky an rooty!!*
*It's funny, All i read bout is how 'Mark Weir' is like Michael Jordan on the West Coast--how he kills people who ride with him.. Was he even top 20 in the Transylvania Epic??--AND they did not have the Best trails in the State (French Creek, Michaux)-----
PA has the toughest trails in the country, hands down--and thats what mountain biking is--not 'smooth raod climbing hills' *


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

247 said:


> PA has the toughest trails in the country, hands down--and thats what mountain biking is--not 'smooth raod climbing hills' [/B]


This could only mean one of two things:

1. You have ridden all the trails in all the states, or
2. You live in Pennsylvania.

I'm guessing it's number 2.


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## richwolf (Dec 8, 2004)

Lots of great places to mountain bike.

Colorado? Snow and altitude are the big negatives.
Arizona? Pretty good but then as you go higher, snow and at lower elevations HEAT!
Utah? I have done a lot there but it does get pretty cold in the winter and many places have heat to contend with in the summer.
Oregon? Great trails, streams waterfalls etc, but then again winter riding gets sloppy.
California? Big state but big cities too. It depends where you live if it is great or not.

Best place to mountain bike? For me it is where I live! Over 5,000 feet areas for summer riding and a little gem of a trail system that is served by west winds in the summer for idyllic summertime riding temps. In the winter we drop down to the desert for 60 and 70 degree riding temps.


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## Eric Z (Sep 28, 2008)

jodebane said:


> Its interesting how even the flattest states can have great mountain bike trails. The sport shouldn't really be called "mountain" biking, even if the first mountain bikers biked on mountains. This isn't in the US but here's a place with a huge MTB scene: The United Kingdom. No big mountains, but a huge variety of trails to ride, and numerous bike brands. It is very interesting how that can happen. Its one of the reasons MTB is a more versatile sport than skiing, you don't need big mountains to have a great time on trails. In fact, in the Northeast, some of the big (by Northeastern standards) mountain ranges, like the whites and the adirondacks have surpringly few mountain bike trails compared to slightly flatter places like Eastern Massachusetts and some parts of Vermont.


i agree. it's all about the involvement from the community and local gov't and how much effort is put forth to getting these trails approved and built.

i plan on going trail biking a lot this weekend here in il :eekster:


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## goldsbar (Dec 2, 2004)

jodebane said:


> Its interesting how even the flattest states can have great mountain bike trails. The sport shouldn't really be called "mountain" biking, even if the first mountain bikers biked on mountains. This isn't in the US but here's a place with a huge MTB scene: The United Kingdom. No big mountains, but a huge variety of trails to ride, and numerous bike brands. It is very interesting how that can happen. Its one of the reasons MTB is a more versatile sport than skiing, you don't need big mountains to have a great time on trails. In fact, in the Northeast, some of the big (by Northeastern standards) mountain ranges, like the whites and the adirondacks have surpringly few mountain bike trails compared to slightly flatter places like Eastern Massachusetts and some parts of Vermont.


So true. There's moments of riding greatness even in NJ thanks to the newer trails built by MTBRs. Problem is they don't last long enough before your on quad trails again.


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## laser beam (Sep 17, 2011)

I'm stuck in the midwest but Missouri has some really nice singletrack. Minnesota is not bad either.


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## kinsler (Sep 13, 2011)

CO, UT, VA
Best riding and beer combo...
CO, OR
Checking out AZ in a few weeks
Surprising, after 5 years in HI the riding is better in West TX than HI!


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## The Load (Jan 5, 2010)

Missouri has so many trails that it has to be ranked in the top 10. Not as scenic as out west and not as bike friendly as out west. But a large quantity of quality trails. I love living here as a MTBer.


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## 247 (Apr 23, 2009)

> Pennsylvania is great! There are TONS of well known trails and almost every trail is open to MTBers... Can't say that about California!
> 
> The diversity of trail type is amazing!


--*Hands Down!!! *The Philly area (Big City, history of America)--1.5 hour drive from New York/Washington D.C./Amish Country and Atlantic City...... Great place to live, work and especially ride REAL trails (rocky, rooty.) And Pa. has some of the best trails in the Country (Raystown Lake, French Creek, Michaux, The Wiss, Blue Marsh)--------you are also 1 hour away from White Clay (Delaware) and Fair Hill (Maryland)------------
--In what other state are you only 1/2 hour drive (anywhere) in the State from an Epic Trail???>
PLUS according to MTBR trail review, what other state has more trails (other than California, and is 1/4 the size)-----


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## Bit8Chicken (Jul 17, 2018)

yup not wisconsin either lol. hardest trails here are pretty much just blues


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## 779334 (Oct 10, 2014)

I'm from NC, and I'd vote Colorado. I really like their landscape.


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## MikeDee (Nov 17, 2004)

I live in California, and while the weather is great and there are mountains and trails, conflicts with hikers and equestrians have locked up the single track in many areas. There's too many people living in California!


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## DIRTJUNKIE (Oct 18, 2000)

MikeDee said:


> I live in California, and while the weather is great and there are mountains and trails, conflicts with hikers and equestrians have locked up the single track in many areas. There's too many people living in California!


No worries, half of them have moved to Colorado, so it's evening things out.


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

Idaho. If you so desire, you can ride rocky technical trails on the flats, or drive 20 min to get to lots of smooth flowy singletrack. If you desire longer trails, head north to the sun valley area and you can log a ridiculous amount of miles on sub-alpine and alpine singletrack. The trails are rideable for the majority of the year as well, as our winters tend to be fairly dry.


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## 786737 (Mar 13, 2015)

DIRTJUNKIE said:


> No worries, half of them have moved to Colorado, so it's evening things out.


You mean half of the half left over after half moved to OR, half moved to ID, half moved to MT and half moved to WA?


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## skiahh (Dec 26, 2003)

247 said:


> --*Agree Totally!! The only place that has more trails is California.. AND these are REAL TRAILS!!--Rocky an rooty!!*
> *It's funny, All i read bout is how 'Mark Weir' is like Michael Jordan on the West Coast--how he kills people who ride with him.. Was he even top 20 in the Transylvania Epic??--AND they did not have the Best trails in the State (French Creek, Michaux)-----
> PA has the toughest trails in the country, hands down--and thats what mountain biking is--not 'smooth raod climbing hills' *





247 said:


> --*Hands Down!!! *The Philly area (Big City, history of America)--1.5 hour drive from New York/Washington D.C./Amish Country and Atlantic City...... Great place to live, work and especially ride REAL trails (rocky, rooty.) And Pa. has some of the best trails in the Country (Raystown Lake, French Creek, Michaux, The Wiss, Blue Marsh)--------you are also 1 hour away from White Clay (Delaware) and Fair Hill (Maryland)------------
> --In what other state are you only 1/2 hour drive (anywhere) in the State from an Epic Trail???>
> PLUS according to MTBR trail review, what other state has more trails (other than California, and is 1/4 the size)-----


Whew! Thanks for the good belly laugh.

Sadly, though, I think your perspective is a bit lacking from lack of experience/venturing to other places.

I'd have to agree with those who say, basically, front range of CO and on west. Pick a state, there are no shortage of trails of any type you want to ride. Tech, flow, climbing, lift served, loam, DG, slickrock, long distance, short networked, whatever you want.

I've not ridden there, but from what I've heard, on the east coast, I'd say Pisgah is probably way up there, too.

For reference, I've ridden pretty extensively in ME, VT, RI, CO, TX, UT, WA, ID, NV and FL.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Utah. And, oh my heck, I get to ride with my wives!


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## DIRTJUNKIE (Oct 18, 2000)

the one ring said:


> You mean half of the half left over after half moved to OR, half moved to ID, half moved to MT and half moved to WA?


That's a mind boggling fraction nightmare.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Colorado is #1 but basically anywhere west of I-25 will do.

Edit: Maybe not Nevada. Nevada is pretty barren.


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## Zomby Woof (MCM700) (May 23, 2004)

We have some great trails to ride in GA.


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## TSleep (Aug 1, 2016)

Top three in no particular order with the area most known, Washington(Bellingham), Colorado(Trestle), Arkansas,(Bentonville)


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## TSleep (Aug 1, 2016)

Nothing in Pennsylvania can compare to anything black in any western state. You have hills, we have mountains


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

TSleep said:


> Top three in no particular order with the area most known, Washington(Bellingham), Colorado(Trestle), Arkansas,(Bentonville)


I just got back from Bentonville a few weeks ago. It's nice that they are dumping some money into trails and projects, but this is not even close to those other two, and many other, riding destinations in the US. Bentonville is probably the best riding in a few hundred miles, but I'd never go there just to ride. I would (and have gone) go to Colorado, Washington, Arizona, and others. Again, I hope they keep investing and making trails, but it's never going to be on the same level as Washington or Colorado. The options they have, the different kinds of riding in different climates and vegetation, etc. Not being around any significant city puts it at an additional disadvantage. Right now, the riding is oppressive of course due to the heat and humidity, but beyond that, it's not like riding around Mt St Helens, the continental divide, big bike parks, the Olympic Forest, etc. Hope they continue though and I hope they really get a lot of local riders that keep it all in motion (improving). That core is definitely essential.


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## hogfly (Mar 6, 2018)

Not going to argue but would like more information on where you rode in NWA? I agree that Bentonville/NWA doesn’t have the natural features of the Western areas, but it does have some things I haven’t found out West. Regardless I’d be curious where all you rode while there.


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

More and more I think a great state for mountain biking is one where you don't have to spend time or much time in a car to do it. A place where you can have decent employment and overall quality of life and not have to work too hard for a trail ride. A great state for the sport would be one where a whole lot of the population can leave from home on a bike and ride single track.

I'm feeling stronger about this after a recent visit with relatives and friends in other places. They may be closer to some amazing trail places but I see people in other great places to live ride a lot more because they can get on a bike at home or drive a lot less to ride.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Being able to hit a lot of singletrack from the house is a great thing because you're more likely to ride a lot if you don't have to drive very far to get to a trail. Even so, wanderlust sets in eventually. Utah is fairly centrally located in the western states, so a day or two drive can get you to another high quality riding locale for a change of scenery.


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## hogfly (Mar 6, 2018)

bitflogger said:


> More and more I think a great state for mountain biking is one where you don't have to spend time or much time in a car to do it. A place where you can have decent employment and overall quality of life and not have to work too hard for a trail ride. A great state for the sport would be one where a whole lot of the population can leave from home on a bike and ride single track.
> 
> I'm feeling stronger about this after a recent visit with relatives and friends in other places. They may be closer to some amazing trail places but I see people in other great places to live ride a lot more because they can get on a bike at home or drive a lot less to ride.


This is one of the areas where Bentonville really excels. You can, literally, pedal off the square and in the main trail network and use singletrack and greenway to access all the major trail networks from there.

The downside is that the riding doesn't always feel as remote, isolated, and "epic" as other places, because it's mainly taking place within "urban" (or what passes for Arkansas urban) greenspace and not out in the middle of wilderness.


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## One Pivot (Nov 20, 2009)

We took a road trip to Utah (from CA), and everywhere we went had trails and signage for bikes. I didn't get a chance to ride, but I was blown away by the sheer volume of trails. It all looked like singletrack too.

Riding in CA is decent, but it's spaced out with an incredible amount of boring fireroad slogs. There's an alright amount of really good riding surrounded by stuff not even worth mentioning.

It seems like a lot of places have great riding areas. Like whole areas. We have isolated trails surrounded by suck.


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## Scott O (Aug 5, 2004)

Delaware

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

hogfly said:


> This is one of the areas where Bentonville really excels. You can, literally, pedal off the square and in the main trail network and use singletrack and greenway to access all the major trail networks from there.


While that's nice, it's not especially unique to me. In Prescott there's a 65 mile loop that links 5 or so different riding areas, so you can do the loop, or ride the specific areas, put together rides from 5 miles to hundreds of miles. Sedona is similar, with the ability to link several riding areas and put in mega-miles (although Sedona miles are tougher than most other miles). In many places, these networks can be ridden right from town. Again, nice that Bentonville is making the effort, but the same exists in many places with bigger mountains, longer trails, better trail surfaces, and so on. IMO, the shorter the mountains are, the more it sucks lugging around a longer-travel bike for obstacles. But when there are significant obstacles, you need a tougher bike. The mountains around Bentonville are on the small side, even for Arkansas (much bigger to the South).

Ride around Seattle, Olympic Forest, Capital Forest, St Helens, Rainier, I-90 riding areas, Eastern side of Cascades, Bellingham, and there is so much more. This isn't the only place I ride on vacation, but the scale is so much bigger, the trails, the mountains, the obstacles, the development and work on the trails (surfaces, structures, maintenance), and everything.

To the guy that has found things there that he hasn't found out West, I'm curious to know what things?


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Yeah, from downtown Park City Utah, you can directly access 400 miles of singletrack. Actually, I think we just hit 450 miles. I think 2 or 3 new trails have been added so far this summer.
Then it's 4 hours to Moab.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

MSU Alum said:


> Yeah, from downtown Park City Utah, you can directly access 400 miles of singletrack. Actually, I think we just hit 450 miles. I think 2 or 3 new trails have been added so far this summer.
> Then it's 4 hours to Moab.


Add a few more hours to get to the goods in Colorado. Wydaho, Northern AZ, and NM are all within easy distance too. Lucky.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

MSU Alum said:


> Yeah, from downtown Park City Utah, you can directly access 400 miles of singletrack. Actually, I think we just hit 450 miles. I think 2 or 3 new trails have been added so far this summer.
> Then it's 4 hours to Moab.


...or 12 hours to Oakridge, Oregon. 
Brang the wives, we've got all the awesome beer y'all will ever need.
=sParty


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## DIRTJUNKIE (Oct 18, 2000)

Is it just me or, is this a worthless discussion? Unless you’ve ridden in every state on every set of trails in every state I’d say none of us have a right to say which states are best.


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## twodownzero (Dec 27, 2017)

natrat said:


> the mountain west is nice in the summer and fall but unless you ski forget about winter, same i guess with the east coast. West coast gets points for year round fun:thumbsup:


I live in the mountain west and I could literally ride every day of the year.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

DIRTJUNKIE said:


> Is it just me or, is this a worthless discussion?


You mean like 95% of the rest of the threads on eMpTy BeeR?
What else you wanna talk about, DJ? 
=sParty


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## DIRTJUNKIE (Oct 18, 2000)

Sparticus said:


> You mean like 95% of the rest of the threads on eMpTy BeeR?
> What else you wanna talk about, DJ?
> =sParty


I'm good, carry on.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Sparticus said:


> You mean like 95% of the rest of the threads on eMpTy BeeR?


Ha ha! Yeah, really.


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## hogfly (Mar 6, 2018)

Jayem said:


> To the guy that has found things there that he hasn't found out West, I'm curious to know what things?


I'll admit that my MTB experience out west is limited mainly to Ft. Collins (lived there, but it was around 2000, so things have likely progressed a lot since then), Crested Butte, and Santa Fe, NM. So I can't speak for all areas out west. What I've found in Bentonville/NWA that I haven't seen as much out West is the purpose built flow trail that is professionally built with an eye toward "play."

Also: while you all maintain that our lack of tall mountains are a detriment, I'd argue that they can be a feature and make for a different experience than what you have out West. If you listen to the MTBPodcast episode where they discuss the upcoming Oztrails Epic Rides Off Road with Todd Sadow, he does a great job of talking about how the riding experience is very different for this one than it is for the Whiskey and other Western Epic Rides. They call it "Death by a thousand hills." Whereas out West you have a huge climb then a huge descent, here you're going to have 5 minute climbs, then 2-3 minute descents, then another 5 minute climb.

All that being said, I know that the NWA bike culture is way, way behind other bike cultures, but I wouldn't dismiss it as never being worthy of a destination. I saw someone bragging about 2 trails being built this summer in their town. We've had 3 new trail AREAS open this summer here, including a downhill area with shuttles and 7 ripping downhill lines.

Once again, I don't actually think that we're up to the standards of the West which has a huge headstarts and a heck of a more longstanding bike culture, but I do think that the amount of professional trail building companies constantly at work here along with the difference in terrain and corresponding mentality around building distinguishes us from what's going on out West.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

hogfly said:


> What I've found in Bentonville/NWA that I haven't seen as much out West is the purpose built flow trail that is professionally built with an eye toward "play."


There's a TON of that out west.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

hogfly said:


> I'll admit that my MTB experience out west is limited mainly to Ft. Collins (lived there, but it was around 2000, so things have likely progressed a lot since then), Crested Butte, and Santa Fe, NM. So I can't speak for all areas out west. What I've found in Bentonville/NWA that I haven't seen as much out West is the purpose built flow trail that is professionally built with an eye toward "play."


Um, yeah, that kind of riding is in so many places now, people are starting to revolt against it, wanting to go back to more natural trail in some cases. There is incredible flow stuff built in the PacNW, California, Wyoming, even CO. I'd say the PacNW has some of the biggest stuff in that regard, with just massive amounts of dirt moved to make trails and flow. The scale and number of riding areas is not comparable IME. Flow is it's own kind of riding and can be just as fun as anything else IME. I'm glad you are starting to experience it. If you want to see some amazing stuff, take some trips up North and West.



> Also: while you all maintain that our lack of tall mountains are a detriment, I'd argue that they can be a feature and make for a different experience than what you have out West. If you listen to the MTBPodcast episode where they discuss the upcoming Oztrails Epic Rides Off Road with Todd Sadow, he does a great job of talking about how the riding experience is very different for this one than it is for the Whiskey and other Western Epic Rides. They call it "Death by a thousand hills." Whereas out West you have a huge climb then a huge descent, here you're going to have 5 minute climbs, then 2-3 minute descents, then another 5 minute climb.


That sounds like my local XC race series, they usually keep it on shorter trails with smaller climbs where you do a few laps and rack up a few thousand feet of climbing, but you generally don't do huge climbs and descents. Lots of places out West have this kind of riding. Sedona also comes to mind, with lots of shorter climbs and descents. My point wasn't that this doesn't exist in Bentonville, my point was that this AND much bigger stuff exists out West. There are also much bigger mountains available (disregarding land management issues) in the Ozarks for trails, so yes, you are pretty much "locked into" those short climbs and descents. Yes, they can take a big toll on your body. As I said, sometimes that's not my favorite because lugging a bigger bike around on it becomes extremely tiring and hard to get a lot of miles in, however if the terrain is built so that it favors such a bike, like with a lot of Sedona stuff, then I'm all for it.

Honestly, the Whiskey is not a good example of Prescott trails. I lived in Prescott for 11 years and you can put in multi-thousand vertical foot singletrack loops and lots of fun epic stuff mostly or all on singletrack. I talked with Todd this year the day before and the reason for the trails and routes is for flow and to manage the different classes of riders and bottlenecks. It's meant to be a "tough" race, although not as tough as Grand Junction from what my friends say that continued in the series. My point here is that it's not a good example of "out West" riding. It's just a route chosen for some specific reasons.



> All that being said, I know that the NWA bike culture is way, way behind other bike cultures, but I wouldn't dismiss it as never being worthy of a destination. I saw someone bragging about 2 trails being built this summer in their town. We've had 3 new trail AREAS open this summer here, including a downhill area with shuttles and 7 ripping downhill lines.
> 
> Once again, I don't actually think that we're up to the standards of the West which has a huge headstarts and a heck of a more longstanding bike culture, but I do think that the amount of professional trail building companies constantly at work here along with the difference in terrain and corresponding mentality around building distinguishes us from what's going on out West.


I didn't see the bike culture being way behind, unless you are just citing the trails. I saw people out on the trails, which is a good thing. There appeared to be some decent shops and people working there, which is a good thing. I didn't see if there are any school racing teams riding around and doing training, that's getting pretty big in the West these days, but I wasn't there long enough to tell. The weather is pretty hard to deal with in the summer, but again, probably the best trails within a few hundred miles. There are much worse things that Walmart could be investing into for tax breaks and the community. I'd rather see them doing this and getting people interested in outdoors activity, as hard as it is in that climate. I think that's really where the culture has to come together, IMO you need a good core group that rides there and maintains everything. There were quite a few miles I rode that needed significant brushing and other work, it's a lot of trails for maintenance, so I hope what is built is maintained, in addition to more trails being built. We have groups where I live that do this, in fact right now we are building new trails (after the early-summer restoration work days). I guess as far as a destination, one has to ask "what would bring me there over other places?".


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## TSleep (Aug 1, 2016)

hogfly said:


> I'll admit that my MTB experience out west is limited mainly to Ft. Collins (lived there, but it was around 2000, so things have likely progressed a lot since then), Crested Butte, and Santa Fe, NM. So I can't speak for all areas out west. What I've found in Bentonville/NWA that I haven't seen as much out West is the purpose built flow trail that is professionally built with an eye toward "play."
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## skiahh (Dec 26, 2003)

hogfly said:


> What I've found in Bentonville/NWA that I haven't seen as much out West is the purpose built flow trail that is professionally built with an eye toward "play."
> 
> All that being said, I know that the NWA bike culture is way, way behind other bike cultures, but I wouldn't dismiss it as never being worthy of a destination. I saw someone bragging about 2 trails being built this summer in their town. We've had 3 new trail AREAS open this summer here, including a downhill area with shuttles and 7 ripping downhill lines.
> 
> Once again, I don't actually think that we're up to the standards of the West which has a huge headstarts and a heck of a more longstanding bike culture, but I do think that the amount of professional trail building companies constantly at work here along with the difference in terrain and corresponding mentality around building distinguishes us from what's going on out West.


I think you've been pretty thoroughly and rightfully thrashed about the "lack of purpose built flow trails" out west. Simply put, those trails are abundant out here and, as Jayem noted, they're so ubiquitous that they're boring. I like running them now and then, but much prefer singletrack and tech trails.

As for culture, I think that happens in pockets. But I'll put our volunteer trailbuilders up against your professional trail building companies any day, in terms of culture. Our builders do it for the love of building and riding. That's culture. Professional companies do it for the money... not so much culture. That doesn't mean there's no MTB culture there in Bentonville, but that does not add to it, in my book.

Oh, and my little town is home to two large, well established brands, with another moving here and a fourth starting up here. That certainly adds to the culture in our little corner of the world.


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## hogfly (Mar 6, 2018)

I won't try to argue anymore, as it seems pretty futile at this point. It's not really an argument, anyway. The thing that I'm reacting to (and it's probably not worth it) is the dismissive (and maybe it's not intended that way) statement that these are the best trails within a few hundred miles. I'd argue they're the best trails within a 500-600 mile radius. 200 miles basically means surrounding states in our area. So while I'm not arguing there's some overarching reason that someone who lives in the Western States needs to come here (or someone who lives on the Eastern Seaboard), I do argue that we're the closest, best option for many in the Midwest and South. And we're seeing that. We run into people from Texas, Wisconsin, Indiana, Tennessee, Michigan, Illinois, etc.. etc.. constantly on our trail systems now.

I've probably done a poor job of making my case for what's unique or "good" about our trails and I'm not going to try to argue it anymore, as I'm not succeeding. I'll just end with a video of what I perceive to be a cool and somewhat unique (thanks to the Ozark terrain and vision of the building crew) piece of trail.

The entire thing shows a good portion of the trail and has some good explanation, but you can check some of the rock berm work and within the first minute or so. 6:45 also shows some cool building work.






At this point, I half expect posters to explain to me how those are just garden variety trail feature in 60 different cities out West, and I should probably just contain my enthusiasm.... hah.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

I've ridden in a dozen states, most west of the Mississippi, but I have ridden in IL, GA, FL, and NY as well. I've visited 46 out of 50 states. 

The difference is in the amount of public land. The western states have hundreds of millions of acres of public land, while the states east of the Mississippi have almost none. I can ride from my driveway to a hundred miles of legit singletrack, and another hundred miles of 4x4 road that are just as challenging as the singletrack, but in a different way. You don't have to live in the middle of nowhere to have this access, I work in the Denver suburbs, so you can have a decent job and still ride awesome trails. If I get in the car, I have access to *thousands* of miles of singletrack, free camping, and other diversions like hiking, fishing, SUP/kayak, climbing 14'ers, and of course skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling in winter. 

Every state west of I-25 has similar opportunities, and SD does also. 

It is cool that there are a few areas east of the Mississippi that have concentrated networks of trails, but for variety and sheer numbers, it is the West. Doing laps on a 5 or 10 or 30 mile trail gets old after awhile, no matter how cool the trail happens to be. Here, you just find different trails. 

The only issue with the interior West IMHO is lack of access to the ocean, but I'm used to that since I grew up in the Midwest. That God Colorado doesn't have the ocean or any large bodies of water, it is about full already, and limited water keeps a lot of people away.


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## DIRTJUNKIE (Oct 18, 2000)

DIRTJUNKIE said:


> *Best US states for mountain biking.*
> Is it just me or, is this a worthless discussion? Unless you've ridden in every state on every set of trails in every state I'd say none of us have a right to say which states are best.


So after reading through the numerous posts since this quoted post. I'm still onboard with this statement.


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## 101 (Nov 14, 2017)

I live in the Mountain West and have ridden every single month of 2017 and 2018. I’ve even snowboarded in the morning and ridden dirt in the afternoon in a t shirt without driving more than 50 miles total that day. Multiple trailheads within 5 a minute ride from my house & many more within a 10-15 minute ride. My thing, though, is epic Backcountry alpine trails and where I live delivers on that front as well as anywhere in the US. 

All that being said, anywhere that is “good” is what you make of it and Bentonville, even though I haven’t been there to ride, looks like it would be a lot of fun and a good place to be for Mtn Biking. Personally, I’d gravitate towards NC type riding if I were to head back East: raw, rugged and tough, because that’s what I like, but, again, it’s all what you make of where you live and what you have to work with. I lived in Tennessee for most of my life before moving to CO and it was a similar thing with rock climbing in that Southeastern climbers longed for respect for the type of climbing, which is steep and technical, but lacking in the dramatic “big lines” of the mountain West. On the flip side, just because you ride big epic lines out West, doesn’t mean that a technical trail in Pisgah won’t send you over the bars. It’s just a different aesthetic. You end to get getting good at whatever it is that you do a lot of and, if you’re good at it, you likely have developed an aesthetic for it. If you ride in Bentonville, you probably have an aesthetic for manufactured flow trails. I see no reason to get hung up on getting respect from riders in different parts of the country.


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## ColinL (Feb 9, 2012)

I'm in Kansas. It's not that bad as there actually are some hills - races like the Dirty Kanza are getting that message out - and there's great stuff within 2-3 hours' drive of me. Under 1 hour drive there are fun trails, but nothing worth writing songs about.

The Colorado Rockies are really awesome to ride... for about 4 months, at most. I go there 1-2 weeks every summer and wish I could stay longer. Ozarks - southern Missouri and northern Arkansas has a much longer riding season, but in summer it's brutally hot and humid unless you hit the trail at dawn.

I've never had the privilege to ride in SoCal but I suspect they have a nice combination of terrain and year-round suitable weather in the right places. I haven't been to North Carolina but I think Asheville is temperate and has great trails.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

hogfly said:


> At this point, I half expect posters to explain to me how those are just garden variety trail feature in 60 different cities out West, and I should probably just contain my enthusiasm.... hah.


That place actually looks like fun. I think where you went wrong was in saying that it doesn't exist out west. Back in 2000 when you lived in CO it didn't exist but that was a long time ago in bike years. I'd ride Bentonville.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

DIRTJUNKIE said:


> So after reading through the numerous posts since this quoted post. I'm still onboard with this statement.


DJ, I was joking around with you before but I've actually found some value in this post. It's helped me come to a couple conclusions about mountain biking here in the good ol' US of A.

First, sounds like there are lots of good places to ride. Different from one another but don't miss the point: there's fun to be had anywhere. Maybe everywhere.

Second, I'm happy I live out west. I do love big mountains, sustained climbs and descents, huge trees, crystal clear rivers and ancient, narrow singletrack.

Okay I'm heading out to ride my bike through some old growth groves alongside Salmon Creek and then gain a few thousand feet climbing up to Heckletooth Mtn. Which is where I'm gonna lose it. 
=sParty


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

101 said:


> =
> 
> All that being said, anywhere that is "good" is what you make of it.


Obviously you haven't been to Oklahoma.


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## ColinL (Feb 9, 2012)

Jayem said:


> Obviously you haven't been to Oklahoma.


Tulsa is not horrible, some decent trails there. Also in Stillwater and OKC. The rest of the state I can't vouch for, lol.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk


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## TSleep (Aug 1, 2016)

Wasn't trying to **** on you Hogfly, Bentonville has great trails, the West just has better. I'll agree that Arkansas has the best riding in the central states hands down. I actually grew up in Yellville.


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## 6foot4 (Jul 9, 2017)

Shout out to Montana mountain biking...

Where the trails are aplenty and the trailheads aren't full or even occupied a lot of the time. Nothing like showing up to a ride and not seeing 30 subarus.


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## VTSession (Aug 18, 2005)

6foot4 said:


> Shout out to Montana mountain biking...
> 
> Where the trails are aplenty and the trailheads aren't full or even occupied a lot of the time. Nothing like showing up to a ride and not seeing 30 subarus.


.......and 15 Tacomas each parked next to a MB Sprinter van.


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## skiahh (Dec 26, 2003)

VTSession said:


> .......and 15 Tacomas each parked next to a MB Sprinter van.


Yeah, what's with all the damn Sprinter vans? Seems like everyone's got to have one now - XL version - and they try to fit them into tiny parking lots at the trail heads.


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## tuckerjt07 (Nov 24, 2016)

skiahh said:


> Yeah, what's with all the damn Sprinter vans? Seems like everyone's got to have one now - XL version - and they try to fit them into tiny parking lots at the trail heads.


They're the modern day truck, especially if you aren't hauling gravel, dirt, etc. They can tow, can be four wheel drive and can be converted to a great road trip camper. Mountain bikers aren't the only ones using them, I've seen ATV and dirt bike haulers made out of them as well.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## 6foot4 (Jul 9, 2017)

tuckerjt07 said:


> They're the modern day truck, especially if you aren't hauling gravel, dirt, etc. They can tow, can be four wheel drive and can be converted to a great road trip camper. Mountain bikers aren't the only ones using them, I've seen ATV and dirt bike haulers made out of them as well.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


I want a sprinter 4x4 Bluetech...It's a cheap house.


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## tuckerjt07 (Nov 24, 2016)

6foot4 said:


> I want a sprinter 4x4 Bluetech...It's a cheap house.


I want a high roof 4x4. Would be great for road trips, towing a boat, hunting, mountain biking, etc.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## VTSession (Aug 18, 2005)

skiahh said:


> Yeah, what's with all the damn Sprinter vans? Seems like everyone's got to have one now - XL version - and they try to fit them into tiny parking lots at the trail heads.


People come form all over to ride here in Vermont and they all come in giant Sprinter vans and set up mini base camps in parking lots. Kinda drives me nuts.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

I’ll take 15 Subarus, 10 Tacomas, and 5 Sprinter vans if it means tweakers aren’t going to break out my window and steal my stuff while I’m riding.


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## S.D.M.F. (Jul 30, 2018)

Utah
Arizona


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## KirkC (Aug 21, 2010)

I vote for New Mexico. The amount of trail vs population ratio is great. Alpine riding, desert riding, lift access all available and very high quality.


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## 6foot4 (Jul 9, 2017)

Nat said:


> I'll take 15 Subarus, 10 Tacomas, and 5 Sprinter vans if it means tweakers aren't going to break out my window and steal my stuff while I'm riding.


Surely that's NEVER happened in Colorado.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

MA, fat biking in the winter is awesome ( sometimes) 15 miles of trails 200 yds from my driveway. And miles of trails in most directions I can can pedal to with some paved connections.


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## scoon (Aug 26, 2005)

Eckstream1 said:


> Pennsylvania is great! There are TONS of well known trails and almost every trail is open to MTBers... Can't say that about California!
> 
> The diversity of trail type is amazing!


This right here. PA has a ton to offer.


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## DIRTJUNKIE (Oct 18, 2000)

VTSession said:


> .......and 15 Tacomas each parked next to a MB Sprinter van.


Hey, at least I bought my Tacoma before they were the new black.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

Nat said:


> I'll take 15 Subarus, 10 Tacomas, and 5 Sprinter vans if it means tweakers aren't going to break out my window and steal my stuff while I'm riding.


Cars get broken into at Boulder/Golden area trailheads all of the time. I've quit driving my good car to trailheads and just drive my shitbox. It sucks almost as much as no longer being able to leave a bike on a car rack if it leaves your sight for even a second. I lock my bike into the backseat now.

Thieves suck.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Yeah it suuuuucks.


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