featured-ride

Since we’re in the holiday spirit, we chose a trail that is as close as we can get to the North Pole, and still be in the United States. Alaska, it is! This is our last Featured Ride with MTBProject, and we would like to extend them a HUGE thanks for being partners with us ...

While not particularly technical, the White Ridge Trail System stands out in the Albuquerque area for vertical exposure and stunning views. It is ranked the number 2 ride in New Mexico on MTB Project. The main loop is 8.4 miles, mostly singletrack and hovers around 6,000 feet of elevation without a tremendous amount of climbing. ...

The famed, 35.5-mile Womble sits just west of historic Hot Springs, Arkansas. This IMBA Epic ride gains just a touch over 4,000 feet of elevation across its 95-percent singletrack route. If you’d like to ride the entire length of the Womble, or even a shorter point-to-point section, you’ll need to self-shuttle as no commercial options ...

Hawaii is a bucket-list destination for travelers, but how is the riding? The 16-mile Skyline downhill run, beginning at 9,900 feet atop a dormant volcano, is the highlight of the Poli Poli Springs ride area on Maui. Our web editor described this ride in Issue #177 after enjoying it, herself:  On a good day, you can ...

The Black Canyon Trail (BCT) is truly epic, stretching from Highway 69 south to the Carefree Highway, just north of Phoenix. This MTB Project ride lists total mileage at 67.5 miles of 100% singletrack, but I’ve also read reports of 78 miles of total rideable trail. Either way, you’ll want to break this ride into ...

As we discovered during our spring break trip to Mulberry Gap just outside of Ellijay, Georgia, the mountains of Northern Georgia are an underappreciated hot bed of incredible mountain biking. This region’s combination of significant tracts of public land in the Chattahoochee National Forest, ample elevation change, old logging infrastructure, CCC-era legacy trails and a thriving mountain bike culture ...

Just an hour and a half drive northeast of San Diego you’ll find the gold rush town of Julian, and just a few miles south of that former boom town, you’ll find the trailhead for the Cuyamaca to Noble Canyon IMBA Epic. This 29-mile ride descends and ascends 3,800 feet of elevation as it traverses as ...

As fall and winter continue to march south, so too will our featured rides. This week we’re highlighting Big Bend Ranch State Park, which sits just north and west of Big Bend National Park in the southwest corner of Texas. It’s extremely remote, extremely beautiful and highly likely to provide you with a big does of ...

Ohio might not be the first state that jumps to your mind when you’re looking for a mountain bike destination. But, the 22.2-mile loop around Mohican State Park is well worth the trip. I’ve only ridden the approximately 8-mile short loop and have been itching to get back for the long loop ever since. Still ...

Kingdom Trails is one of the premier mountain bike destinations on the east coast, if not the entire United States. Sure, it doesn’t have the epic scenery of Sedona or Moab, but the riding is world class and the quaint little town of Burke, Vermont is very welcoming to cyclists. Much of the area’s economic growth ...

As summer begins to show the first signs of the approaching fall, we’ll continue to feature some high-country rides while they remain accessible. This week’s Featured Ride loops up into the mountains between Aspen and Snowmass, offering breathtaking views of 14,000-foot peaks in the neighboring Elk Mountain range. This 18.3-mile route features 2,175 feet of climbing ...

Park City, Utah is simply loaded with great trails, over 350 miles in fact. With that many miles of trails, it’s hard to pick a favorite. However, riders have ranked this IMBA Epic the best ride in the Park City area. Stretching 25.5 miles, this Epic climbs 3,500 feet throughout the ride. Maximum elevation tops out ...

This 69.5-mile trail segment certainly lives up to it’s status as an IMBA Epic. Don’t let that mileage turn you off though, as the North Umpqua Trail (NUT) can be ridden in segments or in its entirety as supported adventure. Ridden west to east the NUT climbs along the North Umpqua River, gaining 9,000 feet ...

MTB Project encourages users to rank rides and trails in order to help other riders prioritize ride options when exploring new trails. Rider’s who have been lucky enough to ride this high-country route have rated it favorably enough to capture the number one rating in the region surrounding Grand Teton National Park and number two in the entire state ...

This week’s Featured Ride takes us way up north to Alaska, near the town of Seward on the southeastern side of the Kenai Peninsula. Seward is roughly a two hour and thirty minute drive south from Anchorage. In the current issue of Dirt Rag, #186, we featured a story about riding in Alaska. Here’s an except ...

This week’s Featured Ride continues our high-country theme as we roll into the heart of summer. Tahoe’s iconic Rim trail sits at maximum elevation of nearly 9,000 feet, so now is the time to ride! First, a couple of things you need to know. Only a portion of the 168-mile Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) is open to bikes. ...

Whistler Bike Park’s Top of the World trail is a bucket-list experience for any gravity-loving mountain biker. This week’s featured ride adds some epic backcountry riding to the legendary Top of the World alpine experience. This high-altitude experience is open from July through late September. You’ll need to procure both a Whistler Bike Park pass and a ...

This post marks the beginning of a partnership between us here at Dirt Rag and MTB Project, the nation’s leading digital trail database. Each week we’ll be featuring one MTB Project’s best rides when it’s most seasonally relevant. Of course, we’d love to hear your suggestions, email your favorites to [email protected] or comment below. Since we’re rolling ...