where-to-ride

Annadel State Park This 16-mile “big loop” hits the highlights of Annadel State Park just east of Santa Rosa, California. The big loop features technical singletrack up the black diamond-rated Cobblestone trail and a fast, fun descent—with opportunities to catch air—along the swooping North and South Burma Trail. Side loops provide options for lengthening or ...

The Maah Daah Hey is one of the jewels of North Dakota open space and a designated IMBA Epic. This ride is a serious adventure and a serious commitment. It is 93 miles of singletrack through painted buttes and tall grass prairies that will both test and awe you. As it follows the Little Missouri River, ...

The Millstone Hill trail system near Barre, Vermont, is not long but it is unique. The trails wind above water-filled abandoned quarries, through northern hardwood and coniferous forests and along exposed granite spines. The ride featured here is located on the west side and totals about 7 miles that is 75-percent singletrack and includes a couple of ...

A fast, intermediate ride through beautiful hardwood forests, Chicopee Woods links together almost all of the trails and loops in this system adjacent the city of Gainesville (northeast of Atlanta) for an 18-mile zig-zagging, roller-coaster ride. Expect flow, berms, bridges, a few climbs up a gravel road and a somewhat technical descent down White Tail ...

This week’s featured ride from MTB Project is southwest of Olympia and is called the Capitol State Forest’s “signature ride,” linking intermediate and advanced trails. This particular 16-mile ride covers everything from steep, loose climbs to fast, flowy downhill and everything in between. Greenline #6, the black-diamond trail, features sections known as The Luge, Roots of Fury and ...

Cheat Mountain is a relatively unknown riding area in West Virginia. This 13.8-mile ride is fairly remote, even for West Virginia standards. While the trails are well-signed, you’re definitely out there. Self-sufficiency is mandatory. This technical, backcountry-style ride is characterized by things you might find in the pages of a Tolkien book: dense mixed forest covered ...

The Narrowback Mountain Loop ride is located near Harrisonburg, Virginia, in the North River District of George Washington National Forest. There is a bit of everything on this 12.5-mile sample loop including ridgeline riding, rocky sections with alternate lines and one memorable descent off the mountain. The ride ascends and descends a total of 1,500 ...

We’re in Park City, Utah, this week for Bike Press Camp, and one of the trails we get to ride is Mid Mountain. It’s part of the local IMBA Epic and just one of many options that can be accessed either by brute uphill pedaling or ski lift. The trail starts at 7,800 feet and ...

Curt Gowdy State Park, located between Wyoming’s capital city (Cheyenne) and primary college town (Laramie), is two hours north of Denver and is slowly being discovered as a worthy weekend destination, even for Colorado’s trail-spoiled mountain bikers. Wyoming State Parks has embraced mountain biking at Curt Gowdy, and its trails were specifically built to accomodate ...

Words: Brice Shirbach Photos: Abram Eric Landes Originally published in Issue #189 Growing up, I’d often sit and stare at it. My obsession began the moment my family moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland. I was 7 years old and we piled into a single-story rancher a mile and a half down the road from town square. ...

This loop ride near Fraser, Colorado, offers a 13-mile tour of the edge of the Arapahoe National Forest and is easily accessible off the main highway if you want to stop and stretch your legs during a road trip, or want to sample some singletrack in addition to a downhilling trip at nearby Winter Park. There are plenty ...

Words and photos: Zach White Originally published in Issue #190 When I was a kid, my great-grandmother’s humble backyard was my favorite place in the world. It couldn’t have been more than 1,000 square feet, yet within that confinement was a separate little area behind the broadside of a detached garage with a massive wall ...

Words: Matt Kasprzyk Photos: John Shafer Originally published in Issue #190 There’s a lot in Park City for the cosmopolitan, just as there is for the adventurer. We know that not everyone rolling up to its opulent resort in a Porsche is a millennial wearing sweatpants and an Affliction T-shirt—some have a roof rack on ...

The Trout Creek Canyon to Beartrap Gulch loop is an excellent opportunity to experience Montana backcountry riding in the Helena National Forest. The 13.6-mile ride features two scenic and fun trails connected by a moderate doubletrack climb. You’ll want to climb Trout Creek and descent Beartrap. The grade is steady with a few, short punchy ...

Words: Hailey Elise Photos: Mark Mackay Originally featured in Issue #190 She’s elusive. Cheeky, only showing glimpses of her true nature the farther in you find yourself. And by farther in think of an hour climb. Whistler’s trail systems are easily accessed by those who are looking for them, but outside of the bike park ...

“Everything But Ninja Beaver” is a ride linking several trails in the Mission Creek area near Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota. This 12.6-mile ride is 85 percent flowing, rolling singletrack with about 1,000 feet each of climbing and descending. It’s a great one for newer riders and kids to get out and enjoy mountain biking ...

There are many reasons why Fruita, Colorado, is a famed mountain biking destination, and the Ridgeline Tour of Kokopelli Loops is one of them. This is a difficult, expert-level ride with rewarding views of the Kokopelli Loops, Colorado River and McGinnis Canyons. Accept that hiking your bike is a foregone conclusion, then set out to enjoy ...

“Welcome to Wilkesbermo.” Kerr Scott gets its nickname from the hundreds of bermed and banked terns, and has been compared to a 30-mile roller coaster ride. Kerr Scott, located in central North Carolina, has three main trail systems: Dark Mountain, Overmountain Victory Trail and Warrior Creek, plus shorter trails either looping or connecting to those ...

This 13-mile ride is highly ranked in Virginia on MTB Project. It will give you a flavor of both the 25-mile Oak Mountain Trail and the 44-mile Virginia Endurance Series showcase ride. This ride has a bit of everything including easy climbing, fast descents and technical rocky areas. Don’t miss the intersection for an overlook that ...

Paris Mountain State Park near Greenville, South Carolina, is a popular trail system that offers an 11.5-mile loop with a few short side options. This ride will give you a taste of the terrain and trail types available in the state. Expect extended climbs and descents over 95 percent singletrack with an average grade of ...

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. ...

In the foothills of the Appalachians, Double Oak Mountain lies at the core of the nearly 10,000-acre Oak Mountain State Park, located just 20 minutes south of Birmingham in Pelham, Alabama. The slopes and valleys of the parallel ridgelines serve up miles of blissful singletrack and technical diversity. This 21-mile ride has been lauded as ...

My friend and her husband were planning a trip to visit his mama in Russia, and they were considering a stop in Switzerland for a five-day mountain biking tour to break up the trip. “Would you all want to go, too?” she asked her girl posse on a ride. “Um, let me think about it. ...

“Just don’t look them in the eyes.” This was the most memorable moment from my last trip to Portugal in 2008. My husband Chris was staring at a plate of sardines that had just landed in front of him. His vision redirected quickly to anything else on the table once the waitperson gave his advice. ...

I bought my first mountain bike back in 2000. I was just starting college and wanted a bike I could get around town with, but also use to explore the dirt roads, arroyos, desert expanses and mountain trails of my new home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I didn’t really understand mountain biking as a ...

By Stephen Haynes When tasked with conjuring names of cities in Tennessee, one might be inclined to list Memphis and Nashville ahead of Knoxville. If this were a magazine about music, you could have an argument, but as far as mountain biking is concerned, Knoxville may just surprise you. A lot of manufacturing cities are ...

By Eric J. Wallace West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signed a groundbreaking new mountain biking bill into law earlier this year. Known as SB 317, the legislation effectively extends ski resort-style liability protections to private landowners — so long as they join a group like the Mountaineer Trail Network Recreation Authority. Comprised of public organizations, ...

How catering to mountain bikers is helping small towns Editor’s Note: This feature first appeared in issue 205 of our print edition of Dirt Rag Magazine. Like what you see? Subscribe today to catch issue 212, in production now and soon to set sail. Photos from this web edition taken by Brett Rothmeyer in Copper ...

The Adirondack mountain resort town of Wilmington is showcasing its rapidly growing web of mountain biking trails by hosting the third Wilmington MTB Festival Aug. 30- Sept. 1, 2019 The three-day event capitalizes on Wilmington as a hub for over 25 miles of locally-built and rider-maintained single track. The town was recently named one of America’s 20 Best Mountain Biking Towns by National Geographic. ...

Last month, we headed over to Buena Vista to check out a new Maverick just released by Juliana. While we had plenty to say about the bike and how dreamy it was to ride out there, the town of Buena Vista was newsworthy unto itself. It’s a bit of a haul from the Denver airport ...

by Melonee Hurt If you haven’t experienced East Tennessee’s newest mountain bike park, Tannery Knobs, you need to. But this fun new skills park isn’t the only biking hotspot in the area. We kicked around this fun mountain town for a weekend and can whole-heartedly recommend several good biking spots, great biker-friendly places to stay, ...

By Brett Rothmeyer The sun is just cracking over the Uintas in Park City, Utah. Main Street is starting to chatter as the doors to cafés open; the wisp of a broom on the sidewalk is overtaken only by the occasional slow-moving vehicle headed up the hill. I had long daydreamed about riding Park City ...

by James Murren Southwestern Utah, with St. George and Hurricane, is a true mountain bike destination. Add in Gooseberry Mesa, and you easily have an extra-long weekend of riding available to you. Throw in Little Creek Mesa, and you now have a week of riding red dirt and slick rock in your purse of riches. ...

Dirt Rag contributor Zach White spent three days with Eric Porter riding their Diamondback Haanjo gravel bikes on a big loop starting and finishing in Salida Colorado on pavement, gravel and singletrack. They rode sections of the Continental Divide Trail and Colorado Trail, through a ghost town, and finished by floating the Arkansas River back ...

Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in issue 209 of Dirt Rag Magazine. Like what you see? Subscribe now to catch issue 212, currently in the works. The original run of this story neglected to mention some very helpful heroes who made this trip happen. They were mentioned in essence — the ferry was mentioned, ...

“It was day four. We arrived at a massive alpine valley lined with creeks and marshes, certain to be filled with mosquitos and shoe-soaking water crossings. Margus led the way, monster trucking through the creeks. We hoped that after the crossing, a ridge would connect us to the top of another mountain; from there, we ...

If you want to up your stoke for a season of bikepacking, check out this new show streaming on Amazon and Vimeo. Season One of Ride To Extraordinary (R2E) features the 2017 Trans North Georgia Adventure (TNGA). In doing so, R2E blazes uncharted territory by being the first of its kind — an on-demand series ...

In a recent issue of Dirt Rag, we went to some bike parks to check out what new developments are happening in the world of designated bike trails and downhill riding. Windrock in January scared the goggles off me, but I took another stab at downhill bike parks when I visited Spider Mountain outside Austin, ...

Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in issue 207 of Dirt Rag Magazine. Like what you see? Subscribe now to catch issue 211, on its way to mailboxes real soon. Downhill mountain biking on the flanks of Indonesia’s most active volcano Words and photos by Ian Lloyd Neubauer For the past 20 years, I’ve made ...

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in issue 208 of Dirt Rag Magazine. Like what you see? Subscribe now at dirtragmag.com/subscribe to catch issue 211, coming real soon.  by Carolyne Whelan When Rim Tours invited me along for their Colorado Trail guided trip, I was warned that it was “advanced,” due largely to exposure and ...

This story first appeared in December 2016. We are gearing up for Dirt Fest PA 2019 as we speak and it always nice to look back and remember how this all got started, Planning on attending Dirt Fest? Be sure to register here and we will see you at the Lake! The first edition of ...

Seven-time world champion mountain biker, filmmaker, Emmy winner, author, activist, charity organizer, adventure athlete, and personal hero Rebecca Rusch sets out today to complete the Arkansas High Country Ride. Her goal is to ride 100-150 miles each day to get to the Bentonville Film Festival. Other superfans may remember Rusch’s film Blood Road, which debuted ...

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in issue 209 of Dirt Rag Magazine. Like what you see? Subscribe now at dirtragmag.com/subscribe to catch issue 210, coming real soon.  by Abby Cooper Single droplets fell from the heavy grey skies and temperatures threatened snow. The timing for a trip to the sought-after loamy trails of Canada’s ...

What would a triathlon look like if organized by a group of people who have no interest in triathlons, and very little interest in racing, and have an unignorable urge to make fools of themselves? You know, a Dirt Rag triathlon?

We just got Dirt Rag Magazine #209, the first issue of the year, in our boxes this weekend, which means subscribers are getting yours as well! If you don’t subscribe yet, never fear, you can start your subscription with #210 by subscribing today (how many times can I say “subscribe” in one sentence to get ...

Words and Photos by Kristin Winet The front entrance to the welcome center is not entirely legible, because years of snow and harsh Idaho winters have rubbed the black paint into a faint gray. The tip-off that we’ve made it here is the parking lot, which is full of cars and trucks and tourists, many—but not ...

New year’s resolutions are fraught with peril. By design, they set us up for failure in their all-or-nothing approach to self-betterment. The new, hip thing to do is to “set intention.” If you identify as a girl, are at least eight years old, and intend to gain some bike skills in 2019, consider taking a ...

Need some mid-week motivation? Check out this sick video of Elite DH racer Ella Skalwald riding her local trail network. Lucky for her, those trails happen to be the iconic Victory Hill Sector of the Victory Hill State Forest,  that has become an East Coast destination spot. Check out more photos here, courtesy Transition Bikes.

The sun, the sea and Amir Kabbani sending it at full throttle. This fun little edit from GT Bicycles will have you ready to get out the door and on the bike. Enjoy!

Words & Photos by Josh Woodward Situated in a small suburban neighborhood, behind a high school in the heart of Silicon Valley’s sprawl of tech giants and venture capitalists, lies a patch of dirt so steep the property developer who bought it couldn’t get permission to build anything of value. So it sat. For years. ...

We’ll just put it out there: Iceland is really affordable to fly to from the United States at the moment, especially from the East Coast. Maybe it’s time to abandon the idea of a warm getaway and go headfirst into the wintry wonderland. Though, we gotta say, from the looks of this video, it looks like ...

As we enter into the soggy months of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s riding seasons, it’s time to daydream about where to spend the cold and rainy months. This video of the Catalonian Pyrenees is getting my blood pumping for some European terrain. Check it out for yourself! Where do your daydreams take you, what are your vacation dream ...

Editor’s note: In excitement for our upcoming issue on Making Do, in your mailboxes and select storefronts soon, here is a story from contributing writer Bryan Chambala on his quest to finish the Green Mountain Gravel Growler. For more stories like this, subscribe now to Dirt Rag by clicking this link, to ensure speedy delivery ...

Editor’s note: Our latest print issue of Dirt Rag Magazine, The Road Trip Issue, just dropped in the mailboxes for subscribers and newsstands. Here’s an awesome write-up of mountain biking in Denmark to accompany the print issue. Interested in subscribing? Click here! By Shawna Kenney pamphlet translated by Shawna Kenney with help from Anja Klemp ...

Words and photos by Erik Mathy It was Sunday morning and I was running late, as usual. We’d had a last minute change in plans and family had stayed at our place overnight, nixing my ability to figure out what bags would fit where on the new Rawland Ravn. My original plan had been to ...

Words and Photos by Andrea Wilson I hail originally from the hot, flat realm of Memphis, Tennessee. I moved to the Colorado Front Range almost three years ago, and I’ve been obsessed with finding all of the nooks and crannies of the mountains ever since. When I realized that the population density of the Denver ...

For perhaps the first time in modern history, government officials beyond the highest-ranking are household names in the United States. People who are not very involved in politics and invested in policy-making likely had no idea who was Administrator or Acting Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prior to the recently-resigned Scott Pruitt. And ...

Words and Photos by Andrea Wilson I hail originally from the hot, flat realm of Memphis, Tennessee. I moved to the Colorado Front Range almost three years ago, and I’ve been obsessed with finding all of the nooks and crannies of the mountains ever since. When I realized that the population density of the Denver ...

by Cassidy Randall photos by Lisa Sumire Ankeny The early morning sun cut through the alpine chill as we assembled with our bikes at the remote backcountry trailhead. We double-checked our gear and sorted through food as the shadows retreated up Sol Mountain, preparing to head out on the heralded new Caribou Pass trail deep in ...

Words and Photos by Andrea Wilson I hail originally from the hot, flat realm of Memphis, Tennessee. I moved to the Colorado Front Range almost three years ago, and I’ve been obsessed with finding all of the nooks and crannies of the mountains ever since. When I realized that the population density of the Denver ...