Texas - Newbie north of Houston

Hi,

Im back on a bike after 35 years. Live out in the Conroe area. Looking for fairly flat stretch of trail for mtb. I do live in a rural subdivision that has some gravel roads, but, I would like to get out of the subdivision, once in a while.

Thanks

You may want to check in with the guys at Bikeland ( http://www.bikelandusa.com/ ) in The Woodlands - I believe that they do group MTB rides in the area.

There is a green belt in the Kingwood area that I have heard about. It is patrolled by Houston PD guys on mountainbikes. I have no idea what the surface of the trail is like. I will bet a check with the Kingwood area Chamber of Commerce, or perhaps the city of Houston's website can provide information. I am not sure how far that is from you, but it is at least north of town. 242 is a quick way to get from I-45 to US 59. If you cannot easily find the info you need, let me know in this post or via PM, and I will try to find out more.

I believe that The Spring Creek Greenway will have a bike track. This will be amazing when it's completed ( http://www.springcreekgreenway.org/the_project.htm ).

There is a green belt in the Kingwood area that I have heard about. It is patrolled by Houston PD guys on mountainbikes. I have no idea what the surface of the trail is like. I will bet a check with the Kingwood area Chamber of Commerce, or perhaps the city of Houston's website can provide information. I am not sure how far that is from you, but it is at least north of town. 242 is a quick way to get from I-45 to US 59. If you cannot easily find the info you need, let me know in this post or via PM, and I will try to find out more.

I lived in Kingwood for ten years. The greenbelts there (which are glorious, by the way) are paved throughout the entire community. With a set of road tires on a mountain bike, it's a lot of fun, although the paths are tight enough that you couldn't go terribly fast on a road bike.

I swear I saw something similar to this when I visited the Woodlands a couple of weeks ago.

Edit: It's kind of a hike from Conroe, though. You can take 1314 out of Conroe, through Porter, and then turn right on to loop 494. Take a left on Ford Rd, and that will take you into Kingwood the back way. The elementary and middle schools are probably the best places to park a car on the weekend and have easy access to the greenbelts. If you keep going on Ford Rd. after it turns into Mills Branch Parkway, it eventually reaches Riverwood Middle School, which as I recall is pretty close to an entrance to one of the better parts of the greenbelt system. Try to find a map if you go to the northeast end of Kingwood in the evening, though, as it's easily possible to get lost on the trails, especially in the near-dark.

Also, check with the ranger station at Sam Houston National Forest; I seem to remember a marked trail in that area, which would definitely not be paved. Once upon a time it was open to hikers and mountain bikes, but those things can change.