Mountain Biking - Best state in USA for XC mountain biking ?

Hi guys, I'm seriously thinking about selling up and taking my bike to the States for a year biking around in a camper van ( call it a hitting 30 midlife chrisis :lol: ) and was wondering which states are the best for good XC mountain biking ?

I know this could spark a 'contentious' thread but but fire away...

Just might be Colorado and or California. If you have the time I’d do Colorado, Utah and California in that order. There a few other states in that "area" too like Arizona. If you get on Interstate 10 in Texas there's some awesome biking to be had here too. Lajitas, eldorado, xbar, bigbend, palo duro(not on I-10.) canyon etc. Sounds like fun. I was thinking about chucking it all and moving to Nepal but with the current state of affairs i don’t thing it would be prudent at the juncture :)

I'd start in Colorado, hit Utah, then California, Up the coast to Oregon then over to Idaho, Montana and then back to Colorado.

If I had the time and $$$$ that's the route I'd take!

L8R

How about Canada in the Summer? The peso hear is a lot more affordable than the green back and the riding is epic. Although it is presently snowing...

a2psyklnut is about on...

there's great stuff in CO, UT, AZ, OR, ID, WY, WA ... pretty much anything from the Rockies west to the coast... plus BC Canada has got some great stuff - around Whistler and Vancouver, uh, North Shore if it's still there since i heard they took chainsaws to everything :(

i personally have never ridden Moab (Utah) although i've been trying to get there for a while for the slickrock... but i'd say that's a definite must

i must say my favorite riding ever was in Eastern Washinton around west of Yakima - but maybe b/c i had a local friend to guide me to all the great trails, but probably my best 4 days of MTB riding ever... sorry can't remember any trail names... in summer it's warm, dry but usually not too hot...

some of the Rocky mountain states might be a little tougher b/c as far as i know you still can't ride in the National Parks and the distances between some of the places in Idaho or Wyoming or Arizona are pretty far (i've done the west coast - south/east coast drive twice when moving - summer 2000 making as many MTB and climbing stops as possible in 2 weeks and still driving from Oregon to Massachusetts) - although it's a cool drive in the car too, but it depends on if you're wanting to RIDE most of the time or drive some and then ride some or drive a lot and ride a little (like i did - hey, i was moving and the riding was the side benefit)- unless of course you have like 2 months and then you can do both...

also depends on the time of year - in Summer, i'd stay on the West Coast (Oregon, Washington, BC) and north in the Rockies b/C Utah and Arizona get damn hot then so you can only ride in the morning and evening and have to break during the heat of the day (i.e. riding in the sun in the desert with 102F(40C) is too hot -- but in the spring or fall AZ and UT are great!

Brilliant, thanks guys, keep the ideas coming. I knew about the obvious places like Moab and Cali but not all the other places :). Plus, deciphering all the state abbreviations gives my brain some exersize at work !

Hey what about the right coast?
I say North Carolina ain't half bad.
Also some killer trails in W. Virginia
as well as Tennessee

Marty

ochoee (sp?)

What about upper NY state or Maine ? Are they too over run with tourists to be good for biking ?

You may be suprised to learn that the Upper Penninsula of Michigan has some of the best mountain biking in North America.

The glacial till provides the perfect amount of ride for your climb. Rather than simply Up, Up, Up, and DOWN, the verts are an intense series of high rollers.

In many places, the beautiful Lake Superior can also be seen.

Sounds stunning :) .

I'll second the nomination for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Mike's right that the area along Lake Superior is the best. Summer time weather is mostly in the 70's. Although in May and June the bugs can pick you up and carry you away.

Ha, yeah, up in the New England area... you'll be surprised, but there aren't that many people who bike around here. Believe me! I live here and people look at us FUNNY as they pass us by in their cars... it's really quite bad. Yeah... umm... probably the best trails in New England aren't established biking trails... like there are a bunch of trails and parks around here that everyone knows about, but they're not really that good and for someone who is serious about biking, they probably won't be found challenging... Umm just hit it up with some locals and see if they can show you around or something. The New England area is probably over run by tourists though because a lot of people come here to do some "outdoor activities"...

Stop here in SC first Astra. Me and my buddies will take you on some cool trails...Nothing compared to the West Coast, but still cool.

Fubar, you are a TOP BANANA :D ! I will let you know...

Heck, If you decide to come to Florida to see Mickey Mouse in Orlando, look me up.

I'll show you some trails that will make you wonder if you're in Florida.

L8R:beer:

Originally posted by blwyn
I'll second the nomination for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Mike's right that the area along Lake Superior is the best. Summer time weather is mostly in the 70's. Although in May and June the bugs can pick you up and carry you away.

I have ridden in and loved Moab and Fruita. I hope to return there soon. But I'm going to add my voice to Mike's and Blwyn's, the Yoo Pee is great. The beauty of the piney woods, the majesty of Lake Superior, the basic decency of the people, it all adds up to a fantastic--and largely undiscovered--place to ride. Blwyn is right about the insects too. People in the Upper Peninsula don't own small dogs.

Another great place to ride is the area around Cable, Wisconsin. The CAMBA (Cable Area Mountain Bike Association) trails are beautiful. Lodgings are easy to come by. There's more than enough riding to keep you busy for a week.

Moab and Fruita are the best. Come pick me up when you go, RegularGuy, and I will ride the trails with you! You could TRY to keep up!

OK, since i have experience riding in a few different areas in the US (OR, WA, British Columbia, TX, MA, VT, RI, UT, CO, WY), i thought i'd also add what i know about stuff other than Rockies and West Coast:

New England:
in my 9 months in Massachusetts i did find a lot of good mountain bike riding there (also probably the best rolling road riding i've ever done :)) - off-road, especially the technical stuff is nice - an eastern/central Massuchusetts trail known as 'Vietnam' that unfortunately will soon become a new subdivision has super challenging technical rock stuff where you have to negotiate your pedals as well as the bike...

there are lots of trails and many have lots of technical challenge and tend to be a lot more rocky and broken up (good thing) than what i was used to out west. of course, the obvious disadvantage compared to west is in general not many huge climbs or huge descents - i.e. more than 1000ft ---- my guess is that the trails in mid-atlantic and the midwest stuff people are raving about are probably similar --- rolling trails with lots of technical challenge which are pretty damn good

and while i enjoyed the riding while i was there, in comparision, Texas has few really great trails because of the lack of mountains - around Austin in the Hill Country is better (my parent's live there) - but still not as good as more west (you can find similar terrain in AZ or UT WITH big hills)

but, still, if i were making a trip SOLELY to ride , i would still go west (since the original post wasn't just about good trails, but the very best trails for a big epic trip)... plus (in my opinion) the scenary is more dramatic and there are fewer people...

but please, don't think i'm dissing any place here (well, except for Houston TX where i hope to never go there again in my life - spent 2 crappy years there :()--- when you talk about the best trails, most places have to not be the best...

Brilliant, cheers lads :) - I find out tomorrow if I've still got a job. If I haven't, I'll be over there soon !

Originally posted by nathank
and while i enjoyed the riding while i was there, in comparision, Texas has few really great trails because of the lack of mountains - around Austin in the Hill Country is better (my parent's live there) - but still not as good as more west (you can find similar terrain in AZ or UT WITH big hills)

but, still, if i were making a trip SOLELY to ride , i would still go west (since the original post wasn't just about good trails, but the very best trails for a big epic trip)... plus (in my opinion) the scenary is more dramatic and there are fewer people...


Big bend.

emery peak, big bend texas 7980 feet above sea level.

The Toninator,

OK, you got a point...

i've actually never been mountain biking in or around Big Bend, although i've done a 3-day backpacking trip and a week long college history credit archeology field class there... in the Chisos and the desert...

i imagine there is some pretty good stuff there as well as a little north up by the Guadalupe Mountains (i think that's the right name) near El Paso... near where Guaco Tanks are (for climbers)

although, are mountain bikes allowed in the Park, proper? as far as i remember it is still illegal to ride on anything but paved trails in National Parks - or has this been changed?

Since i lived in the population centers - Dallas, Austin, Houston and near San Antonio(New Braunfels) - Big Bend is a long way away and not an option for a weekday or even a regular weekend outing...

i really liked living in Austin, but again I have to say how glad i am i left Houston - calling it the armpit of the US is being nice - there were like 4 places (Memorial Park) with trails to ride within an hour drive and they were all flat - i usually ended up driving 2.5-3 hours to Austin for riding which is too far and not environmentally friendly either (but then that's the Texas way - who needs them birds and crittens anyway? i don't notice nothing in the air... i was born in and lived in Texas 26 years, so i'm allowed...)

nathank you can rank on Texas (Houston) all you want, it's ok:)
As far as mtbing big bend it's only allowed on paved and unpaved trails(fire roads) with in the park but some of these are suppose to be really good trails. There is some primo Mtbing to be done at Big Bend STATE park right next door (i haven’t been but i have plenty of friends who have) and also lajitas has some excellent trails too. Black Gap wildlife area also has mtb trails.
I spent 5 days camping in the Chisos basin and did all of my trips out of there. That’s the way to go i think because of the central location and the height 5500 feet. Stays pretty cool up there.
BB is quite far from Houston, 12 hours, but if your here and you have several days to blow it's worth the trip or if you’re just passing though it's a "not to be missed."

Now on to Germany. I was there in 2000. Flew into Frankfurt drove to Jefer (sp) and they on the way back through from Paris stayed at my friends who lives in Booblingin (once again SP?) I vote that place the "undiscovered country" as far as mtbing goes because of all of the wonderful hills they have. I would love to get my grubby paws on their terrain and make some awesome XC and DH trails.:)

Toronto , Canada.........................just kidding. I think California woul be nice fro XC

Marquette Michigan.....where I happen to live was featured by "bike" magazine as the #2 site to bike in the USA. First was Bend Oregon.

a note about AZ, my native state: it's not all desert. the part that i'm from, in the middle of the apache-sitgreaves national forest, has lots of great trails, and it's all national forest, so no problem with riding any of it. you've also got tonto national forest, more of the leaf type trees, as opposed to the mainly poderosa pine forests of apache-sitgreaves. also, down towards tucson, you got mount lemon, while hot in the summer at the base, cools down pretty fast as you go up. supposedly some trails up near flagstaff as well, though i have less experience with that area. all of this is very pleasantly rideable in the summer, with the exception of the lower parts of Mt. lemon. how come my state always gets miss-represented as a bunch of desert? :rolleyes: