Mountain Biking Areas

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Explore All Mountain Biking Areas in NYC & Vicinity

You can mountain bike on flat dirt roads, or zoom down single tracks, or really anything in (and on) between. If you don’t have your own (mountain) bike, check out these bike rental shops. TrailForks is a fantastic source to find mountain biking trails. Here are some trail options to get you started…

Jump to Mountain Biking Areas in: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester, Long Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Upstate NY, Pennsylvania

MANHATTAN

  • Highbridge Park– Manhattan’s only dedicated MTB trails, skills loop and a jump park… plus you can get there on 1 train… rentals here for hardtails or here for full suspension…

BROOKLYN

  • Shirley Chisholm State Park– Some elevated easy paths for novice mountain bikers, although the trails are more like regular gravel hiking/biking paths with some hills… get a free (recycled) loaner from their “innovative bike library”… great views from the highest ground in NYC too…

QUEENS

  • Cunningham Park– Miles and miles of MTB trails and features for each ability level, great place to learn… rentals here…

BRONX

  • Van Cortlandt Park– Many easy wooded gravel trails to try out the MTB wheels for kids- shared used paths, but plenty of them for a few hours of cycling fun…

STATEN ISLAND

  • Wolfe’s Pond Park– Good for just a novice/family ride through the woods or more intermediate twisty-turny-rooty rides with some features, jump park and good climbs… rentals here…
  • Ocean Breeze Park– Close to beach and boardwalk, this park has some gravel roads for beginners and exercisers…

WESTCHESTER

  • Sprain Ridge Park– 5 miles of trails good for beginners as well as experienced senders… ample parking as well…
  • Graham Hills Park– “Blood, sweat and joy”- 5 miles of trails geared towards more experienced riders… rent bikes here…
  • Blue Mountain Reservation– “One of the premier east coast MTB trail systems”- it has 20-miles of trails geared to all levels of ability… make sure you have a map… rent a bike here…

LONG ISLAND

  • Glacier Ridge Preserve– Almost 23 miles of trails available for mountain bikes… anything from beginner trail to intermediate to challenging… “very flowy” and single-track… easy to acces and a huge parking lot…
  • Hither Woods Preserve– Just east of Hither Hills State Park, it has great trails to mountain bike on and some great ocean views along the way too… plus a beachy area for a dip…
    • Website / Map (to Navy Beach Pier Lot and closer to beach and views) or Map or Map (for longer rides in the woods)…
  • Stillwell Woods Park– 2 mile green loop for beginners or more advanced/longer trails available for experienced riders… one way trails only, so make sure you know where you are going…
  • Bethpage State Park– Regular paved paths, as well as mountain biking in the woods (in the north) with some fun obstacles… great place to learn…
  • Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest– Note: Everyone 13 and older need a free access and parking permit to use DEC lands in Suffolk County (you can print them instantly… otherwise lots of trails (20+miles) of any difficulty level…
  • Cathedral Pines– Beginner to intermediate loop tracks (6 miles) and easy access/parking. Helmets and eye protection required in Suffolk County trails…
  • Laurel Ridge Setauket Woods Nature Preserve– Tough trails, but intermediate riders will have fun and will be challenged…
  • Blydenburgh County Park– Also connects to Hidden Pond Park via a green trail… trails for all ability levels and multiple parking lots available…
  • Cedar Point County Park– You can bike to bluffs and a beach, trails can/will be sandy and unmarked…
  • Hither Hills State Park– Trails to MTB in the park and neighboring Hither Woods Preserve, especially when camping at Hither Hills Campground. Park at the Overlook for easy trail access…
  • Hempstead Harbor Woods– One of the newest trail systems maintained by CLIMB (check their website for more trails) and the hardest green trail in LI…
  • Caumsett Park– Anything from wooded dirt trails to paved paths… great ocean views from the hills and beach access…
  • Eastport Pine Barrens State Forest– 9 mile long single track and mostly flat… DEC permit required for 13+ riders…
  • CLIMB (Concerned Long Island Mountain Bikers)– Organization maintaining many of the trails above and more…

CONNECTICUT

  • Mianus River Park– Flowy fun trails with some features that might be boring for experts, but are fun for kids… outer loop is for about 5 miles…
  • Shelton Lakes Recreation Path– Wide, easy gravel for 4.5 miles… start at either end or one of the parking lots along the way…
  • Bennets Pond/ Hemlock Hills– A bit crazy and technical with a great view of Bennetts Pond, connects to Ives trail as well via white trail, best for those who know what they are doing…
  • Collis P Huntington State Park– 1000 acre park with trails for levels of riding, from carriage roads to single track… lots of scenery too…
  • Rockhouse Hill Sanctuary– “CT’s new fun house” has trails for all abilities…
  • Wilton Woods (Wilton Town Forest)– A small place packed with fun…great place for novices to hone technical skills…
  • Powder Ridge– Lift service biking, lessons and rentals available at this mountain park/resort…
  • NEMBA– New England Mountain Bike Association maintains/advocates for hundreds of trails in New England, including CT

NEW JERSEY

  • Six Mile Run– Great park for MTB with jumps, perms and skinnies, just don’t go after it rains (muddy)…
  • Hartshorne Woods Park– Just a stone throw from Sandy Hook, it has a WWII era bunker, some of the highest elevation along Atlantic and a “somewhat challenging” trail system with great views …
  • Ringwood State Park– Lots of trails geared towards mountain biking to explore (start at Shepard Lake), as well as the gravel carriage roads around the manor or paved roads at the botanical garden…
  • Ramapo Mountain State Forest– Hilly forest with miles of challenging trails, but also great views (of Manhattan skyline)…
  • Wawayanda State Park– The quiet charm of a lake with mountains around it and 60 miles of trails (but not all open to bikes)… swimming beach too…
  • Lewis Morris County Park– Great for novice riders with a swimming beach near by…
  • Allamuchy Mountain State Park– Some of the best mountain biking in the area with well marked trails…lots of technical sections though, so maybe not for first timers…
  • Allaire State Park– Lots of beginner and intermediate trails, some marked better than others but “super fun”… you can find some ramps and jumps too…
  • Kittatinny Valley State Park– Trails vary from gravel roads to technical terrain enjoyed by hard-core enthusiasts… all winding around glacial lakes, former railroads and a small airport to see planes take off…
  • Mahlon Dickerson Reservation– Location of the first mountain bike race ever held in NJ and lots of blue trails + 1 green rail trail…
  • Jungle Habitat– A former safari park turned to habitat for mostly techy/rock loving mountain bikers…
  • Mountain Creek Bike Park– Rated one of the best bike parks in the country, it has everything, including lifts to get you on top without pedaling and rentals…
  • Wildcat Ridge WMA– It’s wild for sure, lots of technical and mostly unmarked trails geared towards the uber-adventerous kind…
  • Round Valley Recreation Area– easy short trails you can use to MTB near a crystal clear swimming beach and rec area…
  • JORBA– Jersey Off Road Bikers Association maintains lots of trails in New Jersey and is a great resource for finding them

UPSTATE NY

  • Windham Mountain– A great bike park with lifts, rentals, skills park and the longest jump trail on East Coast….
  • Wallkill Valley Rail Trail– 22 miles of gravel road great for trying out mountain bikes for the first time… grab food in New Paltz…
  • Minnewaska State Park Preserve– 2 swimming lakes and wide gravel carriage roads to ride on…
  • Belleayre Mountain– You can use their property to ride mountain bikes, but no lifts… perfect for beginners, especially in the cross-country ski area…
  • Ninham MUA– Isolated woods with some awesome challenging rocky and rooty single tracks and somewhat less aggressive old work roads…
  • Stewart State Forest– Wide gravel and dirt roads as well as some single track. Relatively flat, some say “challenging, but doable”
  • Taconic-Hereford MUA– Tons of trails through hardwoods and some call it “mountain bike heaven” and family pooch can be off-leash…
  • Elm Ridge Wild Forest– Close to Windham, “fun loops are fun” and longer loops are worth it…
  • Round Top Trail Network– Names like Waterfall, Grand Canyon and Hematoma should put fear in their hearts… and it all starts from a German style beer garden and inn..
  • Lippman Park– Great little park with an awesome network of trails with varying terrain…
  • Blue Stone Wild Forest– Kingston. Explore lake ponds and old quarries at the end of Catskill Park with majority of trails built for MTB…
  • Plattekill Mountain– First in the east to offer mountain biking with lifts… this non-corporate owned mountain offers “old school single tracks”, rentals and lots of fun…
  • Overlook Bicycles-Rentals of all kinds of bikes, including mountain

PENNSYLVANIA

  • Glen Park– A major biking destination with a challenging single track and the home of one of the premier free-ride locations on the East Coast… has some big features, but also miles and miles of trails for all ability levels…
  • Blue Mountain Resort– PA’s largest downhill mountain park with a lift, rentals and 28 trails…
  • Trexler Nature Preserve– Great downhill MTB trails featuring some big jumps, but also some cross-country style trails…
  • D&H Rail Trail– This 40-mile long old coal and lumber transport route can be rugged at places. Trail bed is of cinder, original ballast, but it’s worth the effort as it passes through hills, villages, farms and forests…

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