Review: Traveling through the midwest, I took the time to ride this trail last Friday 6/14 with my son. So glad I did. It is long, very pretty ST, which meanders its way through remote, beautiful Eastern Hardwood Forest. We rode CW from the Berryman CG.

The western portion is fast and flowy and is in excellent condition. It is worthy of the high acclaims this trail receives.

The eastern portion is more technical with small root and rock drops. This portion has great potential, but there are some stretches where the trail is deeply rutted and needs rerouted. The ruts are full of rough cobblestone-sized rock. With a little more trail maintenance this eastern portion has great potential to be a really nice moderately techy ride. It would make a nice contrast to the smoother flowy western portion. Together, due to the contrast (given some further rerouting), this could be 5 star XC route without question.

All in all this is a great midwest ride. There are many nice DHs and all the climbs are relatively easy. Some climbs are long, which was nice, but none are steep. The signage is a little light and the mile markers are few and difficult to spot, but one incurs no real difficulty following the trail.

The Berryman Trail Campground is charming and beautiful. The Brazil Creek CG is a bit beat up. If you are staying the night, stay at the Berryman Creek CG for sure.

The ticks and bugs were out in force for the summer, and of course it was humid. But the constant callings at night of the whip-poor-wills, the chuck-will's-widows and the owls made the summer stay more than worth it. For riding, this is definitely a better fall-winter-spring trail -- no ticks, no bugs, no humidity. I will return someday.

Review: Love this trail. It's a bit muddy but not bad overall. The normal muddy parts are wet, while the high ground is drying out. There are still some leaves on the ground, but the rain has created a bit more technical riding. Fun, the next day or two of sun will dry the trail.

Similar Trail: Valley Green

Review: Fun singletrack trail. Extremely fast. Average about 8 mph. There are sections where it feels like you're on a roller coaster. Not technical at all. One section was a complete mudpit (miles 10 to 12) even though the rest of the trail was dry. The trail is in pretty good shape. Some great, recent work has clearly been done. Pay attention to trail markers. There are a lot of branch offs and it's easy to take a wrong turn if you're not paying attention.

* Review edited 3/6/2012

Review: The description starts by saying "Missouri's finest singletrack." At one time this was true but the ravages of time and high usage had taken its toll on this epic ride. I'm happy to report that a lot of hard work by the Ozark Trail Association and others are restoring this trail to its former glory. Even the nasty switchbacks at Brazil Creek are being rerouted. If you want to do an entire loop plan on a full morning or afternoon. A good map will allow you to bail out on Forest Service roads at various points if necessary. Camping (primative, bring water) at Berryman or Brazil Creek will allow you the time to investigate the other trails in the area.

Similar Trail: Trace Creek Section (Ozark Trail) Middlefork Section (Ozark Trail) Council Bluff Lake Trail

Review: It was a great weekend day ride. Lots of elevation changes; some fast singletracks and to top it all off you have to get technical in several places. The only thing I suggest is bring a cup. You also might want to bring a map of the trail while we were out there a runner had gotten lost from the day before.

Review: Really boss ride. If I lived close by, I would hit this alot. Note: for those not familiar with the area, the directions are a bit vague - the access road is about halfway between Steelville and Potosi. Once you arrive in Steelville, look for Rt. 8, heading East. Drive about 16 miles East, and look for a very small Nat'l Forest sign on the right, after you pass the Berryman store. Trailhead just up the hill on left, after the road turns to gravel. As usual, the horse traffic wreaks havoc in the boggy areas, so watch that mud. And the way gets a little convoluted near the Brazil Creek area - but a map is not really essential.There is a Forest Service office in Potosi, another 18 miles from the turn off for the Berryman trail.

Review: Started at the Rt 8 Ozark TH and added in a few miles of the Ozark trail at the northern end, for a total of 30 miles. Some trails beg to be ridden as fast as your legs and nerves allow, and some just want to be savored at a moderate pace. Berryman's is one of those. Most of the trail is in good shape, with some erosion due to long uninterrupted down hill runs of trail. Trail maint. is ongoing with water bars, out-sloping, and rerouting. I'm in good shape but this trail took all I had. Started at 67 deg. with 120 oz of water. returned 6 hrs. later (4:20 moving time) 87 deg. and 10 oz of water. Trail definitely qualifies as an epic. Also for the most part you would never know horses used this trail, in fact the only 2 people I saw the whole day were on horses. Plan accordingly.

Review: I live in Colorado, and mapped out a few trails to do on my way to Missouri. This was one of them. I began on the "East Loop". Much of the trail is riverbed, and seemed eroded. I think that this trail has been good, but it seemed pretty chewed up (the product of riding trails wet). That being said, the trail is singletrack, and does take one through quite a bit of beautiful nature. Not an overly fast trail, but one worth doing; and with a little work, worth the trip!

Similar Trail: Council Bluff, shorter but much better trail

Review: This trail is very fun just be sure you are ready for it. Constant ups and downs with some rewarding downhill runs. Only recommendation is that you bring plenty of water, I thought 3L would be enough (Ended up regretting that).

Similar Trail: Landhaul, Chubb Trail

Review: Very fun

Similar Trail: Chubb

Review: Loved this trail! Didn't start at the campsite trailheads and got in about 27 miles of riding. Thought I brought enough water with my full camelbak and a bottle of water. Nope, ran out at mile 20 and it hurt after that. The one thing I didn't like about the trail is the amount of spiderwebs encountered. It seems like a spider was rappelling off my visor every 30 seconds or so and that is just the helmet. Tons of them on my bike right now and had a bunch crawling on me. I think my favorite part of the ride was between mile 5 and 10. It flowed very well. There were a few other sections like that but I was too tired to remember where they were. Yeah, it smoked me! There are some areas with trees still on the trail. I moved what I could but most are easily detoured. And for a trail that horses can ride this wasn't in bad shape. I think the worse area for that was near brazil campsite on the switchbacks.

Similar Trail: FATS in SC but near this trail, HoneyRun and Bittersweet.

Review: This trail was pretty good. My Cousin and I went out there for the day on a sunday. We arrived at the trail at around 1 pm. we didnt finish til about 7. So one thing i do want to say is START EARLY!! Its pretty easy to get lost back in there because the trail is not well marked so pay attention. If you do go the trail comes to a campground at the camp ground the trail does run through a small river. Do train before doing this trail you will need alot of endurance!

Similar Trail: The Full Chubb trail. it is about 13 miles long and it is a good training trail.

Review: This is definately a good trail. I rode it during an adventure race. It is one of the better trails in Missouri for sure. It isn't as technical as I would like though. It definately doesn't compare to Landahl in Blue Springs, MO.

* Review edited 7/2/2009

Similar Trail: Lahdahl if you want more technical

Review: Don't let the beginner rating fool you, this trail is long and punishing but rewards you with spurts of fast paced, downhill runs which are rare in missouri. The entire trail is 26mi and be prepared for tough climbs particularly the last 6 mile gauntlet approaching the berryman campground if taken clockwise. There is another campground at the 15 mile marker which I would highly recommend leaving extra water at as there is no source and it is easy to be out at this point. Many trees fall across this trail even with the high level of maintenance it recieves although few more than a foot high and can easily be hopped over. Sections of the trail become very muddy in the summer due to equestrian use however most of it is excellently maintained. Don't expect anything overly technical although the climbs become grueling after awhile but the flowing downhill in between is well worth the work. Easily one of the best ozark offerings available in missouri. *note this trail does connect up to the ozark trail about 6 miles from the berryman campground end Map: http://gorctrails.com/trails/mberryman.asp* Review edited 9/29/2008

* Review edited 9/30/2010

Similar Trail: council bluffs, chubb trail

Review: Long and rocky with some switchbacks and creek crossings. Only a couple of us from a group of about 8 finished the entire trail. While not very technically challenging, the multiple long climbs will kick your b*** if you don't bring some trained lungs.

Review: My first major mountain bike trail. Great ride, but tough for a greenhorn. First time, was driving back from camping at The Rafting Co. and stopped in and rode 4 miles, then took the gravel road back to Berryman Campground. Then returned a few weeks later over Sunday of Labor day weekend and camped out overnight and riding from Berryman to Brazil Creek campground, then taking the road back to Berryman (that was a mistake, next 2 miles was all uphill!) Want to do this trail again. Very challenging trail!

Similar Trail: Council Bluffs