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Little Big Econ State Forest Mountain Bike Trail
Orlando, Florida
MTB TRAIL STATS
Avg Rating:    |
26 trail reviews |
|
Status: updated 8/6/10 by |
Difficulty:  Beginner |
| Length: 12 miles | Global Rank: #1870 |
| Tread: Singletrack | Configuration: Network |
| Ridden: 95 | Wishlist: 31 |
| Avg. Speed: 4.93 mph | Avg. Time: 3hr 0min |
| Elevation Gain/Loss: +1,635/-954 ft |
Directions
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Description: Winding singletrack network, can be difficult to figure out the first time- study the map at the trailhead carefully, and even then it can take a few visits to understand the layout, because trails are poorly marked. However, the riding is excellent- starting north from the trailhead, the paths start easy then become more challenging near the creek and then up by the Econ River. The western half of the park features tight, technical riding to keep things interesting. Minimal elevation change, but some short rises near the creek or river. Jeep roads run throughout the park if a bailout is needed. Most resembles Hanna Park in Jacksonville, but the loop is longer if you ride the whole thing.
added on November 23, 2003 by guest
To view directions to Little Big Econ State Forest mountain bike trail, please login. If you don't have an account, sign up for a free account - it only takes a minute.
Description: Winding singletrack network, can be difficult to figure out the first time- study the map at the trailhead carefully, and even then it can take a few visits to understand the layout, because trails are poorly marked. However, the riding is excellent- starting north from the trailhead, the paths start easy then become more challenging near the creek and then up by the Econ River. The western half of the park features tight, technical riding to keep things interesting. Minimal elevation change, but some short rises near the creek or river. Jeep roads run throughout the park if a bailout is needed. Most resembles Hanna Park in Jacksonville, but the loop is longer if you ride the whole thing.
added on November 23, 2003 by guest 
SIMILAR TRAILS
Riders who liked this mountain bike trail also liked:Fort Pierce Mountain Bike Trail in Ft. Pierce
Razorback in Reddick (Ocala)
Turkey Creek in Palm Bay
Redbug in Tallahassee
TRAIL REVIEWS review this trail
reviewed by ICEMAN733 on April 15, 2012
This is one of my favorite trail I love this trail it has lots of roots, up and down hills and very little sugar sand 85% hard pack theres lots of wild life to see and not a lot of people out there bring lots of water and bug spray in summer for ticks for this is not a fast ride about 6mph on avg 14 miles take me about 3hrs
* Review edited 4/15/2012
reviewed by JSF on November 3, 2011
Finally made it out to LBE, and put in a solid 22 miles. Thanks to the lack of decent signage, a few of those miles were unintentional. When I first started off from the Jones East trailhead, I was not impressed: sugar sand, nothing technical at all and just basic boring trails through the woods. Once I made my way over to the creek and the Econ river, however, I had a blast! On the trails by the creek and the river you'll find mostly hardpack (with a couple very sandy exceptions right on the Econ river), lots of roots, some fairly fast descents and quick climbs, a couple small drops, a few bridges, a water crossing or two and plenty of banked corners. Don't give up on this place after riding the trails around the trailhead! There's some good fun to be had here. The biggest problem is that the signage sucks, and it's easy to get lost! Even with a map, GPS and a compass I got turned around a few times. I'm going to knock off a star for the poor signage and the boring trails by the trailhead, but this is a solid 4 star ride if you take the time to explore. One final note: I wouldn't classify the trails by the creek and river as "Beginner"; IMO they are on the skill level as the Blue trails at Santos.
reviewed by afullsodacan on June 5, 2011
I am a student at UCF, and was desperate to find MTB trails in the area. I must say that this trail is not very difficult. I like a technical challenge, but the gratuitous amount of roots and the amount of sugar sand in some areas really hurt the flow, although it has a few pretty fun spots. The first part of the trail is really flat, sandy and annoying. But if you finally make it to the back part of the trail, it becomes more hard ground with some more technical stuff. It is a good beginner trail with a few spots that can be a little tricky, like a couple spots where you can easily fall off about a 10 foot cliff into a creek. This trail can be quite confusing, because of a lot of intersections and few trail markers. Good if you are desperate to ride in the Orlando area, but doesn't come close to Carter Road, Balm Boyette, Santos, or Alafia. Orlando could really use a trail on par with these.
* Review edited 4/11/2012
Similar Trail: Soldier Creek
reviewed by pinoy1975 on February 25, 2011
Sup otown. Me and couple of my buddies ride this trail and others from deland to new symrna. If ya wanna ever catch a ride and hit different trails let me know. We going to Mt. Dora this weekend. its about 1.5 miles long. Cya around.
reviewed by OtownMTBRider on February 17, 2011
I just went out there today, the 17th of Feb, 2011 and had a great time. Been out there once before and is difficult to navigate due to poor sign markings. Sugar sands at times but overall the ride was great. I just bought a Motobecane 600HT and love it. First mountain bike and I love riding it! Anyone ever wanna go, please hit me up on here. IM DOWN!!
reviewed by ridehard94 on November 26, 2010
rode here on thanksgiving and did not find this place enjoyable at all. there is way to much soft sugar sand and the single track part well it was a little boreing if u ask me. i went on the trail off to the right in the parking lot but i am willing to go back and try the one off to the left but over all i was not impressed with this place at all
* Review edited 11/26/2010
reviewed by scotkrzy on September 28, 2010
jumped out here on Sunday morn and tore up about ten miles, the late evening rains have the trails fast. Rain+sugar sand=hardpacked trails!!The rivers low so the riverside trails are in good shape, didn't get much mud on the tires. If your wantin a good XC work out thats fun, get to the LBE. Ride On brothers
reviewed by guest on May 26, 2010
Rode here Tuesday with my son and two other members here on Singletracks. Had a blast though I barely got any sleep at all before riding, so it was tough on me. Rode all but two trails and we all got a bit of a work out. Trails were great, a bit tacky, but the sugar sand was packed in a bit from the raining earlier that morning. Always a pleasure riding the trails out there and always a nice work out. Would have rode the last two, but we were running out or either out of water. Always a AAA++ trail!
reviewed by markcamaro88 on March 8, 2010
Warm spot in my heart for this trail... took my new girlfriend with me here back in 1999. She's been a mountain biker ever since... crazy girl even married me!
Similar Trail: Santos (Belleview / Ocala)
reviewed by joetutt on February 26, 2010
I rode for just about a hour out here today and logged around 7 miles of the trail. Lots of fun! The trail is tight and twisty with pretty heavy roots throughout. Little elevation changes, mainly flat. I was lucky enough to ride with a local rider who showed me through the trail, otherwise I would most likely be collecting firewood and setting up camp right now. Yes, as the other reviews state, pretty confusing! One thing I don't remember seeing on the other reviews is that this trail is singletrack most of the way, however, it runs both ways! This is not a one way trail! So ride with caution. The woods are heavy and most of the turns are blind. The ridgeline section is fun, riding on a pretty hairy ledge peppered with roots and small ups and downs. Not too much soft sand, not enough to worry about at least. Overall fun trail. I'd prefer more climbs and descents, maybe a few more jumps, but I definitely had fun and will go again.
Similar Trail: Similar to Spruce Creek Preserve (Martin's Dairy Rd.)
reviewed by Mattgarrett on January 30, 2010
there are many different trails here that are not listed on the posted map. Depending on wich trail you take will give you a different ride. The one I like has alot of roots and follows the Little Econ River bank. Awesome scenery and a sweet ride.
Similar Trail: Santos in Ocala, Alafia in Brandon, Graham Swamp in Flagler
reviewed by jls on January 18, 2010
I checked out Snow Hill today and was quite surprised. I found the easy single track to be quite a bit more fun than the easy stuff out at Santos. Lots of great flow and variety in the scenery: palm scrub, palm forest, pine forest, oak forest, the beautiful river bank and plenty more. Not so good: some of the best riding is along the river but it isn't very well maintained in many places. Some of the palm forest involved riding over way too many roots and palm trunks for my liking. As others have mentioned it does get sandy in places but I rarely found it a bother. The multi-use Flagler Trail runs through the state park and is unfortunately all chewed up by horses. It is crazy hard to find your way around here first time out: twisty trails that overlap each other and service roads, some of which is different to what is on the trailhead map and much which isn't on the map at all. My compass was just about useless and I eventually got frustrated with not knowing where I was going, especially when racing a setting sun. The second trip out will be much easier.
* Review edited 1/18/2010
reviewed by Jordan300 on April 30, 2009
Great Trail, fun for all skill levels. This place is my trail of choice when I am in the area, it's a great place to ride. It's never too crowded, if it gets to hot you can jump in the river. It's always changing, since the recent floods Soooo much has changed. It's loads of fun.
Similar Trail: Santos, Enviromental Center, Sanfelasco
reviewed by guest on December 7, 2008
Rode here all day Friday with my son and logged in a solid 20 plus miles of singletrack and then rode the more technical trail shooting off to the right at the Yahoo & Saturday Night trail junction which runs along the Little Econ River towards Snowhill road. Lots of hairline ridgelines with much technical climbs, fast but short descents, roots, and log climbs & bridges. Some of the climbs & descents having some serious technical roots. The rest of the river trail east of that technical singletrack was just a blast as always! Always worth the drive from Melbourne, FL.
* Review edited 5/24/2010
Similar Trail: Santos, Alafia, Chuck Lennon Park, Tillman Canal, Carter, Turkey Creek, Balm Boyette, etc.
reviewed by rocketbracket on December 1, 2008
i enjoyed the "edge trail" section that runs along the river "canyon". about 4 ft away from edge of that "canyon"
reviewed by HunterFLA on November 23, 2008
Trail has dried out with some washed out sandy conditions in a few spots. But overall conditions are good enough for a fun ride.
Similar Trail: Santos
reviewed by guest on October 9, 2008
I have received word that the main Snow Hill Rd. MTB trail head is now open after being closed by the Forest Service due to immense flooding and damage caused by Tropical Storm Fay last month. All the MTB trails should be ridable.
* Review edited 10/9/2008
reviewed by guest on September 15, 2008
TRAIL CONDITION UPDATE: The trail head off of Snowhill Road has been temporary closed by the Forestry Department due to immense flooding and downed tree's. Most of the MTB trails are very muddy or still submerged under water. One of the bridges on the main trail on the north end is nearly 100% submerged under flood water. All other MTB trails besides the main trail (running north to south)are off limits and are not ridable at this present time.
* Review edited 9/15/2008
reviewed by guest on August 14, 2008
A sweet singletrack! You will need to carry plenty water on you, no accomodations out there. A great network of trals with some drops but only a handful. Love the suspension bridge!
Similar Trail: Too many to post, but Alafia & Santos are the bomb!
reviewed by guest on August 14, 2008
Easy but fun singletrack! THIS IS TRAIL IS THE "LITTLE BIG ECON NATIONAL TRAIL" that is already posted in Singltracks
* Review edited 9/15/2008
Similar Trail: Too many to post, but Alafia & Santos are the bomb!
reviewed by James_Hearn on February 19, 2008
A key component to surviving Little Big Econ is be sure to bring enough water, the reason is because it’s Florida and playing outside without an adequate supply of water will definitely kill you, but past that the trail is fun and perfect for beginners. There are some tight turns which do well to add to the fun and also familiarize beginners to some of the more basic fundamentals to mountain biking without having to worry about sustaining grave bodily injury. I grew up in California and used to ride trails all the time. I moved to Florida 15 years ago and haven’t ridden a trail since. I remembered the fundamentals immediately but my fiancé has never ridden trails before and learned some as she lagged behind. Bring $1.00 per rider with your party. Wear a helmet, beyond the obvious reasons, because there are low hanging branches and being that I am 6’4” I experienced a couple knocks to the helmet. There are some narrow points where the palmetto palms slap and cut against the arms. Hat being said, it isn’t dramatic, but if you are a sensitive person wear long-sleeves (if you are a sensitive person there is always golf). I am riding a cheep Schwinn from Target and it handled the trail pretty well. Only once did its chain skip and almost knock me down a peg or two. We went on Sunday and traffic was mild with no collisions. The downside to Little Big Econ is map is confusing because there are hiking trails, horse trails, and bike trails, but there are no landmarks to help riders gain their bearings. We ended up losing the bike trail and walking our bikes through a sugar sand hiking trail until we finally found the where the bike trail resumes. On the envelope for the money it instructs the rider to keep the stub on the rearview mirror but it also instructs to keep the stub on the rider. I kept the stub in my pocket. The sugar sand is a bit discouraging but what the hell can one do? It’s a Florida. All we have is sand.
reviewed by seveninstl on December 13, 2007
This may not be the most technical trail in Florida (it's NOT). But it is one of the best trails around Orlando. It's good for an afternoon of fun. And you can discover 'new' trails each time you go out... at least for the first 6 visits or so. If you like fast trails, you will like Little Big Econ (AKA Snow Hill).
Similar Trail: Carter Road
reviewed by pyrophly on October 24, 2007
This was one of the most uneventful rides I have done in FL. The trail is quite boring. Very sandy! Not technical at all. I don't even recommend this for beginners, because of the sand. This would be frustrating & may cause someone never to try mtn biking again. Waste of gas getting here also.
* Review edited 1/6/2009
Similar Trail: Better trails in central Florida would be Carter Rd in Lakeland or Santos in Ocala.
reviewed by rheard103 on June 13, 2007
For a Florida trail I would rate this pretty well. It's a nice workout if you want, and enough trails to extend or minimize the ride to suit your riding time.
reviewed by dlnelson15 on August 25, 2006
As of 25 August 2006, this trail is in bad need of maintenance. Very over grown with weeds and palmetos. The trail is not technically challenging but is a good after-work-ride. If you are visiting Orlando, specifically Disney, Sea World, and Universal and want to ride it is about 50 miles away. Recommend you take 417 all the way from Disney area. Steer clear of the downtown Orlando area as the traffic is horrible. I think I would have enjoyed more if it hadn't been over grown.
Similar Trail: Balm Boyette Scrub Preserve - This has both technically challenging and beginner trails. Also they are marked as accordingly.
reviewed by profb on July 2, 2006
Great "after work" trail. Riders of all levels will enjoy the many faces of this trailhead. As you take different paths, the attitude of the trail changes. Econ River makes a nice appearance throughout trail with picturesque picnicking areas. Heads-up: During the dry months, some areas are sandy and others are root-ridden. Have fun.
