|
|
|
|
|
||
Patapsco Valley State Park (Mckeldin Area) Mountain Bike Trail
Ellicott City, Maryland
MTB TRAIL STATS
Avg Rating:   |
7 trail reviews |
|
Status: updated 3/17/11 by WVPedler |
Difficulty:  Intermediate |
| Length: 4 miles | Global Rank: #1838 |
| Tread: Singletrack | Configuration: Loop |
| Ridden: 35 | Wishlist: 7 |
| Avg. Speed: 7.4 mph | Avg. Time: 2hr 30min |
Directions:
To view directions to Patapsco Valley State Park (Mckeldin Area) mountain bike trail, please login. If
you don't have an account, sign up now: it's free, only takes a minute, and gives you access to tons of other rad features.
Description: Follow the Switchback trail (white) downhill and then along the river. Trail is a mixture of singletrack and doubletrack. Last 2/3rds of a mile is on Plantation Trail (Red) and mostly uphill. This is a great trail to push the grade from beginner to intermediate. Good downhill to begin, some challenging (to me) singletrack on the side of a slope and a short technical rocky descent (again challenging for beginners/intermediate). But there is also plenty of smooth singletrack and doubletrack next to the river to get your breath back. Quite a big climb near the end. I've ridden the trail a few times and have had to put my foot down each time. Still there's always next time.
Description: Follow the Switchback trail (white) downhill and then along the river. Trail is a mixture of singletrack and doubletrack. Last 2/3rds of a mile is on Plantation Trail (Red) and mostly uphill. This is a great trail to push the grade from beginner to intermediate. Good downhill to begin, some challenging (to me) singletrack on the side of a slope and a short technical rocky descent (again challenging for beginners/intermediate). But there is also plenty of smooth singletrack and doubletrack next to the river to get your breath back. Quite a big climb near the end. I've ridden the trail a few times and have had to put my foot down each time. Still there's always next time.
added on September 24, 2008 by 
TRAIL REVIEWS review this trail
reviewed by brishel229 on November 27, 2011
Would be nice if not for the piles of "S" you can't always avoid. To be expected though since it's a multi use trail. This was my 1st time and may be my last. I usaually ride at Scheaffer in Germantown, but it is closed due to a managed deer hunt until the 10th of December.
reviewed by jchris on November 7, 2011
You folks who complain this is just a small series of loops you can ride in an hour, listen up: First ride the loops near the entrance to the McKeldin Area. Then cross the river on the white trail and ride miles and miles of far more challenging trail. Some go straight down the river. Some are up in the ridges above the river. Stream crossings, rocky climbs, white knuckles descents (well, on a rigid bike anyway.) You can ride near the former site of the Blair Witch Project House. Abandoned cars and quarries. An old SAM site. Miles down the route you ride past the old ghost town of Daniels to a small parking lot off Dogwood Road. Then ride back. Twelve miles roundtrip or so if you take the direct route
Similar Trail: Patapsco Avalon Ridge Trail
reviewed by jfigel76 on October 25, 2011
I used to ride this area a lot but over the years, I have come to not like this area. You have a fun downhill, then a long uphill, repeat about 3 times. Sometimes I overlap trails because some great downhills are great uphills too. Not too many miles of trails. Park at the train tracks to save entrance fees. Otherwise, $3 to enter.
reviewed by agross on June 29, 2011
This is a fun ride, some nice jumps when you start and some good climbs. There are some slow boring areas that are rather flat but at least they are near the water so there is a nice view. All in all its a nice ride and you get a fair workout.
reviewed by mhermstein on June 14, 2011
The previous reviews covered the McKeldin trails. This is mostly answering the previous post: Looking at picture 1, you see a 'shortcut trail' in the southeast corner. Cross the river there and the trail continues on the other side. You can take the white blaze trail down to the Daniels area of Patapsco and beyond. This is a challenging ride with some good climbs (none with too much exposure but steep and sustained), a few stream crossings, and some sections of rocks and roots. I believe this is the longer ride of which the original poster was speaking as it would take about 2 1/2 to 3 hours round trip to ride this trail to where it ends at the intersection of Dogwood and Hollofield rd. and of course there's a dam at Daniels. It's a beautiful ride. In my opinion as good as anything in the avalon area.
Similar Trail: avalon area of patapsco
reviewed by CB-Frederick on May 25, 2011
Overall this is a decent trail if your looking for something new. The previous post describes it fairly well. There are a series of connecting trails that loop around. From the parking lot, you start at the top of a hill and work your way down in either direction. There are a couple good climbs and some moderate technical things (drop-offs, rocks, and roots). The main two points I wanted to share are the following. First, the portion of the trail by the river can get very muddy. I rode last October during a period that was rather dry and still got bogged down in a patch of slop. So you may want to think twice about trying this trail after wet spell. Second, it is not a large trail network. I'm not sure where the 2 1/2 hour trail time came from. I rode the loop and connecting trails three times in about 2 hours.
* Review edited 5/25/2011
reviewed by JeffHoward on May 1, 2011
Highlights: Fast, Smooth, Heart Pounding Climbs, Nice Loop The Mckeldin Area of Patapsco Valley offers a blend of double wide horse trail and single track. 90% is very smooth, and having a wide trail on a couple of the downhill sections means you can really cut loose. There are some technical areas, and 3-4 tough climbs. A good deal of the trail is flat by the river; however it’s welcomed considering the climbs. About a 5-6 mile ride. I started out on the white trail, toward the end you’ll need to hop on the red trail, or plantation trail. It is a short loop, on one side a wider trail, the other a narrow single track. I did the red loop twice each time taking the wide trail up, then single track down. Cool view of a damn at the end of the red loop while you make your way toward the parking lot. I’d say this trail system desires a shout out and is probably over shadowed by the southern trail system of Patapsco which delivers on the hype. All the trails were well maintained and marked appropriately. It took me 20 minutes to get here from the Landing Road drop in of the more popular are of Patapsco. *The map loaded on here is not correct, see the photos I uploaded for a better map.
Similar Trail: Patapsco Valley State Park
