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reviewed by dcluley on November 27, 2011
Santos is a great trail system, if a bit overrated. I wouldn't rank it in the top 25 in the nation. It has a lot of options with trails ranging from ridiculously easy to really technical hard stuff. My favorites here are IMBA Red, Sinkhole and John Brown, although John Brown can be a bit too technical for me to clear everything, especially when the slick mud is on the rocks n' roots and makes you spin out and lose all momentum. Dr. Ruth is good too, but some of the blues are almost too easy compared to other intermediate trails i've ridden in Florida. I like Alafia and Balm-boyette better for flow and fun in Florida, with Balm-boyette taking the trophy for my favorite ride in the state (that's still open). Overall, the additional amenities like a campground, tons of miles, and the skills area are a big plus to make Santos a national Epic destination, however. You will have fun, but there are tons of other trail systems out there that should rival Santos Epic status.
Edit. . . If you consider the Ross Prarie area trails as part of santos, and they keep connecting the two campgrounds throughout the greenway with similar trails. . . Then this system will reach truly "epic" status. Trails like ern 'n burn and nayl's going all the way up to santos would give you about 50 miles (one way) of Florida mtb fun.
* Review edited 12/30/2011Similar Trail: Balm-boyette, Alafia, Chicopee GA





reviewed by JSF on October 26, 2011
First trip to Santos Today. I rode all the Blue (Intermediate) trails (Twister, Cow Bone, Dr. Ruth, Bunny, Marshmallow, Speedway and Canopy) and all the Red (Advanced) trails (Vortex aka IMBA Red, Sinkhole, Rattlensake Ridge, Anthill, John Brown and Magic Mountain) in the Santos and Vortex sections. Some twice. I also rode some of the Yellow trails (mostly to get to the Blue and Red trails), rode both pump tracks, did a couple of drops and some tabletop dirt jumps. All told I rode more than 25 miles and really tested my skills.
I enjoyed the Blue trails the most: fast and flowy with lots of nice bermed corners, switchbacks and tech in the form of rock gardens and roots. I'm an intermediate rider, and I handled all the blues without problem, including the two most difficult blues, Dr. Ruth and Cowbone. Twister was my favorite--long, fast and lots of banked corners.
The only Red trail I completed without eating sh*t was Sinkhole. Some of the stuff on the Red trails is very, very difficult for someone at my level--often with very serious consequences for failure. Some of the climbs up rocks are just silly, and there are quite a few big, fast descents on rock with lots of loose rock and sharp corners. I'm pretty shredded right now, but glad I tried them all.
I thought the blues were too easy, and the reds (for the most part) were a little beyond my abilities. I was hoping for more trails with big, fast dirt downhills and uphills, ala Chuck Lennon. Still this place is amazing, and I'll be back. I've got a lot of work to do before I can ride all the reds.
* Review edited 10/26/2011







reviewed by afullsodacan on July 31, 2011
This a great trail system. I had a lot of fun at this place. It doesn't seem to be as well known as Alafia, but it is easily as good, if not better in my opinion. Like Alafia, it has some pretty crazy stuff, but also some trails that even beginners could ride. I absolutely loved Twister. I rode a few of the red (advanced) trails, but I had the most fun on Twister (intermediate). This trail was a winding, quick-paced, weave through the forest, which also had some fun hills, and even a few crazy steep, approximately 10-foot high mounds back-to-back, which made it like a rollercoaster section.
I definitely want to visit this place again. Although next time I plan to have a printed-out map. That was the only draw back was that I got lost a few times, because there were no brochure style maps that you could grab at the trailhead sign. But that's what you get when you don't have to pay to ride.
Similar Trail: Alafia






reviewed by delphinide on June 11, 2011
First of all, @ clickner: I have seen other trail reviews from you and you always poo poo them with one star no matter how awesome they may be..what gives?? Forget the 'global ranking', that means nothing. I have ridden the 'top ten' and they are all great but we all have our own idea of what a great trail system is. Though Santos is 2 hours from my house, I ride it at once a month because it is, simply put, one of the the best trails in the country. The 'red' trail systems are bad @$$ and the blues are a great warm up. In fact, if I had one suggestion to OMBA (thanks for the great trails btw) would be to make the blues a bit more challenging than they are now...many of them are simply yellow trails. I don't need to reiterate some of the great reviews below, but I will say that you can ride a solid 15 miles on some of the most technical riding you can find, and without the work of a whole lot of climbing. IF you can ride all of these trails without walking a bit, then you truly are an expert. But there is something for everyone, and if you ride ALL 60 Epic miles in one day, I promise you that you will get a great workout. BTW, rode this yesterday, and some trails are sandy in spots, and will be until we get more rain. Thanks again OMBA... I will miss this trail when I move to Colorado









reviewed by joetutt on August 27, 2010
Finally rode Santos and like everyone's told me it's unbelievable! With the exception of hardcore downhill, there's something for everyone out there. We rode several trails, John Brown, Vortex, Twister, Bunny, Dr. Ruth, Canopy, and one or two more. Loved John Brown and Vortex. Both short but really sweet technical trails. Twister and the Bunny trail were both really fast, clean, fun rides. All sections are really well maintained. Came across a couple pump tracks. Had an absolute blast out here. This place is a mountain biker's dream.





























reviewed by guest on April 18, 2007
All I can say is: "TOTALLY AWESOME"!!! Well worth the trip from Melbourne, FL!! The Vortex Section was my kind of ride, minus a couple insane jumps off the cliffs. Anthill, John Brown, Magic Mountain, & Rattle Snake Ridge trails (red markers) were the bomb, I just could not get enough of these trails even after 6 to 7 hrs. of riding. The yellow trails (especially "Pine Tree") in the Santos Section are most definately family friendly and you can get some good speed on them (just watch out for other riders). All the blue trails were very nice offering some technical (mostly rock & roots) with a very few amount of inclines & declines. The campground at the Santos trailhead was very nice and well worth the three days camped their. I highly reccommend Santos to anyone, as it has something for everyone, from novice (beginner) to hard riders (expert riders). Try it, "You will love it"!!
Similar Trail: Alafia, Balm Boyette (both in tampa area), & Fort Pierce

TRAIL TAGS
imba epic
epic