The small city of Farmington, New Mexico, has long been known for oil and gas extraction, the proximity of its medical infrastructure to the Navajo Nation, and very little else. But in recent years, Farmington has quietly been making a name for itself as a mountain biking hub in the Four Corners area, and that trend is only accelerating.
In the past year, almost seven miles of professionally-built singletrack have been added to a burgeoning trail system just north of the city. Some of these new trails, such as a downhill flow trail known as “Biff,” are quickly becoming Farmington’s new favorite trails.
The trail system, known as “Glade Run Recreation Area,” “East Glade,” or “Road Apple Rally,” is already home to over 60 miles of bike-legal singletrack. Plus, it connects to about 10 miles of additional singletrack to the north, an urban network with 16+ miles of singletrack near San Juan College, and plenty of unmarked social trails.
Add in other trails like Boneyard, and Alien Run and Mountain View in nearby Aztec, and there’s well over a hundred miles of quality riding in the region.
All of which makes the immediate popularity of these new trails all the more impressive.
Trail development in Farmington is spearheaded by San Juan County
I spoke with Chris Conley, President of Farmington Area Single Track (FAST), and Nick Porell, Public Works Director for San Juan County, about the rapid pace of local trail development. FAST plays an important role in the local trail systems by developing and maintaining the trails at San Juan College, helping maintain the Glade Run trails, and building the occasional singletrack segment in places like the Boneyard. But when it comes to the bulk of the modern trail development in the region, that has largely been spearheaded by Porell, with encouragement from the BLM.
As Porell tells it, the local BLM recreation planner approached him and told him about the federal RTP grants, which “folks rarely apply for.” The grants are federally funded, administered by the state, and require a 15% local match. While the BLM was happy to manage the infrastructure once it was built on their land, the rec planner wanted Porell to be the local agent to apply for the grant and to manage the projects. “I’m a mountain biker, so it piqued my interest,” he said.
Building more mountain bike trails also aligned with the county’s ongoing shift from resource extraction to a recreation-based economy. “Our most recent strategic plan takes into account declining revenues from extractive industries, be that oil and gas or coal and coal power,” said Porell. “So [there’s a] big push on recreation amenities as an economic development driver, but also a quality of life initiative here locally.”
To date, San Juan County has been awarded four RTP grants, the third of which funded the most recent seven miles of singletrack. At roughly $330,000 with a $47,000 local match, this third grant is actually the smallest of the RTP grants they’ve received. And yet, they built an incredible amount of fresh singletrack.
New trails at East Glade
All the new singletrack segments are located in the East Glade area, close to what’s known as either the “East Glade Bike Park” or the “Calle Norte Bike Park.” (Why there’s a disconnect between maps, signage, and local vernacular when it comes to trail names in this area is unclear.) The five new trails are:
- Rise and Shine: 3mi, intermediate
- Lunch Loop: 2mi, beginner
- Biff: 3,600ft, intermediate
- Not Much Time: 2,800ft, intermediate
- Little Tikes: 2,700ft, beginner
San Juan County has worked with Dirt Tek Trails on several projects, and they contracted the builder for this latest development as well. Dirt Tek’s trails have been popping up all over the Four Corners, including Moab’s Mud Springs and Durango’s Mesa Park.
Rise and Shine
The longest of the five trails, “Rise and Shine,” was built as a one-way flow trail dropping off the rim into the valley below. There’s just one problem: this downhill flow trail is signed as one-way directional… and the direction is uphill.
I was quite confused as I rode it: “Is this just designed for fast uphill e-bikes?” I wondered. (It’s not e-bike legal.) “Did the builder not get the memo? What’s going on here?”
Almost all the trails in East Glade are signed as one-way directional trails, which allows this network to flow really, really well. It’s frankly quite progressive compared to most other BLM and USFS districts, where it’s difficult, if not impossible, to get one-way trails designated. However, after San Juan County and Dirt Tek built Rise and Shine, the BLM chose to sign it for uphill travel.
“The BLM has a hard policy of not doing two-way trails,” said Porell. “Right now, the rule of thumb in the Glade Run rec area is everything is directional in a counterclockwise direction. So that’s how that one is currently signed. We did have the discussion about making it two-way, but the BLM field office didn’t like that, so they signed it in their current direction.”
Rise and Shine will eventually connect to the future Juniper Basin Bike Park, a massive complex planned by the City of Farmington. Once Juniper Basin is built, “I think ultimately, the direction may get reversed,” said Porell.
Biff
Since Rise and Shine can’t legally be ridden as a downhill flow trail, Biff is arguably the new local favorite. I personally lapped it twice, and I saw plenty of other people doing the same — including many riders on e-bikes, even though the trails are not e-bike legal. Farmington still feels like the Wild West, so do with that information what you will.
This short trail makes the most of one of the few hills in the East Glade area, beginning on the very top and ending near an arroyo in the bottomlands. It provides a few fast, sweeping berms and small tabletop jumps, making it one of the most feature-rich flow trails in the region.
The soil in Farmington is extremely fragile and tough to compact, so the jumps aren’t huge — but it’s impressive what Dirt Tek managed to construct in such a challenging environment. That said, the company hails from Fruita, so they know a thing or two about building trails in the desert.
“I have two nine-year-old kids,” said Porell, adding that the new beginner-friendly trail development is a bit “self serving in that regard. I spent an awful lot of time out there with them myself. Biff is their new favorite trail.”
Lunch Loop
The two-mile Lunch Loop trail provides a quick ride directly from the Hood Mesa Trailhead, just southwest of the Calle Norte Bike Park. This fast, flowy, one-way loop is sprinkled with some entertaining rock slabs, despite the beginner rating.
Not Much Time
Don’t even have enough time for two miles? Not Much Time bisects Lunch Loop, creating a shorter loop. However, this intermediate trail drops the same elevation much faster, with bigger berms and rock features along the way. It might be short, but it’s an entertaining rip.
Little Tikes
Little Tikes is a short singletrack segment that drops back to the Calle Norte Bike Park. In addition to helping provide better one-way traffic flow next to what used to be a two-way connector, it also creates a short beginner-friendly loop that’s roughly a mile long.
“I think that one turned out great,” said Porell. “I didn’t have super high hopes for it, just because of [the] benign terrain, but it actually pumps and flows really well.”
Farmington isn’t done yet
Even though there’s north of a hundred miles of mountain bike trails in San Juan County, local advocates aren’t done yet. Work on the fourth RTP grant will begin this winter and will bring about 13 miles of new singletrack to the region — but to an entirely different set of trail systems. The aforementioned Juniper Basin Bike Park will cost $1.5 million to build and will cover 93 acres, with dedicated jump lines and downhill trails.
While some people in the region sarcastically refer to Farmington as “Charmington,” mountain bikers in the know have stopped mocking this town. With so many fantastic trails already on the ground and plenty more on the way, it’s undeniable that Farmington has transformed itself into a regional mountain biking hotbed.
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