March 3, 2019
Review: Pulpit Rock Park was soooo much better than I was expecting. First, there is a great mix of beginner to advanced trails. Secondly, there is some fresh trail building going on, creating mountain biking specific trails. Well done. If things continue in this direction, the future looks quite bright for PRP. Plus, some trails could have been closed, but instead, builders have stabilized the trails for erosion and added new really nice lines. I absolutely loved some of the advanced trails, dropping off crazy gnarly descents ... always fun to hang off the back of your bike and hope for the best. Some trails, like Ring Around the Rim (0.9mi) and Pulpit Rock to Lame Duck Connector (0.7mi) are slow, pretty constant, rocky, gnar fests -- great for working on your technical skills. If you are unhappy to get off your bike at times, then you probably won't enjoy these trails. I definitely did not like much of the northwest end and lower west end of the park. Except for Mr. Goats Trail (which has some nice realignments), many of these trails are fairly wide and not too interesting. Plus, as John Fisch mentioned, you are in constant ear shot of the I-25 traffic on this end of the park. Maybe the biggest negative of the park for some people could be that there are no trail signs. But that's not an issue if you have a smart phone and the mtb project phone app. Plus, with no trail designations, then no one can say what is a designated trail and what is not. So you can jump on any tiny little trail you want and see what happens -- FUN. Ignoring the lower west end and northwest end of the park, PRP is more of a 4 star system than a 2. something system as it is rated currently. All in all, a pleasure to ride imo.