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I retire this year at the age of 60. I spent most of my working years bike riding & working out in hopes of riding the most beautiful trails in all 50 states. Now that I have time, I need some help with locating those rides. Any help would be appreciated!!!
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Steve,
Congratulations! I hope to do the same in about a decade myself.
You should start by reading these two articles:
20 of the Most Scenic Mountain Bike Trails in the Western USA: Vote for Your Favorite
20 of the Most Scenic Mountain Bike Trails in the Eastern USA: Vote for Your Favorite
Based on the only criteria given, “most beautiful,” I would offer the following:
Arizona: Highline (Sedona).California: Hole in the Ground (Truckee)
Colorado: Monarch Crest (Salida)
Kansas: Fancy Creek (Randolph)
Michigan: Copper Harbor (Copper Harbor)
Minnesota: Brewer Park/Piedmont (Duluth)
Montana: Emerald Lake (Bozeman)
Nebraska: Chadron State Park (Chadron)
Nevada: Tahoe Rim (Incline Village)
New Mexico: Northside (Taos)
North Dakota: Maah Daah Hey (Medora)
South Dakota: Centennial Trail (Spearfish)
Texas: Palo Duro Canyon (Canyon)
Utah: Goodwater Rim (Castle Dale)
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Congratulations! I am just a few years behind you but will be working for a while yet. I agree with the blog on Douthat State Park in Virginia. Also just across the valley from Douthat State Park is Longdale – North Mountain – one of my favorites with awesome views back towards the Blue Ridge. Also in West Virginia Props Run was listed. A short ways from that is Kennison Mountain trail, a classic beautiful trail through spruce forests and mountain top bogs.
Have Fun!
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When you drop down to North Carolina, be sure to hit Pisgah National Forest as well as Dupont. They’re in the same area, plan on spending a few days at each. Absolutely epic riding! When I retire, I’d love to move to the area.
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The three top rated trails in Florida are
1 Santos in Ocala FL
2 Markham Park, Sunshine FL,, just 20 miles from Ft Lauderdale.
3 Alafia River, Lithia FL just 30 miles from both Lakeland and Tampa.
I’m 59 and have ridden both Santos and Alafia (plan to do Markham in March) both are great. Huge variety of trail levels, something for everyone. Santos also has some pretty extreme stuff.
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Come to Wisconsin..I’ll show you where this 61yr old rides..and survives..
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Wow, GREAT topic. Now as I understand it, you are looking for the most BEAUTIFUL trails in each state, not necessarily the best “rides”, though I’m sure that it would be best if both were true. Here are maybe some trails that won’t be suggested by others but should be considered. For Arizona of course there are many beautiful trails in Sedona. So I would do a trail or two there, but I would also go to the far north and pick up the AZT from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and ride it out to the UT border. This would be more of an epic type ride than the Sedona trails which are MUCH shorter in length. In Colorado, nothing compares to the San Juan Mountains imo. So you might pick up the Colorado Trail at Molais Lake and ride it to Durago. Here’s a different thought, for Illinois ride several segments of the River to River trail in southern IL. In Ohio the Mohican SP trail sits in a beautiful old growth hardwood/hemlock forest and beautiful gorge. Mohican is not my favorite “ride”, but it is a truly beautiful trail. In Indiana of course everyone raves about Brown County, but for beauty I might go with Buffalo Trace Trail in French Lick State Park. In South Dakota the Centennial Trails run north to south through the length of the Black Hills … Gorgeous … and 111 miles is epic for most of us.
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Definitely check out those two articles that John linked… all of those trails can’t be beat for the views!!
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As for California, any ride in the Lake Tahoe area will not disappoint, Hole in the Ground, Rim Trail, Mr. Toads. Also I highly recommend visiting the birthplace of mountain biking, Marin County. Mount Tam, Repack, Tamarancho, China Camp. None of those will disappoint. My father lives in Colorado and he makes a voyage out here at least twice a year to ride Northern California trials.
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Almost any trail in Crested Butte Colorado is breathtaking! My favorite place to ride!
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<p style=”text-align: center;”>At 59 I hope to do the same in time when I am able to retire. Jhart94949 suggested some very good rides in California. TRT is one of my favorites and a must if visiting. Make sure you arrive on a even day such as the 24, as they rotate for the hiker to enjoy the trail. You can include the flume trail which has spectacular views. Flume Trail Bikes operates a shuttle, make sure you take the one to the meadows.</p>
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Oregon: McKenzie River Trail for a long, flattish, super scenic river trail. Oakridge for long downhill shuttles. Bend for mellow, flowy, and some long epic rides. Sandy Ridge if you wanna spend some time in Portland. If you’re driving down the I-5 corridor, you could hit Blackrock and Alsea Falls which sit about 30 min off the freeway. Have fun!
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If you are able to do the California/Nevada rides, I’d throw in Downieville. It’s in the area and a trail everyone should ride at least once.
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Maine Rider here…Definitely refer to the links above.
Since you stated “most beautiful”, I would strongly suggest hitting up Acadia National Park. It is not what I would consider “true” MTB, in that it is just a bunch carriage roads through the forest….However, IMO it is some of the best scenery in the state with it’s unique terrain/topography & its small open mountain tops located on the Atlantic coast. In addition, there’s plenty to do in Bar Harbor.
The second ME must hit spot would be Sugarloaf area (or Carrabassett Valley)…The trails just keep getting better & better with the amount of financial support & amount of trail building going on. This is a more remote area with “real” mountain bike trails, all situated within the heart of the Western mountains of ME.
Let us know of your travels.
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