20 Popular Fat Bike Trails You've Never Heard Of

Singletracks.com has been collecting trail conditions and check-in data for many years. In 2014 we added conditions information specific to fat bikes, including “Snow: Packed” and “Snow: Powder.” As the 2015/2016 snow riding season gets amped up, we wondered: where are the most popular places to ride our fat bikes on snow? While this list of the best fat bike trails in the US is a great start, we wanted to discover where the hundreds of thousands of Singletracks users pedal during the cold, white months.

We began by pulling trail status data for trails that had been reported as “Snow: Packed” (the ideal fat biking conditions) at least twice in 2015. Once we had that list, we ranked the trails based on the number of winter check-ins they received, to find out which trails are the most popular–and hopefully, the best to ride. Especially with fat biking, having well-packed/groomed trails is critical, so the more they get ridden and maintained, the better.

So without further ado, here are 20 popular fat bike trails that you may have never heard of:

1. Kiwanis – Mankato, Minnesota

This image that DougJ posted shows that this trail receives regular, fat bike-specific grooming, keeping it in optimal condition during the winter months. Would you expect anything less from frigid Minnesota? According to our database listing, as of 2014 this trail system was brand-new and still under construction. Will we see more and more brand-new singletrack trails be built specifically with fat biking and winter grooming in mind? Current trends indicate “yes.”

2. Lebanon Hills, Eagan, Minnesota

Caught riding dirty by @muckgeist #fatbikes #lebanonhills

A photo posted by RW (@ouijal) on Feb 28, 2015 at 2:55pm PST

Eagan is a suburb of Minneapolis/Saint Paul, which is quickly becoming known as a hub for all things fat biking. With an average high of 27 in December, 24 in January, and 29 in February, Twin Cities residents have to find a different way to ride, or risk spending all winter indoors. During the summer, Lebanon Hills is home to at least 11 miles of trail, although there’s no word on how much of this is packed and maintained during the winter.

3. Riley Trails, Holland, Michigan

Cross country skiers also share this 6-mile multi-use trail during the winter.

4. Lowes Creek, Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Continuing our solid showing from the Upper Midwest, Wisconsin joins the list with one of the most popular trails in the state–naturally. With about 12-14 miles, depending on how you ride this trail system, there’s plenty of pedaling to be done here. No word on how much of that distance is maintained during the winter.

5. Woolly Trails, St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin

The Woolly Trails are regularly groomed for fat biking, keeping conditions predictable and enjoyable!

6. Merrell Trail, Rockford, Michigan

"Light snow on top of icy conditions." Photo: Rick Plite — “Light snow on top of icy conditions.” Photo: Rick Plite

Again, these trails are regularly groomed for fat biking.

7. Lac Delage and Stoneham, Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury, Quebec

Froid, neige, hiver… y a pas de soucis grace au fat bike ???? les pneus sont juste enormes ???? et faut bien pedaler, comme nous a dit un monsieur, on va moins vite mais c est du velo de contemplation ???? c est joliment dit ???? A photo posted by Ninette est chouette (@bounsandbabz) on Jan 11, 2015 at 2:26pm PST

While these trails are rideable in the summer, Singletracks user onagos claims that they ride even better in the winter! This is also the first showing from Canada on this list–with more to come!

8. Snowkraft Singletrack, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

With a name like “Snowkraft,” it’s obvious that this trail was built with fat biking in mind! As photos from our users show, this trail is groomed into picture-perfect corduroy!

9. Riverdale Parkway, Riverdale, Utah

Located just outside of Ogden, Utah, this is the first trail from the western half of the continent to grace this list. Granted, we know of many popular fat bike trails in the Western US (be sure to check out this list), but it seems that the Upper Midwest reigns supreme in fat bike popularity.

10. Ridgeline Open Space, Castle Rock, Colorado

Ridgeline Open Space trail conditions, Dec 17. North facing shady (foreground) covered in snow, north facing sunny (background) dry. Time: 12:00pm-2:00pm. Weather: sunny, 56 F. #bikes #trails #trailconditions #colorado #castlerock #ridgelineopenspace #mixed #mud #snow #dry #herodirt

A photo posted by Mitch Kline (@mitchkline) on Dec 17, 2013 at 3:50pm PST

Located on the relatively warm, dry Colorado Front Range, I wouldn’t expect Ridgeline Open Space to be a great fat biking destination. Rather, when it does snow, expect this trail to get traffic-packed due to its popularity.

Be sure to click over to page two for 10 more great fat bike trails!