In general, are mountain bike trail difficulty ratings accurate?

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BW102 California // 2025
1 week ago

After travelling to Arkansas, I am under the belief that trail ratings are generally accurate for the surrounding area (~50 mi radius?). At home, I have a pretty good sense of what I am in for when riding, but Arkansas was definitely a step or two above. In the future, I think I will be inclined to take a bit more time to understand the local scale.
I have seen some local trails marked as black, but after some research I find the only reason it is black is because of the extremely steep climb. Otherwise the trail is entirely fireroad. There is a difference between technically challenging and physically challenging, and I suspect a number of mismatches are due to that aspect.

3 reply

nebnagrah Colorado // 2016
1 week ago

Hard survey to answer. Just like climbing, ratings are largely regional or specific to the area in which you are riding. I've ridden black trails that seem ridiculously overrated compared to what I'm used to and vice-versa; trails that seem way underrated

2 reply

moctav Texas // 2014
1 week ago

In central Texas, a lot of, if not most, trails have no markings at all. We sometimes use phrases like "it's mostly green except for moments of black" or "relentlessly blue" to describe what to expect on a trail.

2 reply

DannyDyd Ohio // 2025
5 days ago

Not necessarily arbitrary, but so many factors to consider: technical difficulty, aerobic difficulty, independence of cyclist—can they self-recover if they’re 20 miles out on lonely singletrack?

After riding trails for 25+ years across 23 different states, I feel comfortable attempting single-black-diamond trails—even if I can’t clear every obstacle, I can get stopped and dismounted as soon as a feature looks beyond my ability.

As others have pointed out, what exactly I can expect on those black diamonds is…well, I can’t. But I can be assured it will challenge the upper limits of my personal abilities somehow.

2 reply

evnutz 2021
1 week ago

The problem in my experience is that while trail ratings might be pretty good within a region, they very wildly region to region. A Seattle area double black and a SoCal double black are two totally different things in my experience. But broadly if you treat it as "difficulty for this area" ratings you'll be fine.

2 reply

Jgriessh California // 2025
1 week ago

This has been a long running pet peeve of mine, but I understand where it originates from. I find trail ratings to be incredibly inconsistent.

At a local scale, I've seen some trails that are given relatively arbitrary ratings - two particular local trails come to mind that are both formerly moto trails. They are rated as "green" because they largely traverse flat rolling ground. However, they are both chunky and have lots of short technical bits with steep punchy climbs which renders them incredibly frustrating and difficult for novice bikers.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is often confusion with the fact that there can be so many different difficulties in more advanced riding - technical sections, jumps, skinnies, drops, etc. This ends up creating some confusion as well.

And lastly, different regions have wildly different ratings. Recently traveling to Arkansas, I found that trail ratings were overstated - then again, my home trails area are chunky and rocky.

In short, I'd love to see a system that can address the difficulty in terms of technicality, freeride, and overall physical challenge. We can all dream, right?

And then I stop and remember that half the fun of biking is exploring, so I throw that all out the window...

2 reply

[email protected] Arkansas // 2025
1 week ago

1 reply

Hap Proctor Florida // 2014
1 week ago

Generally correct, but I would think everyone has experienced ratings that seem off base, especially when traveling to a new area.

1 reply

Andy D Nevada // 2025
3 days ago

I’m a proud member of the Lifetime Noob mountain biking club so I generally stick to blue and green. I do ride some black that are over rated. I find that most black trails I ride are really only black for very short sections and are then otherwise blue and green. Examples: the Hurl at Blue Diamond in Nevada, Pandemic in Henderson Nevada, and the petrified forest park in Escalante Utah)

1 reply

[email protected] Arkansas // 2025
1 week ago

Where I’m from in Arkansas, trail difficulty ratings can vary significantly between parks. What one park designates as a blue trail might be rated green or even black at another. In some cases, a trail may be classified as black diamond solely due to a single technical feature, such as a drop. However, these features are often optional or have bypasses, making the overall trail more consistent with a blue-level difficulty. In such cases, the trail can actually be considered both, depending on whether or not you choose to ride the feature. A prime example is the Gravity Falls trail—labeled a black diamond—in Two Rivers Park in Little Rock. In reality, the trail rides at a blue level unless you choose to tackle the optional 7‑foot drop, which can be bypassed. Thus, the trail can effectively be considered both blue and black depending on whether you ride that feature.

1 reply

sasmith 2020
5 days ago

Generally, unless there’s a qualifier or warning sign at the beginning of a trail I’ll assume a single black will be okay to ride with a little caution first time. And I figure a double black just isn’t going to be fun for me so I usually steer clear. But even on a green the first time it’s always Preride, Reride before I get jiggy.

0 reply

rooharris California // 2022
1 week ago

Having written a guidebook for coastal Northern California, grading the degree of difficulty was so subjective for riders in and out of the area. The guidebook is now 14 years old and still leaves me thinking that to offer anyone a way to determine our difficulty is useless.

Not rocky but rooty types of trails are technically challenging. It is the amount of climbing that creates one trail's difficulty over another. For every mile ridden one climbs approximately 120'. So, a typical 20-mile ride is a about 2,500' in elevation gain. Riding at low elevation, the lungs are only taxed when there is a short punchy climb or a sustained climb up to a mile or more is experienced. Lots of up and down here. Too many variables to accurately establish a degree of difficulty for the average rider. So, determining trail difficulty becomes moot. Not getting lost is one's biggest challenge. One will encounter trails not found on Trail Forks while riding in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF). Reason being is management does not recognize many of the existing trails here. The 200+ miles of single and double track trails requires vigilance. So having a hard copy of the area is recommended as well.

0 reply

El Endurado Georgia // 2025
1 day ago

I agree with ppl here that ratings are area specific. I'd add that they are speed specific too. Take something like Lower Black in Pisgah. Trailforks rates it as a black diamond. But, if you roll it slow, I'd argue it's an easy blue. It's only if you want to unlock the flow by going trail speed that it truly becomes a consequential trail.

I'd argue the same for something like the 401 trail in Crested Butte. It's rated a Blue to blue black on Trail forks and MTB project. But, starting a climb at 9,500 ft and then going up another 1,500 or so is very hard for most ppl. Then, to come down an 8" bench with a steep drop to the right all while trying not to fly off the edge because you are looking at the views makes it a black diamond to me as well.

I think it all needs to be taken into account when rating a trail for someone not from the area. If I am elevation acclimated and I have seen the mountains 100 times, then the 401 is a solid blue. But if I'm in from Atlanta to ride CB for a week...that's a solid black diamond. If I'm cruising lower black because it's been a long day and I'm just trying to get back in one piece, it's a blue. If I'm trying to hit all the booters and jibs, lower black is a black indeed.

0 reply

Richard Shoop Florida // 2018
1 week ago

I have found that trail ratings in some areas do not factor in the level of exposure on a trail. The trail itself might not be that technical, but when there is a drop off of hundreds of feet on one side of you, it ratchets up the intensity level.

0 reply

frank191 Georgia // 2022
3 days ago

They tend to be accurate for each region but if you travel you will see the differences. For example, a black in GA is like a blue in NC…

0 reply

Tagged: difficulty, survey, trails

First published July 6, 2025 @ 6:53:00

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