Gas prices in the United States haven’t been this low in almost 7 years.
Let that sink in for a minute.
If you’ve been thinking about taking a mountain biking road trip but have been putting it off for one reason or another, now is the time to fuel up your vehicle, load the bikes on the rack, and hit the road in search of sublime singletrack. The only problem is, with winter in full swing across the northern hemisphere, the places to score dry trails are few and far between. But we’re here to help you out: these are the 3 best US road trips that you should take right now while gas is below $2 per gallon:
California Coast
One of the most temperate climates in the United States exists along the coast of California. This area is doubly well-suited to a mountain biking road trip since California is the birthplace of mountain biking and there are thousands of miles of trails spread throughout the mountains there. It would be impossible to ride all of the trails in California on one road trip, so here I’m only including some of the very best, most popular, and lowest-elevation trails.
Now, exactly where you start this road trip depends on where you live, or where you decide you want to fly into and out of. Below I’ve outlined this as a point-to-point route running from south to north since, if you decide to spend enough time on this trip, you could potentially follow the progress of spring and even warmer, milder temperatures up the coast.
The first stop on your road trip should undoubtedly be the San Diego area. While I have yet to ride there myself, San Diego is home to warm temps year-round and a wealth of mountain bike trails. While reportedly some of the best trails aren’t on any of the maps, the most popular San Diego trails ranked on Singletracks include Spring Canyon, Nobel Canyon, and Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.
Next, head north toward LA and hit the San Juan Trail, one of the top-rated trails in California, on the way. Before you get up into LA proper, be sure to ride the classic trails down in Orange County, including true coastal trails at Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, Laguna Coast Wilderness, and the Luge Trail.
Heading north through LA, be sure to hit El Prieto, the locals’ favorite, and shuttle Mount Lowe. These were two of my favorite trails from my own California road trip, so don’t miss these!
While I personally didn’t have a chance to stop in Santa Barbara during my California road trip, the riding here, and at San Ysidro, is renowned. Similarly, I didn’t have a chance to ride in San Luis Obispo, but the riding here is also well-known, with Montana De Oro State Park, located right on the coast, as one of the most popular trails.
Continuing north, be sure to stop at the expansive Fort Ord Trail System in Monterey. The home of the Sea Otter Classic, this trail system is well-worth a visit even if the festival isn’t going on.
Next up is Santa Cruz, which is home to a wealth of trails. However, the one must-ride trail is the Soquel Demonstration Forest, which is home to some extremely entertaining, aggressive singletrack. Upon reaching the Demo Forest and heading north into the Bay Area, the climate changes to a much more lush, rainforest feel. The massive redwoods of El Corte De Madera Open Space are guaranteed to accentuate this feeling, and you can’t miss out on the sweet singletrack beneath them!
Finally we reach the birthplace of mountain biking: Marin County. Camp Tamarancho is hands-down the best bike legal trail system in the county, so be sure to hit that up.
As you head north from the Bay Area temperatures continue to drop, but generally the coastal areas stay mild all year round. However, beyond this point you’ll need to keep a sharp eye on the weather to spot abrupt temperature drops and monsoonal rains. But if you’re up for a real adventure and haven’t had enough mountain biking yet, here are a few more trails to take you north through California:
- Annadel State Park, Santa Rosa
- Big River Trail, Mendocino
- Paradise Royale, Whitehorn
- And if you want to get all the way up to the Oregon border, be sure to check out High Dome Trail outside of Crescent City
If you were to complete this epic road trip you’d have driven over a thousand miles, ridden hundreds of miles of singletrack, and seen some of the most beautiful places that our country has to offer… all in the middle of “winter”! Let’s get this adventure started!
-Greg Heil
Desert Southwest
Living on Colorado’s Front Range is magnificent, with stellar biking in the summer and skiing in the winter. But even the most ardent skier may wish to escape winter and sink knobbies into dry dirt. Fortunately, it’s easy to build a road trip that will take one through world class mountain biking in each of the four corners states (with a slight detour to Sin City). While our theoretical trip starts in Denver, it could almost as easily be tapped into from Salt Lake City, Cheyenne, or any other location along the way.
The first stop is only a few miles from home, in Pueblo (Colorado’s Banana Belt). The trails at Lake Pueblo State Park are usually dry and give you the option of gnarly, rock-strewn descents in the canyon or miles of cross country riding on the prairie above the reservoir.
Next, we hit trails in the land of the great green chile, New Mexico. Albuquerque’s Foothills trails are beautiful, usually dry, and await your knobbies. Outside of town is the unique White Mesa, rated #1 in New Mexico on Singletracks.
Then it’s over to Tucson, AZ. For maximum gnar, arrange a shuttle on the relentless, attention-demanding La Milagrosa trail. For something more easy going but still unique and fun, head for the fast and furious Fantasy Island or the giant Saguaro forest of the Sweetwater Preserve. For a good mix, go to the 50 Year trail.
A short jaunt up the road is the Phoenix megalopolis, which is filled and surrounded with top quality singletrack. The gnar seekers head straight for South Mountain and the infamous National Trail network. For killer scenery and the most entertaining singletrack, make your way to Gold Canyon, and for miles of stellar cross country, north of town is the Black Canyon trail, rated #1 in Arizona.
A jog west will take you to Las Vegas, home to the world-famous Bootleg Canyon trails, featuring everything from butt-behind-the-seat downhills to miles of rolling desert cross country singletrack. For better scenery and endless miles of quality singletrack, cross to the other side of town and hit up the huge network around Blue Diamond.
In the biggest, quickest culture shock, you then go from the land of debauchery to the most conservative state in the union, but regardless of your political persuasion, you will love the trail offerings around St. George, UT. Pick any of the three mesas above Hurricane: Gooseberry Mesa, Little Creek Mountain, or the Guacamole Trail. If you stay on the south end of town, you can ride the likes of the Zen Trail or Bearclaw Poppy right from your hotel.
One last stop in Moab will round out the trip nicely. Moab can be iffy in the winter, but chances are good you’ll find dry trails. If you don’t want to stray too far off the interstate on your way home, the easy Klonzo trails or wonderfully-varied Brands trails make an easy detour.
-John Fisch
Southern Appalachians
If you’ve ever ridden in the Southeastern United States, you know that it is uniquely beautiful. Choosing an ideal route was difficult given the density of excellent trails, but it makes the most sense to conduct a trip that starts close to the Atlanta area and loops through Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, with trails that can satisfy riders of every ability. Enter this loop from any of the destinations below, and hit as many as you have time for.
Our journey begins with a short drive up Hwy 5 from Atlanta to Woodstock, GA to access Blankets Creek, a tasty 15-mile network of trails consisting of three serpentine loops and 871 feet of climbing. This trail is squarely an intermediate trail, but anyone can ride the smooth ribbons that wind along the lake. Expert riders pumping the rollers and blasting sharp corners won’t be able to wipe the grin off their faces. A small, but legit, jump park is hidden in the middle as a bonus.
From Woodstock, head an hour northeast on Hwy 19 to Dahlonega, GA, a hidden gem with miles of singletrack, and a mecca for roadies with scenic rolling hills and long climbs. A few short minutes west of town on Hwy 52 you can access the venerable Bull/Jake Mountain trails, the very definition of an IMBA epic. With over 30+ miles of trails in this network, you can rack up more than 2000 feet of climbing through lush Georgia forests, an unforgettable experience that will take you hours.
I recommend food, lodging, and rest, because the next destinatinon will be the sections of the Pinhoti Trail known as P1, P2, and (maybe) P3, west of Ellijay—about an hour due west of Dahlonega on Hwy 52. I recommend stopping by Cartecay Bike Shop to say “hi” to Mike Palmeri and tool up your ride, and staying at Mulberry Gap Mountain Bike Resort for the night to get a fresh start. It’s easiest to get a shuttle from the Mulberry Gap staff, because you’ll do 13 miles with almost 2200 ft of climbing on P1 and P2, with another 6 miles and 1300 feet as an optional out-and-back on P3–all before returning to your Gap camp via a dirt road. This is Appalachian backcountry, so be prepared and ride smart. You are likely to see more bears than people, with lots of climbs followed by fast descents.
Get fresh legs and hightail it another hour north on Hwy 411 for Ocoee, TN to sample the 30 miles of the Tanasi Trail System. This system has tight switchbacks, rocks, steep ups/downs, and a whole lotta fun on red clay dirt. Grab a quick bite, then rest while you drive a little over an hour to Hayesville, NC on Hwy 64 to the Jackrabbit Trails for the ultimate cool down ride. This 13-mile beauty is an easy loop that anyone can do, but super fast and fun for shredders. A must-do.
Lastly, head for the hills of Tsali near Almond, NC, off Hwy 28. You could spend days here rafting, hiking, fishing, and of course riding, but the four clover-style loops that the Tsali Trail System offer are unbeatable. Almost 30 miles of flowy, smooth, pedally singletrack with breathtaking views of the emerald North Carolina mountains beckon you, as you depart right from the campground at the trailhead. Note: you cannot ride all loops in one day due to shared usage.
All this in only 350 miles and 7 hours of total driving–it is the ultimate Southern roadtrip to make the memories of a lifetime–on the cheap!
-Michael Paul
Looking to travel with your fat bike? Stay tuned…
As a San Diego resident the past 30 years who spent his first 20 in Orange County, I’m going to help save your readers of SINGLETRACKS dot com some time. My suggestion is to ride Nobel Canyon and then head straight to the San Juan Trail in Orange County. Aside form Nobel, nothing is truly worthy of a destination ride. Cuyamaca has it’s moments but has too many fire roads necessary to link up a good loop and as for Spring Canyon, that’s just one section of Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP). The only reason MTRP is so popular is because is the one place in the dead center of SD County that the masses can get to easily for a quickie ride after work. The only reason is even remotely qualifies as “mountain” biking is because you’re riding on dirt.
As for Orange County, the San Juan Trail is definitely the crown jewel up there and has a high rate fun factor. As for the others mentioned in OC, the views can be awesome but with the exception of The Luge itself, they wouldn’t rate any special attention in my book. Let’s put it this way, if you put the so called “trails” of Aliso Woods or the Laguna Coast in St George or Santa Cruz, they’d disappear due to overgrowth because nobody would bother with them.
I’m with ya 110% once you get up to Santa Cruz!! 🙂
Honestly, I agree with your analysis. But you didn’t provide alternatives in your comment 🙂
The rub is that there are only so many trails that are dry and open to bikes right now, and while these might not be the best trails ever, they’re probably riding really well as we speak. That’s more than can be said for about 75% of the trails in the nation.
So this list definitely isn’t a round-up of the best trails ever. It’s a round up of some of the best trails that are dry and rideable RIGHT NOW. And I think these trails fit that bill.
Well, that’s because there aren’t many *worthy* trails worth mentioning. The Idyllwild area has an area know as The Hub that can be a lot of fun if you’re prepared to climb, fly down, climb again, rip down and repeat…you get the idea. Hurkey Creek was also up there and it was my favorite SoCal ride, a true 20+ mile loop that has a lil’ bit of everything and was 90% single track. It burned 2 years ago. Rumors are this Spring we’ll be allowed back on it. I hope so.
With our current conditions and definitely not always the case in January, the Santa Ana River Trail up towards Big Bear is also awesome…we do it as a 16 mile shuttle but there’s still about 5 miles of climbing in that, 4 miles of it being on a dirt road back up to your car 🙁 but it’s worth every pedal stroke. I’d ride it every weekend if I lived closer.
Up in North San Diego County where I live, we have La Costa, Daley Ranch & Tunnels (technically illegal but rarely enforced). All are okay day trips when you live here but aside from Daley, I wouldn’t take my friends to them. If MTRP was the last place to ride, I’d probably be a road biker or start jumping out of airplanes 😉
I totally agree with you. The Aliso Woods area is absolutely NOT classic. It’s an okay place to ride in OC. When someone recommends hitting a place like this on a road trip, it makes me question all of their recommendations. It is incredibly frustrating to read a trail review, then get there and find that it’s nothing like you expect. PLEASE, don’t use the word “classic” for stuff like this!
Don’t even get me started on Fantasy Island or 50 Year Trail….
Woo, Singletracks is giving the southeast some love. I’m so glad Pinhoti and Bull mountain were included, my two favorite trails in Georgia. I would probably replace Tsali and Jackrabbit with Raccoon mountain due to the incredible Live Wire section and trail miles, but you guys just planned out my next trip.
Agreed, Raccoon Mtn. and honestly other trails in the Chattanooga area like Enterprise South are a worthy stop on a SE winter road trip. The trails in Chattanooga are, like the Pinhoti trail, pretty rocky which means they stay ridable through the winter when other places–like Bull Mountain–become a sticky mud pit.
+1. I said essentially the same thing on our Facebook page. I’d personally throw 5-Points into the mix–I still stand behind my assertion that 5 Points is the best trail system in GA.
I agree, 5-points is very cool. I just wonder how those trails, especially the bermy spots, hold up in wet conditions?
Good question. But a lot of those trails seemed very shaley (sp?). I would imagine that shale rock would drain pretty well. Probably varies a good bit from trail to trail in that system.
Racoon is good. Pisgah is great. Coldwater mountain would be awesome too. Agreed, there are several deviations to this, and I would have included all of them, but only had 500 words to cram all this in (so blame Greg). 🙂
Seriously, the south has a ton of trails and it was hard to choose. I did choose ones that made a good loop, and that I’ve rode several times in different conditions and was banking on them being dry.
Good luck. Have fun! Happy trails!
I think you should have included the Aska trail system in your Ellijay, Georgia report. It is about 6 miles outside of Blue Ridge, GA on Aska Road. It includes, the Turkey Farm Loop, Long Branch, Green Mountain, Flat Creek, and Stanley Gap. Heck, Stanley Gap as an out and back is a butt kicker and great single track. I rode the entire system on 1/25/15 and it was great. Rode Flat Creek twice so I could get it in Both Directions.
I am always amazed at just how little known the riding in the Redding/Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is. It is the true northern part of California and hosts enough forest singletrack to keep a big smile on your face for days and days on end. I’ve been fortunate to ride many places including Utah, Colorado, Pisgah, Oakridge, and elsewhere. I wouldn’t trade any of them for what we have here. Of course, most associate us with the blistering summer heat (but Whiskeytown Lake is one of the country’s very best places to recreate on a summer day especially following a great ride), but this area boasts year round riding, well designed trails that drain quickly, a vast system that offers riders of all abilities so much to choose from, and is home to the Lemurian Shasta Classic race on the last Saturday each April. Get me your mailing address and I’ll send you a guide book. Next time you do a feature on traveling to mountain biking nirvanas, I hope you will give the Redding/Whiskeytown National Recreation Area a shout. It is truly an exceptional mountain biking recreation area.
Great options in each loop. Wish I’d read this article before traveling from Portland to the San Diego area in October. Rode some of the listed trails ….Paradise Royale (Shelter Cove: where Appalachia meets the Pacific), El Prieto and Noble Canyon, but would have added a couple more if I’d been aware. Looking for a Southeastern loop sometime soon; have to do a little maintenance on myself first.
Well that’s a huge Bike riding Trail. Fascinated with the Biking sport