Calling all adventure seekers! One of the best ways to experience the Adirondacks is via mountain bike. Unlike traditional cycling, mountain biking is all about the challenge of going off-road and taking on obstacles in the landscape. Don’t worry though — there are plenty of great trails to start out on if you’re a beginner.
Trails for Beginners
Heaven Hill and Henry’s Woods offer beautiful backdrops for easing into the sport. GO-Cottage’s location to them is unbeatable too! You can start on the Bear Cub Loop from the trail at Heaven Hill. The terrain is fairly easy to navigate and mostly wooded, so the foliage en route this time of year is incredible.
Henry’s Woods is a short walk (or even shorter cycle) from GO-Cottage and has a variety of trails for cross-country mountain biking: long, short, steep and flat. These trails are great to learn on. Since you’re sharing with hikers, you can take a slower pace.
Challenging Trails
If you’re a more experienced mountain biker up for a challenge, come to the Craig Wood trails and the Lussi Trails. Both have been developed for mountain biking thanks to the Barkeater Trails Alliance, aka BETA. It was founded, according to their website, “to advocate for and develop an interconnected mountain bike trail system in the region.” BETA volunteers have developed and maintained miles of trail throughout the region to ensure ideal conditions for mountain bikers.
The Craig Wood trails are adjacent to the golf course of the same name. So many of their trail names are plays on golfing terms: Putt Putt, 19th Hole and Pirate’s Cove! Come here for a totally unique set of trails, including some thrilling downhill passages.
The Lussi trails take you through private land thanks to the generosity of the family that owns it. There is also a lot of variety in the types of terrain. If you’re up for a more rigorous course you can try your luck on Cinderella Story, Lumberyard or Ty’s Ties. But if you want to take a slower, scenic route there are several trails with flat courses as well.
If you’re eager to get out on the trail but don’t want to invest in all the gear yet, there are plenty of rental options here. High Peaks Cyclery and Placid Planet Bicycles both have mountain bikes on hand. So does Mount Van Hoevenberg, which also has a scenic trail system through the pines for cross country mountain biking.
The trails are calling.. make GO-Cottage your cozy new base camp!
