More Than Meets The Eye
Rychlebské Stezky, Czechia
Expert Level Trail System
The Trail One List is our guide to the best mountain bike trails in the world. We know your riding time is precious and travel is expensive. We want you to finish these rides with a giant smile on your face and a heart full of stoke, knowing the juice was worth the squeeze.
You might not be impressed if you JUST take a look at the map of Rychlebské Stezky in Czechia. But if you are lucky enough to actually ride this place (or watch the video above) you’ll see the phrase "the map is not the terrain" come to life. Endless work has been done to create a true mountain biker’s paradise. RYS has tough, tough tech, fun, fun flow and everything in between. You will be challenged, and you will have a lot of fun.
The amenities are fantastic. They have built a great cafeteria, bathrooms, showers, bike stands, plenty of parking and a creekside “chill zone” that is a perfect place to relax between laps.
One day of riding here is not enough, give yourself at least two days to explore all the trails and push yourself to take on some tough challenges.
Every trailbuilder and trail center manager needs to visit this place to experience a world class operation.
If you're driving in from Europe there is camping available at the trail center, as well as several local accommodations that cater to mountain bikers.
If you're coming from somewhere outside of Europe your best bet is to book the Moravian tour with Czech MTB Holidays. That trip includes two days of riding at RYS and plenty of other great Czechian trails.
Downhill Done Right
Revelstoke, British Columbia
Expert Level - 6 mile trail
The Trail One List is our guide to the best mountain bike trails in the world. We know your riding time is precious and travel is expensive. We want you to finish these rides with a giant smile on your face and a heart full of stoke, knowing the juice was worth the squeeze.
British Columbia, Canada, is known for really tough and techy trails. There’s a fine line between a crazy FUN trail and a crazy DANGEROUS one. Martha Creek lands in the FUN category and has endless fast, rocky tech that works every part of your brain and body. Your hands and forearms will be screaming after the first few minutes, and that’s just the start. It’s a 5,000 foot descent that you’ll remember for a while.
It may be weird to call this trail "sustainable,” but it seems to be holding up really well compared to so many of the fan-favorite B.C. trails that started out as loamers 10 years ago but today are just fall line ruts.
Martha Creek is a BIG mountain adventure with a huge payoff. Bring fresh brake pads!
You can do the giant 10 mile, 5,000 foot fire road climb if you're feeling up to it! But most people shuttle up to the top. Wandering Wheels offers great local shuttles and guiding.
Revelstoke has quite a few GREAT mountain bike rides and a bike park.
Pisgah Perfection
Western North Carolina
Expert Level - 14 mile route
The Trail One List is our guide to the best mountain bike trails in the world. We know your riding time is precious and travel is expensive. We want you to finish these rides with a giant smile on your face and a heart full of stoke, knowing the juice was worth the squeeze.
Pisgah National Forest in Western North Carolina is an overwhelming maze of trails. If you’ve just got one day to get out there and have fun, the high speed tech of Avery Creek and Bennet Gap will give you something to remember.
Usually trails fall into the "tech" or "flow" category, but the trails in Pisgah are a fantastic blend of fast riding with chunky obstacles the whole way down.
It is quite amazing how an old and eroded logging road can somehow be a perfect canvas for an amazing mountain bike trail. Pisgah Area Sorba works hard on these trails to keep them from falling into disrepair, but they also work to keep the rugged and raw charm of their trails.
Double check your bolts and brakes and everything else before you get out on this high-speed bone shaker adventure.
The two trails are mainly accessed by dirt roads, so the climbing is relatively easy even though there’s a LOT of it. Pain & Pleasure!
There is a decently big gravel parking lot at the start of the ride, park here. There is no water and no restrooms at the trailhead.
The lot gets very busy on weekends and holidays, so show up early. You most likely won't see hikers in the far reaches of the park, but when you get closer to the parking lot keep your eyes peeled and bike under control.
If you want to take things up another level you can hit Farlow Gap, which is the downright crazy techy downhill we named our slim grips after. Another big adventure is doing the "Full Black" route with a long road climb and some hike a bike to the top of Black Mountain.
]]>Two days of all-out fun
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Intermediate & Expert Level
The Trail One List is our guide to the best mountain bike trails in the world. We know your riding time is precious and travel is expensive. We want you to finish these rides with a giant smile on your face and a heart full of stoke, knowing the juice was worth the squeeze.
It is the joy of my life to get blown away by a previously unknown trail system with a couple positive reviews. Spence Mountain has flown under the radar for too long, this place is a must-ride destination in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Spence is broken up into the north side and the south side. The north has the tough, techy fun that somehow still flows. There are some extra spicy rock gardens, drops and pure jank that will put your tech skills to the test.
The Nighthawk trail is a true masterpiece. It's 2 miles long, descends about 1,000 feet and manages to feel ENDLESS. It is just sublime to see NO WASTED ELEVATION. If this trail was built 10 years ago it would point straight downhill and would be a rutted mess after three seasons. Instead you've got a WICKED ride that is so much more fun and sustainable than old school fall line garbage.
North Ridge trail spices things up quite a bit more, and I wouldn't argue if it had double black diamond trail rating. I think the best day on the north side would be spent riding Nighthawk then North Ridge and then Nighthawk again.
The south has the high speed, machine built super speedway action. If you’re an intermediate rider, stick to the south side and you’ll have a great day. The Hooligan trail had some fun bits and pieces, but if you want to squeeze the most fun out of your day just do two laps on Speed King and ride the lightning the whole way down.
Spence Mountain has two different parking lots. If you're riding the north side, park in the Shoalwater Bay lot, if you're riding the south side you should park near the highway. The "lappy" nature of the mountain means you are never too far from your car at the end of a run and it's easy to refuel after each descent.
There is a free camping area at Eagle Ridge County Park about 10 minutes north of the Shoalwater parking lot. It's not much of a park, but it does have a pit toilet, boat launch and 92 million mosquitos.
If you’re roadtripping from the San Francisco Bay Area and headed to Bend or Oakridge, Klamath falls is a great first stop along the way. Crater Lake is also along the way if you're heading north.
]]>Supersonic Shuttles
Oakridge, Oregon
Intermediate Level - 11 miles of shuttles
The Trail One List is our guide to the best mountain bike trails in the world. We know your riding time is precious and travel is expensive. We want you to finish these rides with a giant smile on your face and a heart full of stoke, knowing the juice was worth the squeeze.
Oakridge, Oregon, is filled to the brim with fast and flowy runs in lush green forests that are almost all accessible with shuttles. Describing these trails as "fast" might be selling things a bit short. The sense of speed on the wide open sections is unlike anything else I've experienced on a bike.
If you’ve only got one day to experience Oakridge, the best of the best is the Lawler / Hardesty double shuttle. It’s a little confusing to figure out logistically, but once you’ve done the shuttle math it is one of the most fun days you can have on the bike.
Everything in Oakridge is really good, but Lawler and Hardesty are GREAT. You get two big, fast descents and smiles for miles. The biggest problem with the riding in Oakridge is hypersonic speed combined with flat, no berm turns. Lawler and Hardesty have a few of these “Oakridge okey dokes”, but it’s the least of all the trails.
Shuttles are offered by CogWild and TransCascadia Excursions. I've taken shuttles from both companies and they are both great operations.
If you're taking CogWild to do the double day, here's how they describe the logistics:
Oakridge is a very small town with only a handful of food and accomodation options.
TransCascadia Excursions is developing a campground in Westfir that will be a crown jewel when finished. Check their website to see if things have opened yet.
The Oakridge Trails Alliance does trailwork in the area and keeps these amazing trails alive.
One of my favorite swimming holes of all time is here in Westfir. My last trip was during a heavy duty heatwave and cooling off in the Willamette River was an awesome relief. Oakridge Greenwaters Park also has water access, but that fork of the river was deadly cold, even in 100° heat!
If you’ve got more time to spend in Oakridge, the Alpine shuttle should be the next one on your list. Dead Mountain and Larison Rock are both fun runs, but over a bit too quickly. Eula Ridge starts out with a pretty awful set of crazy steep and loose rock chutes but then turns into a flowy masterpiece where everything is built right and just works. Eula Ridge can be reached with the Hardesty Shuttle, but Cog Wild doesn’t even list the trail on their website, if that’s any indication.
]]>The Best Trails Money Can Buy
Bentonville, Arkansas
Intermediate and Advanced Level
The Trail One List is our guide to the best mountain bike trails in the world. We know your riding time is precious and travel is expensive. We want you to finish these rides with a giant smile on your face and a heart full of stoke, knowing the juice was worth the squeeze.
The Trail One list is focused on finding the MOST FUN mountain bike trails in the world, and I don’t think there’s another place on Earth that packs more fun riding into every mile than Coler Mountain Bike Preserve in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Bentonville gets a lot of skepticism from folks who think great mountain bike trails need mountains. Great mountain bike trails can be built just about anywhere, you just need great, creative trail builders. Northwest Arkansas has plenty of those!
If you start your ride on the south side your first trail has to be Thunder Dome. You and a friend can race down this super speedway dual slalom over and over. After about 5 runs on Thunder Dome you’ll want to get a downhill run on Family Flow, one of the best green-rated trails ever.
There’s a few other trails worth trying out in this zone, Here’s Johnny! is manically tough and techy adventure. But after checking out Thunder Dome and Family Flow most folks zoom up the paved Applegate Trail to The Homestead where you’ll find the awesome walk-in only Airship Coffee shop.
After a little refreshment keep heading north to The Hub, which has another handful of just fantastic singletrack. Fire Line is a local favorite, with tons of fun jumps. Cease And Desist gets into the BIG jump territory where you can take on the mythical Drop the Hammer.
It’s easy to get lap after lap because of the paved climbing trail called Pedal Assist.
Rock Salad, Rock Soft and Rock Solid are all INTENSE treats worth trying once. Then you pick your favorite and run it back three or four times.
Heading back to the car on Copperhead Road is a fun challenge, but you can always just take the paved trail and soak in the beautiful views as you decompress.
Bike lanes make it easy to ride into Coler from Downtown Bentonville.
Restrooms, water fill up, bike repair stations and seating are available throughout the park.
It’s really priceless to have an accommodation that is close to the Bentonville town square. This AirBnB is very centrally located and makes it easy to bike everywhere.
Camping is available near the north end of the park. The Coler Campground has hot showers, water bottle refill, a community fire pit, camper van spots, large tent sites and small tent sites.
Friends of Arkansas Single Track (FAST) and Ozark Off-Road Cyclists do trail work and support the trails at Coler.
Some food favorites in Bentonville:
The Bentonville area has SO MANY rides to choose from, and if you’re willing to drive a couple hours you can basically stay here for a month and do a different ride every single day. Here are some great rides closer to the Bentonville Town Square.
Slaughter Pen
The endlessly expanding Mountain Bike Disneyland is arguably just as fun as Coler. Most Bentonville vacations are spent in this zone. Keep exploring or you will miss some of the best hidden gems, like the Castle Trails to the northeast.
Mount Fitzgerald
Well worth the drive down to Springdale, this zone has the “Best Trail Ever” and some REALLY fun, short flow trails to the south. The route below is a good way to ride this area.
]]>The California Classic
South Lake Tahoe, California
Advanced Level - 20 mile route
The Trail One List is our guide to the best mountain bike trails in the world. We know your riding time is precious and travel is expensive. We want you to finish these rides with a giant smile on your face and a heart full of stoke, knowing the juice was worth the squeeze.
There’s nothing quite like summer in South Lake Tahoe. The sky always seems to be its best version of blue (unless there’s a nearby wildfire). The massive trees and giant rocks look like they’ve been arranged and placed on purpose to make every turn into a stunning vista. You see stuff like this in magazines, but it’s hard to really “get it” until you’ve ridden it.
OK, enough with the scenery. Saxon Creek Trail, AKA Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is a ripping fun downhill with some tricky tech obstacles and plenty of fun flow. It could be a barren wasteland and still be worthy of The Trail One List. In fact, some of the bottom sections have become scorched earth after a recent fire, but the trail is still running good.
This trail has been ridden by mountain bikes for as long as mountain bikes have existed, so it’s been a crowd pleaser for at least 40 years.
This ride can be done as a big loop with around 3,000 feet of climbing over 20 miles or with a shuttle.
Even with a shuttle drop off at Luther Pass you’ll be climbing 1,200 feet on the Tucker Flat portion of the Tahoe Rim Trail.
Either way, this ride is a bit of a lung buster for anyone not used to the altitude. Starting the ride at 6,400 feet of elevation isn’t so bad, but when you get closer to 9,000 feet you’ll feel it. This is a ride you’ll want to bring more water and snacks than usual so it doesn’t turn into a full-on sufferfest.
There’s a small parking lot at the start of Fountain Place Road which works great if you’re doing the full loop. There are no bathrooms or water available at the parking lot.
TAMBA takes care of this and many other trails in the Lake Tahoe area.
This route is usually rideable July through October depending on snow. Trailforks should have reliable data on trail closures.
The Luther Pass Campground is a free, but very busy option if you want to camp nearby. Otherwise South Lake Tahoe is a very tourist-friendly place with hotel options.
Some food favorites in the South Lake Tahoe area:
Lakeside Beach is a really nice beach close to the state line, but it’s $25 per person.
Sand Harbor Beach is a fantastic beach, but fills up almost immediately in the morning. Come later in the day after a ride and you should be able to get in.
The Trail One List is our guide to the best mountain bike trails in the world. We know your riding time is precious and travel is expensive. We want you to finish these rides with a giant smile on your face and a heart full of stoke, knowing the juice was worth the squeeze.
Portal in Moab, Utah, is a truly ridiculous mountain biking experience that requires expert level skills and fitness. People have died on this ride and many more have had a terrible time because they overestimated their abilities.
You may have also heard this ride referred to as The Magnificent 7, or Mag 7 as it traverses through seven different trails: Getaway, Bull Run, Arth's Corner, Little Canyon, Goldbar, Gold Bar Rim and Portal. The route I suggest cuts out Arth's Corner and stays on Great Escape.
If you want to attempt this ride you should first take on Captain Ahab to see if your technical skills are up to snuff. If you can clear EVERY feature (climbing and descending) on Captain Ahab then you've got a chance on Portal.
If you walk your bike around any of the obstacles on Captain Ahab you will be walking your bike for MILES on the Portal ride. I am completely serious. Before you ever make it to the deadly chunder of Portal, you have to get through the seriously silly test of Gold Bar Rim. You will face miles of crazy tech climbs and descents over and over again.
If you want to attempt this ride and want to see if your fitness is up to snuff, you should first take on The Whole Enchilada. If you can make it through that massive test of endurance without running out of food or water then you've got a chance on Portal.
By the way, all the REAL stuff on this ride doesn't start until about 16 miles in. Many, many riders go through all of their water, food and daylight before they ever make it to Portal.
If you make it to the Portal trail in good health after all the trials and tribulations you are in for a treat. The payoff is seriously fast, terrifying, challenging and everything an expert level mountain bike ride should be. I think it's The King Of The Double Black Diamonds for a reason.
Moab is absolutely brutal in the Summer. You are taking your life into your own hands if you go out into the 100+ degree heat thinking "It's a shuttle ride, how bad could it be?" Spring and Fall are the best times to visit.
We took Moab Cyclery's MAG7 shuttle for $30 per person to start the ride. Whole Enchilada Shuttle Company is a great option as well.
I highly recommend parking a vehicle at the end of the Portal trail. Riding the road another 8 friggin' miles after going through hell is not my idea of a good time.
Don't do this ride alone, but don't do it with a giant group either. You will be out in the sun, waiting around for hours as your group suffers mechanicals, injuries and various other calamities. Go with a very small group of very good bike riders.
Moab is a touristy town, with tons of options for lodging and food.
My favorite choice for Mexican food is Fiesta Mexicana.
Milt's Stop & Eat is great for a burger and fries.
The Perfect Loop
Moab, Utah
Expert Level - 9 mile route
The Trail One List is our guide to the best mountain bike trails in the world. We know your riding time is precious and travel is expensive. We want you to finish these rides with a giant smile on your face and a heart full of stoke, knowing the juice was worth the squeeze.
If you're going to Moab for an expert-level experience, THIS is the trail you want to start your trip with. If you can make it through the entire trail without walking then you'll be ready for the next challenge of The Whole Enchilada. If Captain Ahab is a bit too much then you'll want to go ride some loops at Klondike Bluffs or Navajo Rocks.
If you've ridden the classic, "life or death" Portal trail in Moab, it's a bit hard to see why Captain Ahab also warrants a double black diamond rating.
There are some tricky bits and pieces, along with a few exposed spots on Ahab, but no mandatory gaps or massive drops.
But most folks that ride this trail suffer from selective amnesia, conveniently forgetting about the number of times they had to hop off their bikes and walk around all of the real deal climbing challenges.
I will admit that Captain Ahab is a "soft" double black diamond, but it still requires a TON of respect. You'll need every trick in your tool belt to get through this trail without walking.
There's a special magic to Ahab when you get into the flow of busting through a crazy climbing challenge, crest a hill and then point downhill for a thrilling mini-descent. This is the perfect loop. All killer, no filler.
Moab is absolutely brutal in the Summer. You are taking your life into your own hands if you go out into the 100+ degree heat thinking "It's only 9 miles, how bad could it be?" During the winter Captain Ahab has the best chance of being clear of ice and snow when other trails are unrideable. Spring and Fall are the best times to visit.
The Amasa Back parking lot is located here and cell phone service is very limited. Make sure to load up Google Maps and Trailforks directions before you head out.
The parking lot has a simple toilet with privacy for changing clothes. There is no water available in the area.
Captain Ahab is the only ride I would be willing to do with a big group of people in Moab. There are lots of places to stop and wait, and the final stretch of trail is one-way directional. If you do a big group ride on The Whole Enchilada or Portal you will be out in the sun, waiting around for hours as your group suffers mechanicals, injuries and various other calamities.
Moab is a touristy town, with tons of options for lodging and food.
My favorite choice for Mexican food is Fiesta Mexicana.
Milt's Stop & Eat is great for a burger and fries.
The Trail One List is our guide to the best mountain bike trails in the world. We know your riding time is precious and travel is expensive. We want you to finish these rides with a giant smile on your face and a heart full of stoke, knowing the juice was worth the squeeze.
Machine-built "flow" trails have been popping up all over the world in recent years. Some mountain bikers think of flow as a four letter word because it usually means the trail will be a highway with no rugged or natural features. When a flow trail is done wrong it deserves criticism, but when a flow trail is done right it's an awesome experience. The Soquel Demonstration Forest Flow Trail in Santa Cruz is beyond awesome, it's one of the best trails in the world.
The Flow Trail is three and a half miles of pure fun that almost every mountain biker will have a blast on. The climb to the top and the climb back to the car, however, won't be a blast for most folks. The price is worth paying, and if you're feeling good after your first run you've GOTTA do it again.
This flow trail is not a wide highway, most of it is a regular width singletrack ribbon rolling up, down and around the hillside. There are massive berms to help you stay in the zone and keep your speed dialed in. There's a lot of diving and dodging through the trees as you make your way to the bottom -- it is about the furthest thing from boring you can do on two wheels.
Because this is a trail that can be ridden by almost anyone, you may have riders coming up FAST behind you. Stay alert and pull over if you sense someone coming. If you are pulling up behind a slower rider, give a "Coming up behind you" shout and hopefully they'll get the message and pull over. Weekdays are a great way to have the trail all to yourself as weekends are almost always jam packed.
The Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship keeps this trail, and most all of the trails in this area in tip top shape. When it rains it's best to stay away from the trail for a few days to make sure the trail dries out. The harder it rained, the longer we stay away.
There are several other trail options you can do in Soquel that will leave you with a smile on your face. I've done them all and still prefer doing two laps on The Flow Trail. The most common route is to climb up Aptos Creek Road and then ride Ridge Trail to Flow. Then climb back up Sulphur Springs and hit Braille.
The parking lot is located here and cell phone service is very limited on the drive in. Make sure to load up directions before you head out. The road in is a very narrow road and you will encounter oncoming cars.
Parking is hectic on the weekends, arrive early or late for a less stressful day. There have been MANY reports of smash and grab car break ins with cars parked on the road. I try to park inside the dirt lot that is over the bridge, as it feels more safe. But there are no guarantees either way. HIDE YOUR STUFF.
This ride can be done year round. The area can be cold in the winter and very hot in the summer, if you Google "Soquel Demonstration State Forest weather" you can get an idea of what you're in for.
By car, Soquel is 1 hour and 5 minutes from SFO Airport and 40 minutes from downtown Santa Cruz.
The Summit Store has great sandwiches and is the closest spot to grab a post-ride meal.
The Views, The Terror, The Total Package
Sedona, Arizona
Expert Level - 8 mile route
The Trail One List is our guide to the best mountain bike trails in the world. We know your riding time is precious and travel is expensive. We want you to finish these rides with a giant smile on your face and a heart full of stoke, knowing the juice was worth the squeeze.
Sedona, Arizona, has three really tough and fantastic rides that keep people coming back every year: Hiline, The Hogs and Hangover. Hangover is the toughest of the bunch, with high consequences around every turn. Sometimes it feels more like mountaineering than mountain biking.
The red rocks of Sedona are really something special, with some of the best "shoulder season" riding in the US. The photo on the left is on The White Line, which you can check out while riding The Hogs. When temperatures back home are frigid and miserable, Fall and Spring in Sedona can be quite perfect. But of course the weather can always turn wonky -- it snowed in March during the Sedona MTB festival a few years back. In that case we were able to escape to Phoenix for a great day of riding.
The tough, technical riding in Sedona can be quite the shock for the first timer. On the expert level trails you are constantly fighting the terrain and every mile feels like two. The Hangover route is not much more than an 8 mile loop, but I've never felt cheated by the end of a ride.
There are plenty of intermediate trails available in Sedona, but they don't jump out as "must ride" options. You need to bring your A game if you want to survive the desert tech, so practice on every awkward trail back home before you take this challenge.
If you've got Hangover on your list, the best plan of attack is to spend three days in Sedona.
On day one you'll want to ride Hiline, a great introduction to Sedona and some really beautiful jank. This ride takes you through some amazing scenery and a few really tough obstacles.
This 11.5 mile route felt like it was twice as long. Climbing Made in the Shade is a real test right out of the gate, climb Slim Shady if you want to go a bit easier.
If you make it through Hiline without walking, you're ready to move on to the next challenge.
The Hogs should be your target for day two. There are a few different ways to tackle this mishmash of trails, but I like the suggested route above.
Even though this is a much shorter route, this ride is a step up from Hiline, with more exposure and more consistent awkward challenges.
I've included a few fun detours that are worth checking out, keep an eye on the map so you don't add on extra miles. You don't need to ride The White Line but it's really worth checking out up close to see what all the fuss is about. I've also included the little techy section down into Little Horse. After you clear that section turn back around and take on an insane climbing challenge.
If you can ride The Hogs confidently without walking any features, the next level up is Hangover on the third day.
And Hangover is definitely on another level. Tons of tough climbing and descending challenges. Mega steeps and terrifying exposure are common. It's very high consequence, but feels so good when you conquer it.
If you walked the tough stuff on Hiline and The Hogs you will be walking your bike for most of the day on Hangover -- and most of the challenges on Hangover are even dangerous to walk.
This ride is something you build up to after years of riding sketchy, tough tech. Anyone that can ride this trail without hopping off their bike deserves a medal.
By car, Sedona is about 2 hours from Phoenix, 4.5 hours from Las Vegas and 7.5 hours from Los Angeles.
Thunder Mountain Bikes is your go-to bike shop for premium rentals, trail info, repairs and answering any random questions.
Almost every trailhead has limited parking and traffic jams are common on busy days.
Sedona is a big tourist town, so lodging and dining is readily available.
Highly recommended post ride food: