[MTB_Rob_NC]

Ok well it is the slow time of the month for me and this conversation keeps coming up in my group of friends.

Where are the great places for MTBike vacations for the all around Mountain Biker. Let me give you a little background. Ok, I am from Florida (who woulda guessed), and I ride a Heckler. I love Epic riding and am Fit enough to ride 20-40 miles in a day (more Downhill than up please, shuttling Epic trails is GREAT!). I also happen to really like technical riding. I took my Heckler to SnowShoe and just lowered the seat and went at it. (Granted if I lived there I would get a bigger bike, but the amount of hucking/abuse my Heckler can take is probably perfectly matched to the size of my testicles and skillset).
We have "decent" riding year round here in FL. From my house I have 2 fun trail systems that are 15-20 minutes away, that make for fun "loops," 1 is 12 miles, the other 7, and then another that is closer to where I work that is 5(great for 2 laps after work). I am happy to have them, but just consider them "Training" for my next trip. In the cooler months I can take weekend trips to North Central Florida to some pretty good trails as well. However when it comes down to it, I want to ride GREAT trails.

The MTB Traveling I have done...
The most common trip I take is to the Pisgah area. I love it there and it makes for a very convenient vacation. It is only a 10 hour drive from South Florida. I have been there countless times, with groups that range from 27 riders, to just 3. The only downside I see is constantly having to pack up your crap to go to different trail heads and what not. (not a big deal)

This year I combined an Asheville trip and a Snowshoe trip. We drive to Asheville and rode for 3.5 days, then drove 6 hours up to SS for another 3, then drove the 15 hours back. (YUCK!) This was probably one of my favorite trips so far, the riding was great, and I really liked the "Resort" riding from SnowShoe. We parked and unpacked the truck once when we got there and that was it.

I have been to Moab and Colorado.
Moab was cool, but eh I am not a big fan of Exposure.
Colorado -
Durango - Probably the best "Epic" riding I have ever done. Kennebec Pass and Hermosa Creek were freaking awsome trails.
Fuita - Eh after Durango it wasn't up to all the hype I had heard
Telluride - the free Gondola was cool, but we were only there for 1 day. I am sure there is plenty more.
The downside to tour de Colorado was the traveling time, Fly to Denver, drive to x,y,z I mean we probably spent 2 solid days just driving from spot to spot, not even counting Flying from Ft Lauderdale to Denver.

So there you have my MTB travel experience. Where should I go next? Its not just about riding new stuff, but it has to also include a value packed vacation. Easy in, easy out gets bonus points, convenience of amenities (ie places to eat, hang out, grab a beer, get parts, all at a reasonable price). Oh ya, one last thing. I prefer not to camp, I like prepared food (by someone else) a nice bed, and a hot shower, I am all about enjoying the outdoors, just not sleeping in them.

Some of the places that are on my list of possibilities, and my own rationale behind them
(kinda in order)
Whistler - everyone raves about it, "resort/village" accomodations, but will me and my Heckler have enough to ride without getting over our heads. But the travel time is pretty long.

SunValley Idaho - I really do not know much about going here other than the pictures of the riding look very Epic.

Tahoe - Which side I do not know.

Bootleg Canyon - The winter months are great for riding in S Fl, but its an option. Stay in Vegas for cheap airfare and hotel with plenty of stuff to do at night.

New England Area - every thread I see from the New England group really appeals to me, but are all those trails accessible from one "lodging" place? Where would I fly into, stay etc.

So what do you 's think. What have been your experiences? What did you like about the ENTIRE experience, not just the riding. How was getting there and back, where you stayed, what you ate.

Give it to me!

 

[Skookum]

If you're ever in the Seattle area drop me a pm, i'm always down for showing people a trail or two or point them in the right direction. There is tons of great epic riding in the Summer/Fall when the snow in the mountains is low. And there is plenty of stuff in the lowlands to keep me goin thru winter. No resorts except north in Canada though....

 

[hev]

I am from CO and this is my take from the vacations i have made. mostly various road trips around the SW, and I must say...

telluride and the san juans really have a lot of everything to offer. the free gondola rules and you can access anything from 40 mile epics (perfect for your heckler) to 15 foot drops (perfect for your heckler neaky: ) on the poacher runs. there are mutli day touring type rides, and mellow rides to take your gf on. but don't bring her cuz telluride has a variety of festivals in the summer, and there is always a suprising amount of beutiful women who seem to really like extremo mtb types(at least this one). the locals are more than cool. buy them a shot a whisky and be prepared to be humbled by these guys skill and toughness. if you get bored silverton, durango, and delta all have great riding within a couple hours. the only downsides are the food is generally poor. not terrible but not the best for what you pay. also i don't care how in shape you are...coming from sea level the altitude will kick your ass. lastly there is a relatively short riding season. some trails were still under snow this summer in july, and they got a bunch of snow last week.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Crested Butte, man..... Crested Butte.

-S.S.-

 

[DVNT]

Tanasi is really nice. It's not far from Tsali, just inside Tennesee. I haven't had a chance to get up there yet but everybody says it's great and CLOSE....

my .02

 

[MikeD]

Southwest Utah, not far (2 hrs) from Vegas/Bootleg. Go to Zion/Virgin area, with trips to Brian Head.

Ride Gooseberry Mesa, Little Creek, JEM trail, and if you want techy stuff, hit Grafton Mesa. Gooseberry and Little Creek are incredible blends of rocky/techy/fun riding with flowy singletrack sections, on top of flat mesas with huge views. Jem's a long flowy singletrack. Grafton's a big technical DH shuttle. There's even more riding than this, but much of it is sh1t-your-pants DH with insane amounts of exposure. The towns of Rockville and Springdale are paradoxical little Mormon frontier/hippie-dippy places that are growing fast, and you can find some decent food and good hotel prices. You can see Zion and go canyoning and such in the park as well.

Then, hit Brian Head about an hour away from there. EPIC shuttlable singletrack at Blow Hard and Dark Hollow (blowhard is my favorite, DH is also fun). You can camp at the base of Dark Hollow. Just such a blast.

Try PMing Darryl; he's a monkey who lives up there, and he can hook you up with his uncles who built some of the trails, and a crew of stoner-DH rider locals.

MD

 

[I Are Baboon]

New England Area - every thread I see from the New England group really appeals to me, but are all those trails accessible from one "lodging" place? Where would I fly into, stay etc.

I can only speak for New England since I live here and have not taken any MTB vacations.

If you are planning a week or so, once you get here and find a hotel, you are going to have to drive to try different trails. New England has a LOT of places to ride, but there are very few trails systems that offer days of good riding without hitting the same trails over and over (Kingdom Trails is really the only one that comes to mind). You can spend a week in southern New England and have plenty of fun riding, but the best way to do it would be to hit a different ride location each day, and that means driving anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes to each trail. As far as shuttling goes, you'll have to hit one of the local ski areas for that, such as Killington or Mt Snow.

 

[TN]

Bootleg Canyon would be cool. especially in the winter. there is something for everyone there...XC (IMBA epic trail there), gnarly DH, DJ's, BMX track, etc...
there are also some trails on the other side of Vegas towards Red Rocks. I have some links if interested. Flying to Vegas is cheap, hotels are cheap, food is cheap & if you dont gamble, it can be REAL cheap. The hotels are nice even at bargain prices ( i think you can stay @ the hard rock right now for $79). BUT we got the 3rd degree from EVERYONE for trying to bring our bikes up to our rooms but we still brought them in.

That is really all I can commnt on since I have not been to any of the other places you listed.

My first thought reading your post was Fruita, though.

How was getting used to the altitude when you were in CO? It killed us when we went.


ALSO....Keystone might be cool. XC trails, lift trails, & there are tons of day trips out of keystone too & it is close to Denver so prolly easier to get to. plus the village/resort/whatever was a cool place to stay.

 

[SkaredShtles]

I can only speak for New England since I live here and have not taken any MTB vacations.
<snip>

What are you waiting for? Kids?

-S.S.-

 

[TN]

Southwest Utah, not far (2 hrs) from Vegas/Bootleg. Go to Zion/Virgin area, with trips to Brian Head.


MD

ewww yeah....another reason BC would be nice. So. UT would be a cool excursion. it is soooo close.

 

[I Are Baboon]

What are you waiting for? Kids?

-S.S.-

I don't need to go anywhere. I've "only" been riding for four years and have barely scratched the surface here in New England. (thanks to work though, I have ridden a few places outside NE)

I will take a ski vacation before I take an MTB vacation.

 

[Snacks]

I have only rode around Washington and Canada, so my input is minimal...but I think we have some of the best all round riding in Washington.... Great terrain, moderate weather temperatures (Yes, it does rain at times), and good people!

 

[peter6061]

Crested Butte, man..... Crested Butte.

-S.S.-

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>

I will take a ski vacation before I take an MTB vacation.

What are you waiting for??

-S.S.-

 

[RideND]

I posted pics of my riding in Bozeman, MT a while back. That was my first time really MOUNTAIN biking and it was really awesome. I don't know if it would be as fun as Crested Butte or Durango or some of the others but it is a really fun place to ride. You can even hit up Big Sky one day for lift access DHing.

 

[I Are Baboon]

What are you waiting for??

-S.S.-

Whistler, actually. January 2006.

 

[MikeD]

I will say that Crested Butte is awesome as well, but you're going to have a lot of altitude to adjust to, and I don't think it'll be as varied/comprehensive a riding experience as bootleg/utah would give you, either. It WILL give you an amazingly long and lung busting set of XC trails in a stunning mountain setting, though.

Plus, depending on the timeframe, well, the snow might be a problem. Then again, don't waste a trip to Bootleg/Zion without getting the chance to hit Brian Head because of the snow, either.

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip> It WILL give you an amazingly long and lung busting set of XC trails in a stunning mountain setting, though.
<snip>

And the food's killer.........

-S.S.-

 

[SkaredShtles]

Whistler, actually. January 2006.

You're waiting for a year and a half?!?

Of course, who am I to talk. I'll be lucky to get 10 days in this year....... :mumble:

-S.S.-

 

[MTB_Rob_NC]

Thanks everyone, I went to lunch and was pretty stoked to see 18 replies when I got back. Some great info that I will definitly be taking into consideration for my next MTB vacation.

How was getting used to the altitude when you were in CO? It killed us when we went.

Well we did everything we could to avoid altitude issues when we went. We flew into Denver late at night, slept and then drove to Moab. So our first trails were not killers as far as altitude, and by the time we had to do any serious climbing we had been there for almost 2 days. What REALLy killed me was anything above 10,000 feet. Even though we shuttled both Kennebec Pass there is a short (like 1/4 mile) climb just after you get on your bike, our GPS said 11,700 feet and that short little climb killed me. Also in Telluride when you get off the Gondola go underneath it there is a short little climb to where the "public" trail is, again anything starting above 10k was a tough, I wanted to take a nap after pedaling that 1/3 mile or so. Thankfully the rest was downhill.

However in Moab, and Fruita where there was plenty of climbing I really didn't have too much of a problem.

Thanks again, and keep the comments coming.