What New England or North East bike parks should I hit while I'm based in Connecticut this Summer? Any resorts or bike parks I should not waste a day on?
NE Bike Parks I Should Hit
- Thread starter Lelandjt
- Start date
thunder's worth it. been wanting to go to killington...maybe highland, although people says it's more smooth and jumpy than natural. mountain creek shouldn't be too far either. have actually been thinking about where i want to stop on my way up to maine in a few weeks. have been doing thunder, but considering highland this year to check it out. so #following this thread.
Thunder is great. The new lift is 7 minutes to the top. Old one is still running too, so no lines to speak of. If you go, hit me up and I can show you around. Killington is a blast. Some long runs but you have to know where you’re going. 3 different peaks/lifts. Could be insane if they ran more trails off the gondola. I hit Highland early in the season for the first time in a while and forgot how fun it was. Short runs, but packed with features. And their tech stuff is pretty gnarly. Lift sucks. Weekends are brutal.
Also, some of the best trails are shuttle runs up in North Conway. Hurricane mountain trails. Great stuff. Enduro bike stuff though. Arrowhead in NH is the same but it’s pedal up. Trails are raw and technical. Mint. Haven’t been to Bolton Valley yet but I heard it’s always wet and super technical. On my list to hit this year.
You might want to try Blue Mountain as well though it's in the State Penn.
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I couldn't recommend any bike parks in Nebraska
This is a good start. I've gotta do a family thing in Bennington Sunday so I'll ride Thunder or Killington Saturday.
I’d go for Thunder this time of year. The gondola to the top of Killington doesn’t open until the beginning of July typically. Not sure if Ramshead is open yet either. There are some fun trails off of that. If only Snowshed is open, don’t bother. A few good trails there, but it’s a small hill and geared towards beginners. I’ll probably be at Thunder Sunday so hit me up if you end up there.
It looks like Killington's Ramshead lift opens this Saturday, but Thunder looks like the better call for me this weekend. I'll have to ride Saturday, sorry to miss you Sunday.
Later this Summer I'll take a longer trip and do Killington & Bromont. Then I'll do a NH & Maine trip.
blue is good, but i'm not sure its worth the drive from CT when Mt Creek is closer. there's only a couple of proper DH trails, but they are good. lots of blue square flow trails for the endur-bros, so they tend to stay clear of the DH trails.You might want to try Blue Mountain as well though it's in the State Penn.
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let me know if you do decide to hit blue, its ~80 min from me and I have a season pass.
maybe @Rockland knows if Sugarloaf is running bike lifts this summer...only place I've hit in Maine is Mt. Abrahm, which (at least three years ago) was small and family oriented but not too bad. I wish Sunday River would get their shit together and do a proper bike park. So much potential...
Adam Craig is doing the trail work at Sugarloaf and posted a bunch of pictures of great looking new trails up there. I commented on the post and asked if the lift would be running this summer, and he said they weren’t sure yet. Which seems to me it’s kind of late to get the lift spinning for riding at this point? Maybe not. I’m hoping they do. I havent been to Abram yet, but a few buddies go up and said they opened a lift to the top last year that services much longer and natural runs. I’m hoping to check it out this year.
Yeah, might as well tie that in with Bromont. Long drive but the wife would like a Quebec trip.
Getting back to Maui this Winter to build a house on a new property on the other side of the island. Had to come to CT in January to take care of parents but should be good to leave by Oct. I miss Breck (someone better be maintaining my trails!) but I'm improving & riding the trails in my home town and doing all the other stuff Summer in Mystic/Watch Hill has to offer. Going kite surfing in a minute!Just curious, what's up in Maui? How's that going?
And why aren't you back in CO? I'm sure the town of Breck misses you
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Did it sound like the trails are open for riding without a lift, ala Arapahoe Basin?
Connecticut is a time warp and it feel like I am driving through it for an ocean of time whenever I am heading to MA/VT/NH. Depending which end of the CT wormhole you are on, Thunder, Killington, Highland are worth the effort.
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Are you looking for a DH-bike-only type of bike trip?
If you have an Enduro bike, a dedicated Québec trip where you ride both MSA and Sentiers du Moulin (SDM) for a couple of days each would be a great idea. SDM is an amazing place, but the climbs are brutal, so riding a DH bike is not an option there.
If you go to MSA, be prepared for THE GNAR. Its pretty hilarious how quickly the trails escalate there from golf course path green runs to what the fuck I'm going to die type of stuff.
I'm not complaining.
:edit: also make sure to go when the gondola is running. Climbing up to the next lift when its hot as balls out after every descent really sucks ass.
I'm not complaining.
:edit: also make sure to go when the gondola is running. Climbing up to the next lift when its hot as balls out after every descent really sucks ass.
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Thanks for the tip. We've got the full quiver of Scotts with us (and a Surron) so during road trips we're up for all types of trail, shuttle, or lift served riding.
Hurricane mountain is the only place where I actually felt like I got damper fade in my fork. In the root chop straight down part of either hurricane or red tail I just had no damping left. Its no joke.
Thunder Mountain was surprisingly good and really had everything.
A sustained super steep trail and several tech trails with steep bits.
Lots of good use of rock features, from fun rolls to tricky & tall stepped ledges.
Natural gaps & drops.
Well proportioned & fun blue and black jump/berm trails with legit size jumps on the black.
A good blue tech trail where you could try to pump and gap stuff the whole time to make speed.
It's short compared to the Rockies or Alps but the runs didn't feel too short, like you were ready for a rest by the bottom.
A member of the trail crew who has a Youtube channel (Downhill Will) showed me around all day. If he puts up the footage I'll post a link.
A sustained super steep trail and several tech trails with steep bits.
Lots of good use of rock features, from fun rolls to tricky & tall stepped ledges.
Natural gaps & drops.
Well proportioned & fun blue and black jump/berm trails with legit size jumps on the black.
A good blue tech trail where you could try to pump and gap stuff the whole time to make speed.
It's short compared to the Rockies or Alps but the runs didn't feel too short, like you were ready for a rest by the bottom.
A member of the trail crew who has a Youtube channel (Downhill Will) showed me around all day. If he puts up the footage I'll post a link.
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how long you out there for? i was going to try highland on my way up to maine in two weeks, but now you make me want to go back to thunder...prob riding one or the other on saturday the 29...
I'm here till Oct. I could ride one of those two the 29th, weather permitting. I need to check out Highland but with my enthusiasm for the steep rocks and blasé attitude for jumps, the kids at Thunder warned that I might find Highland a little too flow-traily.
While Thunder was good enough to warrant repeat visits, I want to sample each of the bike parks while I'm here.
Big fan of thunder, but I haven't been in a few years and they added the second lift. It's got the best size in the area, and they combined it with actual trail building, which is a nice touch. You've already been so I won't go into it.
Highland can be fun, or it can be a mess. It's pretty much all berms and jumps but it gets so worn out so quickly. I think the last time I did lift-serve I went here, and I was admittedly pretty disappointed as a person who likes downhill mountain biking. There isn't much elevation, so you spent a lot of time turning 180 degrees and going across the mountain. The jumps are pretty top notch, and you can have a ton of fun linking different lines as the trails braid and cross over one another. There's very little tech aside from a few runs which basically go from 0-100 extremely quickly. You can visit "Maiden voyage" for a good example of terrible new england trail building, and realize why its the least popular trail there
@marshalolson had good things to say about sugarbush. I rode there recently without a lift and loved it, but the trails off the top will be different. I did a DH race there back in the day and it was a memorable time. I would absolutely check it out if you're in the area, but I'm not sure if it's worth an adventure on its own unless you will visit the numerous non-lift trails in the area (stowe, sugarbush, cady hill, etc)
I haven't been to killington in ages but it's a huge mountain and last time I went I was blown away by how much pedaling I had to do. I've heard they've done a ton of machine built stuff but I'm not sure how much natural tech they've invested in. If you look at the trail map now, it still looks like you've got to do a ton of pedaling to get to different trails, and there's effectively three trails off the gondola. One of my favorite trails was here, but I'm not sure which one it is now...maybe Stinky? Rabbit hole? It was a natural trail in the woods that wound around a forest bottom- super fast natural trail with linked turns. I would ride that all day if I could.
Looks like attitash got killed, not that you missed much, but Cranmore took it's place and you're right next to conway which is a nice area and has great pedal riding.
Bromont is superb but it's canadian so ew. Seriously though, great variety of trails and quick lift. I don't remember it being terribly far over the border. They had a WC here and you can still ride the course if you really want. Some epic jumps I was way too scared to ride, but awesome mix of tech and trail.
Jiminy peak also exists. I haven't been in years and I don't think many other people have either, but no "flow trails" and all east coast dirt and tech. God knows if the trails are clear, but if you're looking for something quiet and it isn't far, it was one of my favorite places to ride because it's so natural. Lots of elevation and a fast lift, but only one bike per chair. The average run is close to "The Schist" or "Juggernaut" or even "Billy Badger" but far fewer 180 degree zig zags. They still run a DH race but it doesn't look like any new trails have been built.
There are a few hills that opened in CT that I can't comment on as I haven't been, Mt Snow exists, Loon, but I would prioritize any of the others over these. The kingdom trails has burke mountain, but it's got the elevation of highland and 5 trails, so it's only worth visiting if you're exhausted from putting in work at KT first.
Don't forget about mt Creek either. It's probably not that far depending on where you are in CT, and could be worth a visit. Plenty of us had fun here back in the day.
Highland can be fun, or it can be a mess. It's pretty much all berms and jumps but it gets so worn out so quickly. I think the last time I did lift-serve I went here, and I was admittedly pretty disappointed as a person who likes downhill mountain biking. There isn't much elevation, so you spent a lot of time turning 180 degrees and going across the mountain. The jumps are pretty top notch, and you can have a ton of fun linking different lines as the trails braid and cross over one another. There's very little tech aside from a few runs which basically go from 0-100 extremely quickly. You can visit "Maiden voyage" for a good example of terrible new england trail building, and realize why its the least popular trail there
@marshalolson had good things to say about sugarbush. I rode there recently without a lift and loved it, but the trails off the top will be different. I did a DH race there back in the day and it was a memorable time. I would absolutely check it out if you're in the area, but I'm not sure if it's worth an adventure on its own unless you will visit the numerous non-lift trails in the area (stowe, sugarbush, cady hill, etc)
I haven't been to killington in ages but it's a huge mountain and last time I went I was blown away by how much pedaling I had to do. I've heard they've done a ton of machine built stuff but I'm not sure how much natural tech they've invested in. If you look at the trail map now, it still looks like you've got to do a ton of pedaling to get to different trails, and there's effectively three trails off the gondola. One of my favorite trails was here, but I'm not sure which one it is now...maybe Stinky? Rabbit hole? It was a natural trail in the woods that wound around a forest bottom- super fast natural trail with linked turns. I would ride that all day if I could.
Looks like attitash got killed, not that you missed much, but Cranmore took it's place and you're right next to conway which is a nice area and has great pedal riding.
Bromont is superb but it's canadian so ew. Seriously though, great variety of trails and quick lift. I don't remember it being terribly far over the border. They had a WC here and you can still ride the course if you really want. Some epic jumps I was way too scared to ride, but awesome mix of tech and trail.
Jiminy peak also exists. I haven't been in years and I don't think many other people have either, but no "flow trails" and all east coast dirt and tech. God knows if the trails are clear, but if you're looking for something quiet and it isn't far, it was one of my favorite places to ride because it's so natural. Lots of elevation and a fast lift, but only one bike per chair. The average run is close to "The Schist" or "Juggernaut" or even "Billy Badger" but far fewer 180 degree zig zags. They still run a DH race but it doesn't look like any new trails have been built.
There are a few hills that opened in CT that I can't comment on as I haven't been, Mt Snow exists, Loon, but I would prioritize any of the others over these. The kingdom trails has burke mountain, but it's got the elevation of highland and 5 trails, so it's only worth visiting if you're exhausted from putting in work at KT first.
Don't forget about mt Creek either. It's probably not that far depending on where you are in CT, and could be worth a visit. Plenty of us had fun here back in the day.
There's an Eastern States Cup DH race at Jiminy that I'll probably enter next weekend so I'll get a look at what they have to offer. I'm curious who will show up for the Pro class...
ooh-cool. plz post your thoughts afterwards! didn't think of that, and i, too, prefer chunky natural over jumpy...
Great time to go. Expect rain. Even if it's like a guarantee to be sunny, it has rained for like 7 of the last 8 races. I think there's been one nice one.
Make sure to dip off the race trail and explore some other stuff. I think my favorite trails are D and K. One of the lower sections, whether lower D or the second tree section of K, is stupid fast in the trees stuff. Pick your line and go for it. H is a page out of "Too easy" from thunder- steep and hectic the whole way. Enjoy- they are fun trails and some of the last natural DH left on the east coast. Even that bolton vid showed berms on 50% of the corners.
YO. just got a ticket for thunder for saturday the 29th...who wants to join? @Inclag ? @Lelandjt ? @Sandwich ? @TrumbullHucker ? @scrublover ? @schwaaa31 ? who am i forgetting???