Just finally got home after a great day of downhilling. I want share my experiences of riding at Timberline Bike Park with my fellow East Coast Monkeys.
A few pre-emptive facts...
I'm not being paid or somehow getting anything free/discounted from Timberline.
I'm an intermediate (sometimes intermediate advanced ) rider and wannabe racer-boi. I've been riding dh 10+ yrs and have ridden at most lift-served resorts up and down the East Coast. No expert by any means, but just alittle background about me.
Timberline is located about 12.2 miles south of Davis, West Virginia. Near Junction of rt 32 and 93. Took me about 2hrs and 45min driving from Alexandria, VA.
The bike park office/lobby is fairly modest. Small bike work-stand area, a few displays of bike essentials (tubes, helmets, gloves, pads), and ticket counter. The ski lodge is modest, but houses the typical ski lockers, bathrooms, changing area, and lunch tables.
The lift is a fixed grip type, 3 person chair. Every other chair has a padded hook to hang your bike. The lift attendant manually slows the lift down to a crawl to load. The lift is the main one and serves the entire 1000 vertical feet. It takes about 12 mins to get to the top
The terrain...
90% natural fall line terrain. True DH orientated trails, not bike park groomed at all. Due to rain today, dirt was loamy in the heart of the woods. Tacky to pasty on the entry and out on the few short ski slope traverses. The trails are populated with roots, some shale in spots, plenty of rock gardens to keep things interesting. 70% single track in glades with surrounding ferns. fun rollers to pop and gap, with subtle berms to push off and corner, linking one section to another. Great flow, almost no need to pedal if you wanted to. Man made features are take off jumps, lips mostly send you out and not super radiused. A good mix of gaps, stepdowns, and hips. There are go arounds for everything. Of the main trails we rode today, there were only 2 notable wooden ladders and jumps.
This place reminds me of Plattekill but less shaley and more tacky dirt. I cracked a huge smile about 200yds into the first run of the day. And didnt stop grinning until my last. To say that we were surprised is an understatement. We were blown away. Cliches be damned but this is a hidden gem. If you are a DH rider in the mid-atlantic, within a 5-6hr drive of Davis, you owe it to yourself to come here and check it out. You will not leave disappointed.
Heck, if you're just a mountain biker, you should come here. The canaan valley along has well over 100miles of XC trails to rip around besides the DH offerings at Timberline.
Lift prices are cheap, 21 dollars and frankly a steal for the terrain that is offered here. We were the only 2 DH riders here at the mountain. They have the terrain and trails already for a fun day on the hill, but Timberline relies on word of mouth and could use a more polished internet presence. Their website is nonexistent.
A few pre-emptive facts...
I'm not being paid or somehow getting anything free/discounted from Timberline.
I'm an intermediate (sometimes intermediate advanced ) rider and wannabe racer-boi. I've been riding dh 10+ yrs and have ridden at most lift-served resorts up and down the East Coast. No expert by any means, but just alittle background about me.
Timberline is located about 12.2 miles south of Davis, West Virginia. Near Junction of rt 32 and 93. Took me about 2hrs and 45min driving from Alexandria, VA.
The bike park office/lobby is fairly modest. Small bike work-stand area, a few displays of bike essentials (tubes, helmets, gloves, pads), and ticket counter. The ski lodge is modest, but houses the typical ski lockers, bathrooms, changing area, and lunch tables.
The lift is a fixed grip type, 3 person chair. Every other chair has a padded hook to hang your bike. The lift attendant manually slows the lift down to a crawl to load. The lift is the main one and serves the entire 1000 vertical feet. It takes about 12 mins to get to the top
The terrain...
90% natural fall line terrain. True DH orientated trails, not bike park groomed at all. Due to rain today, dirt was loamy in the heart of the woods. Tacky to pasty on the entry and out on the few short ski slope traverses. The trails are populated with roots, some shale in spots, plenty of rock gardens to keep things interesting. 70% single track in glades with surrounding ferns. fun rollers to pop and gap, with subtle berms to push off and corner, linking one section to another. Great flow, almost no need to pedal if you wanted to. Man made features are take off jumps, lips mostly send you out and not super radiused. A good mix of gaps, stepdowns, and hips. There are go arounds for everything. Of the main trails we rode today, there were only 2 notable wooden ladders and jumps.
This place reminds me of Plattekill but less shaley and more tacky dirt. I cracked a huge smile about 200yds into the first run of the day. And didnt stop grinning until my last. To say that we were surprised is an understatement. We were blown away. Cliches be damned but this is a hidden gem. If you are a DH rider in the mid-atlantic, within a 5-6hr drive of Davis, you owe it to yourself to come here and check it out. You will not leave disappointed.
Heck, if you're just a mountain biker, you should come here. The canaan valley along has well over 100miles of XC trails to rip around besides the DH offerings at Timberline.
Lift prices are cheap, 21 dollars and frankly a steal for the terrain that is offered here. We were the only 2 DH riders here at the mountain. They have the terrain and trails already for a fun day on the hill, but Timberline relies on word of mouth and could use a more polished internet presence. Their website is nonexistent.