Dyer Park

Dyer Park

	Dyer Park
Location:	Florida
Nearest Town:	West Palm Beach
Directions to Trailhead:	From I-95, get off at the 45th Street exit in northern Palm Beach. Go west to Haverhill Road. Turn right and look for the "mountains!!" (land fills). The entrance to the park will be on your left. Proceed to the baseball diamonds to park. You will see the paved trail that leads to the top of the land fill. From the top go to the trail map sign for the layout. Park has numerous bathroom facilities and water fountains.
Trail Description:	The trail is situated on a 55 ft. elevation abandoned landfill. It is 100% singletrack composed of a crushed stone surface that is one to two feet wide. The rest of the landfill is covered with vegetation. There are some small trees that provide some shade, but most of the ride is in the sun. The trail is approx. 3 1/2 miles long. The trail ascends and decends many times as it goes around the hill. There tends to be some trail erosion after heavy rains, so watch out for those ruts. There is a short practice trail at the top (less than 1/2 mile). This park is pretty unique and offers a great solution for utilizing old landfills.
Trail Length:	3.5
Trail Type:	Singletrack
Skill Level:	Trails for all skill levels
Submitted By:	Pat

Jim from West Palm Beach, FL Date: January 24, 2003 Trail Ridden: Once a month
Recommended Route: Paved circle trail around Dyer Park for warm-up, then single track trail on sides of old trash hill. Other recommended trails in the same area: Camp Murphy at Jonathan Dickinson Park
Review: See photos of the Dyer Park Trails at: http://bicycling.netfirms.com/dyer_park.html Good workout. Managable crowds. Trail is predictable and not all that interesting due to limitation of the property and landscaping. Trail is in generally good condition. Dyer Park is clean and nice. The park is a constructive use of an old dump.	Overall Rating:

choco from Ft. liquordale, FL Date: August 12, 2002 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: 7301 Haverhill Road, West Palm Beach-(561) 966-6600 Boy, this place is a dump! I mean it, really, this place is an old garbage dump! The trail is situated on a 55 ft. elevation abandoned landfill. It is 100% singletrack composed of a crushed stone surface that is one to two feet wide. From I-95, get off at the 45th Street Exit in northern Palm Beach. Go west to Haverhill Road and turn right on Haverhill. The entrance to the park will be on your left. Proceed to the baseball diamonds to park. You will see the paved trail that leads to the top of the landfill. From the top go to the trail map sign for the layout. Other recommended trails in the same area: For more specific details and a photo tour, go to tredhed.com
Review: This Trail is about as boring as you can get. Almost as bad as ridingthe road. =) Jstu kidding. It does however make a great cardio work out or endurance builder. The single track around the trash mountain is one hell of a work out. The up hills are long and the down hills are a bit difficult to gain any good speed on. They turn sharp and have loose gravel all over the place. Right about the time you start picking up speed, you gotta negotiate a hairy turn. You can of course say "screw it" and head of course for your own downhill experience. The single track around the perimeter is ok, at best, and at times is hard to tell where exactly you are supposed to go. Personally, since its a bit of a drive for me, I'd much rather go to the rest of the trails in broward if I want to ride. If you are close and needa work out, then its ok.	Overall Rating:

HotCad from West Palm Beach, Fl Date: July 27, 2002 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: I-95 to Blue Heron go west to bee line hiway then west to Haverhill road, turn left [south] at the light then a quick right into the park. Go all the way to the back of the park by the socker fields. Park past the rest rooms, many riders are there early on Sat. morning. The perimiter trail starts at the west end of the parking lot and the hill is to the south, and starts at the top. Other recommended trails in the same area: Okeheelee park
Review: I ride the perimiter trail every Sat. morning and find it has many fun sections. If you are a beginer like me it is easy to follow the marked trails and avoid the more advanced parts [read palmetto roots] if you want. There is some sandy sections on the west side [very short section] but mostly single track in the shade, good firm foundation, mild sections up and down the canal rim. All of this changes when it rains, some parts [on the east side] get under water 6" to 18" but are easily by-passed. When you start back west there is about 3/4 of a mile of black top before you enter the area by the model airplane airport [nice place to stop and watch them fly arobatics] there is a spot where you go right then left across a double concrete ditch that is fun [I do it 2-3 times], then on a 2 track for 150 yards or so to re-enter the perimiter single track on the west side heading north, you will exit on 2-track and it will take you back to start. There are many logs and roots to go over, great fun. The hill is fun but I have never made it entirly around without stopping, but a very good work out. This park is fun for any rider, there are many things for others to do while you do the hill or perimiter trails	Overall Rating:

Roger Sunderland from Gainesville, Florida. USA Date: June 17, 2002 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Just wanted to add this Link for Richard.... Other recommended trails in the same area: For ALL your trail needs come to: http://rogersunderland.com
Review: Roger Sunderland recommends joining the Palm Beach Mountain Bike Association at: http://www.uncledave.org/pbmba Help your area trail by joining...	Overall Rating:

Palm Beach Mountain Bike Association, Inc. from West Palm Beach, Florida Date: June 2, 2002 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: The hill trail starts at the top the single track trail starts on the west side of the parking lot Other recommended trails in the same area: Camp Murphy @ J.D., Ft Pierce, Pinehurst
Review: The Palm Beach Mountain Bike Association, Inc. has taken over the maintence and construction at Dyer Park. We have trimed the trees and removed at lot of the ruts on the hill, within 2 months we will have both of the trails restored to there original luster. If anyone wants to help we have a trail day on the first Saturday of each month @ 8:30 am til 11:30a.m.. Once the trail is restored we will build on to the existing structure of trails. We need help though any comments or question can be directed to the email address on the name above. The hill is faster and there is nothing like it from Ft. Pierce south. The club will have group rides and races in the future as well so anyone interested email me today The hill is not for light weights it is for those who want a serious workout, or plan on riding up north in the real mountains, it is tough, do not under estimate the hill. The Permeter Tail is the fun trail with palmetto sections to test your technical expertice. I usually do 1 lap of the hill for warm up and lap of the permeter trail to take a break and then another lap of the hill. See you out there Ride safely........Ride within your limits	Overall Rating:

Endzone from Palm Springs FL. Date: May 30, 2002 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: Start at the main entrance to park( look for Blue arrow on south side of road next to horse trail or just west of the west parking lot look for arrow signs near the woods.(There is a map of all the trails on south side of the restrooms, at the west parking lot) Other recommended trails in the same area: Pinehurst,Camp Murphy JD state park.
Review: I did not ride the hill trail, but the newer singletrack trail that runs in the woods around the edge of the park.This trail is twisty in most places and has some faster places .It has a little sand but not as bad many Florida trails.Marked well and mostly in the shade.You should check out the map at western restroom before you start.	Overall Rating:

Daniel from Miami, Fl. U.S.A. Date: May 30, 2002 Trail Ridden: Please Select
Recommended Route: none, don't waste your time.... Other recommended trails in the same area: markhum, oleta, amelia earhardt, and quiet waters....
Review: this place is a dump! not worth the time to review. however, i'm doing it so others don't go here and waste their time! i guess it's ok for a "work-out", but is that why you ride???? this place gets a -100 on the fun scale. the entire time i was there i kept thinking to myself that i was in the wrong place. do yourself a favor and go anywhere else...	Overall Rating:

mospeed from pompano beach Date: April 22, 2002 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: park near the soccer fields Other recommended trails in the same area: not really like any other trails in south florida
Review: this is a great trail for a great work out..alot of up and down ,i think it's has an elvation change of 55 feet at a 20%incline..i decided to get off the narrow trail and shoot staright up the sides then back down great trail for a work out but not worth the 45 min ride for me from home,, what the trail need to improve on isthe turns of the trail make some higer bearms for that you can carry a good amount of speed through the turns,,and maybe a down hill section like going straight down with some jumps and big rocks to jump over to add a lil exicitment	Overall Rating:

Hyde from Lake Worth Date: March 19, 2002 Trail Ridden: Every few months
Recommended Route: Clockwise , do the hill first then hit the single track in the shade Other recommended trails in the same area: Pinehurst trail, Johnathan Dickenson, Quiet waters, markham park, Oleta River state park
Review: Already reviewed this trail, wanted to get the word out that there is a new trail on pinehurst south of forest hill north of 10 ave on the east side been open for a few onths and is a very challenging trail very technical very little sand too	Overall Rating:

Paul Connell from Palm Beach County Parks Date: March 13, 2002 Trail Ridden: Please Select
Recommended Route: Wanted: A few good men/women Other recommended trails in the same area: Pinehurst Rd
Review: I will be working with some members of the mountain bike community and Parks to do some trail maintenance at Dyer Park in the near future. Please let me know if anyone would be interested in working on the trail crew. Pass the word around to your biking friends if you can.	Overall Rating:

Mike Hunt from Palm Springs FL Date: March 6, 2002 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: clockwise or counterclockwise Other recommended trails in the same area: JPP Okehelee
Review: Forget biking it. RUN it. Great hill workout for ultramarathon workout. Passed a few bikers on the up hills :) Everyone should try to run atleast one lap for a warm up before they bike it.	Overall Rating:

Richard from Riviera Beach, FLorida Date: February 16, 2002 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Same as above Other recommended trails in the same area:
Review: I ride this trail at least once a week if not twice. I love it. the single track trail is good and fast with some degree of difficulty in certian areas with some off shoots for more technical riding The hill is for the more experianced there is no map but from the top of the hill it is pretty easy to figure out where to start.	Overall Rating:

Mike Ryan from West palm Beach, FL Date: December 5, 2001 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: Same as above Other recommended trails in the same area: JD State Park-I95 to exit 60, Quiet Waters-I95 to Hillsboro west to power line and make left. Oleta Park, Markem
Review: My wife and I rode this trail last week. There is no trail map at the top of the hill, but we managed to figure it out though. I found the single track on the hill to be quite challenging. If you were to do it twice fast without stopping you would need a big dinner afterward. The trail through woods is a bit overgrown and I think we did the first part backwards because there are no directions except for the ones painted on the pavement by the soccer fields. Bottom line, If you are looking to shave some weight from your bike, do this trail twice fast, wait about a day, and then do it again and again and again.	Overall Rating:

chester from jupiter, fl Date: November 19, 2001 Trail Ridden: Every few months
Recommended Route: same as above Other recommended trails in the same area: In the area? Only JD and it's a 30 minute drive.
Review: What happened to Dyer? Outside trails need maintenance after the floods and are overgrown. The floor of the trail is littered with palm frawns and debris, is there a group that handles maintenance? If so, I'll help, please e-mail me. This is a great place for a quick after work ride, but the trail needs a little TLC.	Overall Rating:

Ron Ayers from Lake Worth Date: April 24, 2001 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Do the hill first and early, Leave the shady parts for after sunrise. (which is beautiful from atop the "hill"). Do fast singletrack fast it helps it seem more appealing. Other recommended trails in the same area: Not in the county. One up north and some really nice ones down south.
Review: Very challenging trail, if you want to see just what exactly you possess as a rider, physically, this is the place. Granted it is not littered with drops, roots and an endless supply of shade, This is a wonderful place for a quick ride, or if ridden relentlessly this trail will show you just how strong you are. I have had to dig pretty deep on this trail on a regular basis. If you want an all out assault on the forest kinda day, dont come here, go to Oleta or Markham. Soon we hope to gain County Cooperation with establishing the West Palm Beach mountain bikers as the athletes that we are and create trails so this sport is recognised and supported like many others are (foot ball, basket ball, base ball, soccer, racket ball,) if you gotta have balls to become a sport well we got that enough said there!!! We hope to be able to utilize some extreme and natural sections of land being petitioned currently. You need to help!!! Email me for info. Basically this is a trail that is all work ann very little play. The effort to fun ratio is terribly low. The singletrack is amusing for about a month and then you learn it and it loses its element of surprise. But at first ill put a fivespot on it that you cant do the Palmetto's without Bonkin. It shows signs of fun but all in all it cant provide the fun that K-mart did. But I still like it and ride it every week, soon ill be shifting my focus on Dade and Broward county's for my riding. I know ill be stronger when I do because you cant help but gain strenght and stamina every time you ride this place and that is its greatest feature. so for that ill give it a reluctant 4 tires.	Overall Rating:

Jonathan from Lake Worth Date: April 9, 2001 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: Just take the paved path up and find a gravel path down Other recommended trails in the same area: K-mart Trail---although it is completely the opposite kind of trail than Dyer.
Review: Pretty cool trail. I good workout with a lot of ups and downs. A lot of loose gravel which make for tough sharp turns. Go in a cool part of the day or prepare for a good tan cause there is few trees.	Overall Rating:

dave from Sanford Date: March 14, 2001 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: Other recommended trails in the same area: Markham it's worth the drive.
Review: This is one of the worst trails I have ever ridden. The trail is not well maintained. The trail is made up of marble size gravel that is very loose. The down hills are ok but as soon as you start to go down you are slamming on the brakes to make the sharp turn. Everyone says that the trails around the outside of the hill are better but they are not. They are made up of just tight turns that you can't gane any speed on. It would be more exciting to weave in and out of orange cones rather than ride these. May be with some work the mountain could be interesting, but this is nothing like where I ride in up in Ocala.	Overall Rating:

Ben from Lake Worth Date: February 4, 2001 Trail Ridden: Please Select
Recommended Route: Other recommended trails in the same area: None, since K-mart was dozed.
Review: There are two separate trails systems here: one is the hill, the other is singletrack around the perimeter of the park. The hill is like nothing else in South Florida. difficult climbs and thrilling descents, with switchbacks and some obstacles thrown in. To me, this simulates the experience of "mountain" biking. The singletrack in the woods is good considering what the builders had to work with. There are some technical parts of the trail, a lot of stumps, short up and down hill switchbacks. All in all this is a good mountain bike area, and we should be thankful that we at least have this in the area.	Overall Rating:

Patrick from Coral Gables, FL Date: November 27, 2000 Trail Ridden: Every few months
Recommended Route: Other recommended trails in the same area: Cholee, K-Mart
Review: If you don't have the cardio capacity to ride it, don't blame the trail. Quit the griping; this is a good trail - nothing else like it in South Florida. Yes, it's difficult, and not that pleasing to the eye (it's an old landfill, what do you expect?) If you plan on heading out of state to some real "mountain" style trails, or if you want to get in tip top shape, this is THE place to ride. If it wasn't 80 miles away, I'd ride it several times a week. To minimize the risk of having your car vandalized, go in the morning, and park within sight of the hill (by the soccer fields). We've been quite a few times, and have never had a problem with this.	Overall Rating:

Dale from jupiter Date: November 23, 2000 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Other recommended trails in the same area: k-mart(ride it before its gone)
Review: This is a really good trail for training or for stretching those legs for some northern trail riding. Not really your typical singletrack, but very satisfying for those daily rides.	Overall Rating:

Brian from PBG Date: June 21, 2000 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Blue Heron to Haverhill, park entrance is on the righ, simple! Other recommended trails in the same area: K-mart, JD park --> Hobe Sound
Review: Skip the speed bump of a hill, go straight to the shade. The trail is 3/4's of a full loop, the last 1/4 is straight road, kind'a sucks. This is a good local trail, for regular workouts, needs a little work over impassable roots. If we could only get access to the horse farm next-door? Besides that, go to K-Mart, the bridges rule, real technical, and it's only six more miles.	Overall Rating:

peter from jupiter Date: February 4, 2000 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: start at the point where the gravel access road on the southwest corner of the "mountain" meets the perimeter road. You will see where the trail drops into the trees on the west side of the perimeter road going north. follow the trail from there. Other recommended trails in the same area: kmart, cholee
Review: As one of the original designers of the trail, I am a little biased. We attempted to do as much with the land as we could, given the restrictions placed on us. At first, the county was only going to put a bike path type trail around the "mountain". We convinced them to create something more interesting. The mountain was laid out about a month after we came back from a trip to Colorado and we were in the best shape of our lives, so it is a little tough. It does accurately portray the mix of riding you would get in the mountains and gives you experience on switchbacks, high speeds, water bars, erosion and of course, climbing. There is about 500 vertical feet of climbing per 3 mile lap. We also have now added about 5 miles of single track through the woods. This is your typical south florida woods riding, fairly tight, winding and wooped. Some small hills, log crossings, palmetto roots and other obstacles. Total mileage is almost 10 miles and a real good time is 55 minutes. As to the break in problem, the same thing is happening at k mart. I have been riding at the dump for 3 years now and have not been broken into. Friends of mine have, though. Most of the breakins seem to happen in the afternoon, early evening. I have not heard of any in the morning. some people are parking up at the model airplane area where there are people around all the time. Unfortunately, the park is close to an urban area with its related miscreants. The parks department says that it is patroling the area more and setting up undercover operations. Well see if it works. Anyway, I like the trail.	Overall Rating:

sanford and son from Boca Raton Date: October 29, 1999 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: The 55ft Lump Other recommended trails in the same area: kmart
Review: Throw away that spin bike. Ebay those johnny G videos. This one is a killer. Great downhill sections (for Fla). Take precautions with your vehicle don't leave valuables out, Don't go BOOMING in there, take your junkest car (or friends). Park In The eastern (NOT THE WESTERN) section of the soccer/football fields. Don't travel very far from your car (Visibility of your vehicle is the key to not getting ripped off). Get some Phat tires, run low pressures. Marble size < gravel is the trail. Trail is tough following but there are some good downhills. This is not the land of the pale face so exercise street smarts. It's far from dangerous too.	Overall Rating:

sanford and son from boca Date: October 29, 1999 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: The Hills Other recommended trails in the same area: Kmart
Review: Throw away those Johnny G videos and sell the spin bike this one is a killer. Some Nice DH (for FLA 40mph). Get some Phat tires corners are tricky, lower you are pressor. If you have a nice car don't go.Don't go bo0ming in there your asking for it. Park your Car in the eastern part of the soccer lot. Don't leave valiables in the car. This is not a dangerous area but it does require some street smarts. Lottsa loose gravel. But it's alot of fun for florida.	Overall Rating:

Shawn from Ft. Lauderdale Date: September 6, 1999 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: Other recommended trails in the same area: Quiet Waters
Review: Ahhhh, where to begin... Bad trails No Scenery And my car got broken into. I'll never go back, and I strongly recommend avoiding this trail.	Overall Rating:

Sam from W Palm Beach Date: August 17, 1999 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Other recommended trails in the same area:
Review: This is an excellent short ride. some good technical riding with switchbacks,all single track, some small hills in the trail around the perimeter of the "mountain". A great ride if you ride through it more than once on each visit	Overall Rating:

Greg from Jupiter Date: July 30, 1999 Trail Ridden: Every few months
Recommended Route: Other recommended trails in the same area: K-Mart and Quiet Waters
Review: I heard a lot about Dyer Park because its S.Florida's version of a mountain. The first time I rode it I couldn't find the trails that cut through the woods so was left to ride just the "mountain." My friend and I rode it once and were very bored afterwards. Actually, we looked at each other after the ride and said, "lets go to K-Mart." We went back after getting directions to the other trails and, again, were very unimpressed. The woods were not maintained and neither were the ones on the hill. Also, the hill doesn't have any sweeping turns at the bottom which means that once you "fly" down the hill, you have to make this tight turn and head right back up. It might be a good place to "train" but I would rather train riding up and over bridges than riding Dyer. Moreover, the parking lot is very unsafe for your possession during the weekend and I have known a few people that have had their cars and trucks broken into. It is too bad that the County doesn't utilize the other "hills" around the hill trail to provide for more exciting decents without having to break all the way down to make the turn straight back up.	Overall Rating:

Ian from Tequesta, Fl Date: July 12, 1999 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: I-95 to Blue Hurron Blvd, go west to B-line Hwy, go right, make left at next light on Haverhill Rd, turn right into Dyer Park. Locals call this place "the dump". Other recommended trails in the same area: Johnathan Dickinson State Park, Hobe Sound. epic rides (how's a 3.5 hr lap sound no doubling back), but not technical and not marked.
Review: The trail has been totally reworked. On the top of the hill there is a single track fun warm-up trail, very fast and fun. On the side of the hill is the ball buster single track with climbs and switch backs, great for training to ride "real" mountains. And now there is the perimeter single track through the trees. All combined makes for a fun and chalenging ride, in excess of an hour. The trail on the side of the hill is prone to washing out, but is also repaired regulary by the county, be smart check it out before you go basting down the hill. The new perimeter single track is typical of south fla trails, somewhat flat, a lot of turning though the trees. A lot of fun in the shade. This is a great local place to train, I wouldn't plan a vacation around it though. It's probibly worth driving up to check it out if you live in Dade or Broward County, but it is not as much fun as Oleta River or Markham Park.	Overall Rating:

Pat from Miami Date: July 10, 1999 Trail Ridden: Every few months
Recommended Route: Trail is ridden clockwise from the entrance point on the NW corner of the "mountain". Other recommended trails in the same area: Q-Waters, K-Mart, Cholee.
Review: If you are looking for as much of a "real mountain biking" experience as you can get in South Fla., then Dyer is the place. With each circuit around the hill you will log several hundred feet of drops and climbs. It is a great cardio workout. Only the most experienced and in-shape biker will be able to do a complete circuit without stopping. There are many switchback climbs as well as straight down the fall line drops. There are also some climbs up the fall line that will make you want to puke!! (especially the one at the end of the trail). All levels can use the trail, but as I said only the most experienced will ride it well. Because of the lack of shade, riding in the summer months can be brutal. Especially if you ride in the early afternoon like I do (OK I'm NUTS!!).	Overall Rating: