Just wondering if anybody knows of some local trails near Lansdale? My office just relocated and its just off the Landsale exit of the turnpike. I'm wondering if there's anyplace local that has a few miles of trails for a lunchtime ride or if I'm SOL.
Trails near Lansdale??
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I live in North Wales. There are no proper trails within Lansdale that I'm aware of. The closest that I can think of would be at Evansburg State Park (about 10 miles away), though I'm not sure of the legality of those, nor have I ever ridden them. Supposed to be enough for a quick spin. Maybe other know.
Other than that, there's Valley Green (Wissahickon) at about 15 miles from the Turnpike, and Valley Forge (Betzwood) about 12ish miles away. Valley Forge trails are also questionable from a legal-to-ride standpoint.
Unless you've got a long lunch break, these options aren't so hot. There are good roads not far from you if you do the road thing.
Jeremy
Other than that, there's Valley Green (Wissahickon) at about 15 miles from the Turnpike, and Valley Forge (Betzwood) about 12ish miles away. Valley Forge trails are also questionable from a legal-to-ride standpoint.
Unless you've got a long lunch break, these options aren't so hot. There are good roads not far from you if you do the road thing.
Jeremy
Thanks. Yeah, I didnt think there was much out this way. Evansburg looks like the best options - 4 miles or so from my office to the northeast corner of the park. I'll spin over there when things dry out and have a look around. It sounds like there are some "MTB trails" but the majority is horse trails and hiking trails - i.e. not exactly legal.JST169 said:
My office was near Betzwood previously and those were decent for a lunchtime or after work ride, but that's not really an option now. Wiss, is definitely not an option.
Spring mountain isn't terribly far away, and same for Green Lane. I know Spring Mountain used to host a MTB race and I've heard rumors of trails at Green lane. Any idea what's there? What's Legal?
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I haven't been to Evansburg state park in probably 2 years but there is supposed to be a 5 mile loop for MTBers. When I went to go check it out I couldn't find it exactly the trail basically stopped a mile in. I'm notorious for getting lost
so you might have better luck then me.
If I remember correctly Green lane has two main trails. Last time I was there it was a swamp and not very rideable. The one trail was fairly decent and not very crowded at all. I think spring mountain is mostly DH action.
so you might have better luck then me.If I remember correctly Green lane has two main trails. Last time I was there it was a swamp and not very rideable. The one trail was fairly decent and not very crowded at all. I think spring mountain is mostly DH action.
I've never been to Green Lane, but have heard good things about it. It's not like going to FC or Wiss, but I'm sure it would be nice for a lunchtime or after work ride. As one other poster said, it can get muddy. This is probably not the time of year to ride there.BShow said:
I forgot about Spring Mountain. My memories of that place is MUD. Every time I raced there in the early-mid 90's it was sloppy sloppy sloppy! I'm sure the XC trails are still there, but the venue does seem to have shifted to DH stuff, and it's private property, so I'm not sure it's someplace to just go and check out.
Sounds like we've got LOTS of options within 15 miles or so, but only half of them are fully legal! Shame.
Like I said, nice roads out towards Green Lane, Salford, etc. That'd be my choice for a lunch time jaunt.
Let us know what you find out/discover if you venture to Green Lane, Spring Mount or Evansburg
Jeremy
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Green lane is nice but can be very crowded with horses on the weekends. The trails themselves are not bad, not great but OK. The whole place is fast so you can easily get in 20 miles in about 2 hours (two loops).
Also, when the trails get wet, they stay wet for a long, long time. I only ride there when it is frozen or when it is bone dry.
Also, when the trails get wet, they stay wet for a long, long time. I only ride there when it is frozen or when it is bone dry.
+1 on this. I live in Quakertown and avoid Green Lane like the plague. It doesn't take much for that place to turn to mud and, honestly, I consider it equestrian turf anyway (horsecrap can be a problem there).Vespasianus said:
Just FYI that a group of mtbrs from Valley Mountain Bikers are currently building a mountain bike specific singletrack multi-loop trail system excluding horses at the eastern end of Nockamixon routing it on the driest ground possible to improve sustainability. We started last September and work every weekend - should have more than 12 miles through woods with multiple creek crossings on bedrock and lakeviews groomed and ready to ride by late spring.
Its a little far from Lansdale but check it out some weekend - try to avoid wet periods though as the trails haven't settled yet and will rut easy. Trailhead at Tower and Fink Roads, Ottsville just west of the CVS traffic light on Route 611. During the build phase the park is officially allowing riding on build days (usually Sundays, though we may be building on Saturdays during the spring too). We can always use more help as most weeks we only have 6-8 guys helping. Check out the build schedule on www.bikevmb.com :thumbsup:
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There is a nice little spot in hatfield almost directly across from the kinex factory. It's mostly used by quad guys, but should be fun for a lunchtime run. They have a nice assortment of dirt jumps from mild to wild.
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I ride Evansburg allot. They have dedicated mtb trails at fern ave and ridge pike. It's smaller around 5 or so miles but a good mix of uphill and downhill.
If you park in the parking lot at the end of fern ave you'll see the entrance to the trail on the opposite side of the street. There you can ride up the mountain{literally straight up the mountain} and around it. or if you follow the creek there is a little bit of faster single track. A local bike shop maintains the trails. I don't know which one though or when they are there. I rarely see other people there which is the nice part about it. The occasional dogwalker.
If you park in the parking lot at the end of fern ave you'll see the entrance to the trail on the opposite side of the street. There you can ride up the mountain{literally straight up the mountain} and around it. or if you follow the creek there is a little bit of faster single track. A local bike shop maintains the trails. I don't know which one though or when they are there. I rarely see other people there which is the nice part about it. The occasional dogwalker.
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There is also a short ride across from merck in the park at North Wales. I live about half mile from there and enjoy riding on it weekly. It's part of the Green Ribbon trail, which in turn is part of the Wisshahickon park system I believe. The marked trail goes some 3.5 miles straight until it hits an unpassed portion so I've been told. I have not tried to go beyond the 3.5 mile mark yet. I enjoy the trail, but I'm new to mtb'ing and it's perfect for me. It's mostly single track and has some decent climbs/decents. Nothing too challenging, but still fun. It is all I know so far, so I can't compare to Wissahickon or any other nearby places.
If you go to North wales park on sumneytown, go all the way through to the back and park in the far right lot. The beginning of the trail is right there by the parking lot. It starts on paved trail, but about 1/3 mile in it converts to all dirt track through the woods.
If you go to North wales park on sumneytown, go all the way through to the back and park in the far right lot. The beginning of the trail is right there by the parking lot. It starts on paved trail, but about 1/3 mile in it converts to all dirt track through the woods.
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I also live right near there and have taken my bike a few times before I saw the sign at the trailhead. I don't think bikes are allowed. The only official place where you can ride is the paved area that starts from Parkside to West Point Pike and the paved area that starts from Ft. Washington State Park. to Stenton Ave.
It's too bad because it does look like a really nice place to ride and I really haven't seen a lot of people on it; on the other hand, it is a nice place to go jogging.
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I saw that sign the other week when I was there and forgot about it till I saw this post. I'm going to check that out.
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I was just there tonight. After mile 2.5 it got really wet and muddy. Fun ride if you don't consider your bike a vehicle. :thumbsup:
I live in Ambler and ride the GRT as an out the back door ride that is a mix of street, gravel path (Lower Gwynedd trails near Wissahickon HS) to Penlynn, then on to the GRT near Penlynn Woods (single track). You can follow the GRT all the way to North Wales although it is quite muddy in places from horse traffic. I also ride the GRT from Butler Pike in Ambler, north along the creek to Mathers Mill Rd where I make a questionable (illegal) link to the GRT adjacet to Cedar brook country club. This will put you on more single track along the Wissahickon creek and dump you out in Penlynn at a traffic light near a church and then back onto the GRT at Penlynn Woods. round trip from my house to the trails behind the ball fields and back is about 10 -12 miles. Usually ride this during the week in early evening and almost never see another soul.
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hardly worth mentioning but, it would be a good place to take the girlfriend, boyfriend, or young kids that have never ridden before is Hatfield scenic area across from the giant and behind a car tags place. it's laughably short.
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http://www.hatfieldtownship.org/pdf/ParkSystemRules.pdf
Search on "Bicycles," first hit on the document.
Haha, I don't think bikes are allowed there either. It really sucks around this area if you just want to ride on some dirt.
Believe me, I've tried looking all over the place.
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haha. Maybe they should put it on the actual sign that's at the place. Which drives me crazy. No one goes to half these places and we pay are taxes just as much {if not more} than everyone else. We should have every right to ride there.
Side note: I was at Evansburg on Saturday and cleared all the fallen trees up to where you ride up next to the rock wall. After that I broke my derailleur hanger and had to go back. If anyone rides there let me know what the top of the mountain looks like. If anyone is interested in volunteering for trail work there, send me a PM.
Side note: I was at Evansburg on Saturday and cleared all the fallen trees up to where you ride up next to the rock wall. After that I broke my derailleur hanger and had to go back. If anyone rides there let me know what the top of the mountain looks like. If anyone is interested in volunteering for trail work there, send me a PM.
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There was a group of guys called "the Crank Crew" that was working on permissions to ride in North Wales or Horsham. The website was Crank | Bicycle | Bike Apparel | Inline Skate | Skateboard | Atv | Moped at Thecrankcrew.org, but it looks like the site is not working. I met a bunch of the guys at more than a few trail days at Nockamixon this spring/summer, but haven't seen them around in a while. Hopefully they didn't go by the wayside....
Been here 5 years and I changed my ties on my Trex Superfly 29er to street tires becuase i couldnt find any good MTB trails like i did in GA. I live in Lansdale and would like to help clean up evansburg state park. I can bring my chainsaw and shovel\axe . I also filled out the form to volunteer in evansburg website.
. I also filled out the form to volunteer in evansburg website.1 - 20 of 23 Posts
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