Norbrook Farm Brewery

Photo: Allevents.com

Overview:

Norbrook Farm Brewery is in Colebrook Connecticut and is one of New England’s newest trail systems. It features around five downhill trails ranging from intermediate flow, like Dirt Sessions, to pretty gnarly black diamonds like Dive Bomb, Old Oak and Flying Squirrel. There is also a brewery right next to the trails as well as a skills park with some low consequence features.

Pros:

Norbrook is a place were people of all skill levels can have fun. If you’re a beginner, start at the skills park, then hit Dirt Sessions, and then double down which are my two favorite trails there. Dirt Sessions is a super fresh trail with awesome berms and rollers, plus an optional wooden drop. Double Down is just like a blue tech trail at a bike park with some epic rock work and a few optional jumps. If you’re an advanced rider, check out the epic north shore rock drop on old oak, or the nasty rock garden on dive bomb. Recently, they’ve added another black tech trail called Flying Squirrel that I haven’t had the chance to ride yet, but I’m sure its gnarly. Norbrook is also the only real enduro network in Connecticut making it a total must hit if you’re ever nearby.

Cons:

The only things I dislike about Norbrook is how pedally the black trails are, and also that they don’t have more jumps. Starting with the first point, Dive Bomb might seem like a downhill only trail at first glance, but you’ll be doing a lot of huffing and puffing up some really challenging climbs. There are also some climbs similar on Old Oak, however I’m not sure how Flying Squirrel is. Now for the second point, while they do have Dirt Sessions which is a real flow trail, I think the one thing Norbrook is missing if they want to become a MTB hotspot is a real jump line with actual tabletops instead of just rollers. It seems like the tech trails all have a steady increase in difficulty and each prepare you for the next, and I would really like to see something similar on the flow trails, and perhaps make one that is just a slight step up from dirt sessions with more jumps that can be enjoyed by almost all riders.

Rating: 6.75/10

Personally, I don’t think there’s anything actually wrong about Norbrook, I just think that other trail systems happen to be bigger and have more to offer. The good news is if the builders keep adding new trails, we might get that jump line for which we’ve been hoping.

Update (8/30): I just rode Flying Squirrel for the first time and it’s a really challenging tech trail packed with steep switchbacks and tons of rock work! It’s a pretty slow trail but all downhill unlike other trails in the network. I personally enjoy slow tech but I know other people might not have as much fun on this trail as I did. This trail would easily be rated double black anywhere else but I’m not sure Norbrook distinguishes between advanced and expert trails unlike almost every other place a I ride. Be warned that this trail is a big step up in difficulty from Old Oak which runs parallel to it. Also, while riding down Old Oak this year I noticed that with a bit more skill the rock climb at the beginning of the trail is still very high speed and manageable making this trail basically just downhill.