Alpine

Photo: Palisades MTB

Overview:

Alpine offers the closest thing I have to local trails because I live in Manhattan. Yet somehow they never seem to get old — instead they get more fun each time. The way I see it, there are four enduro runs: Wild Turkey, Sidewinder, Yellow Scout, and Hang ‘Em High. There is also a short green trail called Anthony Jr., and a cool slab section on Red Dot trail, across the fire road.

Pros:

Despite a lack of the bigger features you would find in other trail networks, the small stuff at Alpine manages to be equally as fun. One of my personal favorite trails is the 0.2 mile Hang ‘Em High which has some serious flow combined with high speed gnar. The truth is, I’m probably pretty biased towards this place since I know every corner. It’s hard to say what I would think if it was my first time here.

Cons:

There isn’t anything super challenging here, but there is still plenty to keep you on your toes. Another setback are the few climbs that interrupt the descents, which might be disappointing to some die hard downhillers.

Rating: 6.5/10

It’s really hard to give this place an accurate rating since I’ve been here so many times. It is certainly above average. However, if it were perfect I wouldn’t drive to states like Pennsylvania in the first place.