Windham Bike Park
Photo: Pinkbike
Overview:
Windham Bike Park is 2.5 hours away from The Big Apple and is nestled in the heart of the Catskills. Despite hosting World Cup downhill races for many years, the actual bike park didn’t open until 2015. In addition to the old downhill track, the park also features many new beginner and intermediate trails making it cater to all levels.
Pros:
Like other parks nearby, this place has a few trails made by Gravity Logic. One thing you might’ve already heard about Windham is they have the longest jump trail on the East Coast: Wilderness Roll. This trail, while only a blue, is tons of fun and it will raise your confidence by the end of the run. If you want to get into technical riding, check out Batavia Skill which is a super fun blue tech trail, before moving onto Citizens DH where you’ll find some proper jank. If it’s your first time ever on an MTB, you’ll love Kaaterskill Cruise which not only is very easy, but also the longest way down the mountain.
Cons:
The downside to Windham is there are not many trails. In fact, I listed nearly every single trail there. You might have heard me complain about the lack of trails in other places, but this time I’m really serious. While Thunder Mountain has been open just as long as Windham, they have put in three times as many trails. Also, I came to Windham to test my skills on the World Cup track, only to find it’s always closed. Lastly, there was one feature on Citizens downhill called Reality Check which was a drop with a wooden landing. The landing was much too short which caused me to almost completely miss it and go flying into a nasty rock garden with more speed than I knew what to do with. Later that day, my friend hit the same drop and ended up going over the bars and breaking his wrist. Features like this are unsafe. I’m not sure why they exist in a bike park ridden by so many people.
Rating (Bike Park Scale): 3.5/10
I would think of Windham as scenic trails that happen to have a lift accessing them, rather than a downhill park. It doesn’t seem like they plan on adding anything new here so I guess it will remain the small park it’s always been.