Frederick Watershed
Photo: trailforks.com
Overview:
Yes, this place is in Maryland, and yes, it’s in the Pennsylvania category, but I figured since Maryland is four hours from me, and this is probably the only place that makes the trip worth it, I’ll just keep this page here for now. Anyways, the Frederick Watershed is located in Frederick, MD and is quite a big area. The park can be divided into two main downhill areas: Gambrill State Park which features more modern and generally more flowy trails, and the “steep side” that has much more technical downhill trails as well as older freeride features that can be found in the push trails.
Pros:
This place has tons of variety! In the Gambrill area, you’ll find Boundary line, a 1 mile flow trail with some amazing Berms and Jumps as well as some gnarly tech to end things off, as well as Three Saws, a much longer bidirectional trail that’s similar to Boundary Line, but less intimidating. There are also plenty of trails on this side I didn’t get to ride like Catovid, a blue tech trail, and Kubla Khan, an epic natural trail. On the north side of the park, you’ll find the push trails. Although I wasn’t alive in the 90s, I have a feeling most trails were like these: tight, sketchy, slow, and packed with sketchy North Shore features around every corner! There are also a lot of downhill shuttle trails like Albatross, Evolution, and Old School that has a brand new upper section filled with berms and gap jumps for a downhill race last summer.
Cons:
Despite these trails having a lot of variety, they all share a few things in common. Because this is “the shed”, basically every trail has a nasty rock garden on it. Although I’m someone that loves riding tech trails, many of these sections feel like chunder minefields, and not in a good way. This was very apparent as I navigated my way down Albatross, a trail that was covered with leaves with loose pebbles underneath that have probably claimed many victims. Even on trails like Boundary line, there were a few nasty sections that interrupted the flow of the trail. For this reason, I can’t recommend this place to any beginners, and if you’re into faster riding on flow trails, then stay away from the Push trails at all cost!
Rating: 8/10
The Frederick Watershed is still a great place to ride, and is probably one of the best destinations in the winter, when bike parks close and New England gets covered in snow. The amount of trails here and the sheer uniqueness makes this place very special and a must ride if you’re in the area.