The Gnarliest Trails I’ve Ridden

Photo: freeridetribe- Stickrock, Kicking Horse (although I have ridden this trail, I want to conquer the whole thing before I add it to this page)

I’m not writing this page as a self conscious teenager who feels the need to brag to everyone about how cool they are (this page might be the exception and not the rule), but to talk about the different technical challenges in mountain biking and to give you, the reader, a gauge on my abilities as a rider. Maybe a trail I thought was insane is no problem for you, or maybe you shouldn’t trust what I call a beginner trail. With that out of the way, let’s begin.

5.”Rock Garden”-Secret Trails, Pennsylvania

I don’t actually know what this trail is called, but we gave it it’s name for its relentless boulder fields. Rock Garden has a bit more uphill than the other trails on this list (still not that much), and is definitely the least scary trail, but that doesn’t mean its easy at all. To clean this trail, you’ll have to have more than just bravery or speed, but also technical riding abilities. Its a very slow trail with the hardest section being a chute that involves rolling over two close together rocks. Because the rocks are so high up, its nearly impossible on anything less than 29 inch wheels. One mistake here could send you right over the bars!

4.Mickey’s T-Box- Laguna Beach, California

Mickey’s is an unsanctioned trail in the mtb hotspot of Laguna Beach. My first time down this trail, I took the wrong line and ended. up tumbling twenty feet down the hill right into a cactus. One year later, I decided it was time for redemption. Few trails scare me as much as this one-usually you’ll find flatter corners or traction after a steep section, but Mickey’s is merciless. I found myself flying down off camber, rocky, steep chutes with basically no traction due to some infamous Socal Dirt. If I do come back to Laguna, I’ll make sure to step up my game and try some even gnarlier trails like Holy Mac and PG’s (wish me luck).

3.Sam Hill/Intense Trail-Lake Elsinore, California

That’s right, there’s another Socal trail on this list. While I did ride both Sam Hill and Intense Trail, Intense trail was far to overgrown to put on the list by itself, as I was forced to walk down about half of it. Anyways, These trails are similar to Mickey’s, but there are a few key differences. First of all, they’re a lot more exposed and if I fell here, it would be much worse than hitting a cactus. Also, these trails get rutted very easily. Maybe on an ideal day, this trail would actually be easier than Mickey’s, but when I rode it, the ruts were impossible to avoid, and so deep that they were unrideable if you happened to fall into one. While I’d say there’s a bit more traction than Mickey’s, it still has the same out of control, freeride feel. Lastly, this trail is mentally scary as it starts to the side of a highway overlooking town, right by cliffs, giving the whole thing a Red Bull Rampage vibe.

2.Hydra-Bolton Valley, Vermont

This trail is quite a bit different from Socal riding, but it does share one thing in common with Sam Hill trail-trail conditions make it much harder. In this case, Hydra is almost always wet which makes traction hard to find. Although I’m used to taking my time down double black trails, there was no such option on Hydra as I found my self riding as fast as I would on a jump trail. Hydra starts out with a small north shore bridge that my back wheel almost slid of off (very wet and slippery). That goes into about 30 seconds of unrelenting steep fall line riding where you basically have no control over your bike, before going into a final rock hip jump that ends the trail. Unlike some other trails I’ve hit, Hydra looked pretty easy while I was scoping it out, but I failed to take into account just how fast I’d be going.

1.Rusty Rod-Secret Trails, Connecticut

This is easily the shortest trail on this list as it’s basically a 20 second run. Rusty Rod starts out pretty innocent with some rough rocky bits that ride like a single black trail, but eventually I found myself riding an off camber slab, riding some insanely steep loam, and at the crown jewel of this trail: a super exposed steep rock slab that goes into a shark fin jump. I’m not religious, but this feature had me praying. I’d say because this trail is secret, it’s the hardest on the list. It’s never had to be approved by any organization, just carved into a random hill without any focus on safety, and much more on fear.