Where to Mountain Bike in the Capital Region

Now that I’ve been mountain biking for about 2.5 years, I think it’s time I shared a post about my favorite places to ride locally! I learned to mountain bike on these trails, so they are as good as any to learn to ride, improve your skills, and get some exercise! My favorite app for finding new trails is called TrailForks and you can find maps of all these trails on this app.

Best Bet for Beginners: North Bethlehem Town Park, Guilderland

Not only is North Bethlehem close to Albany, it has many features, such as bridges, berms, wooden drops, and obstacles like logs to ride over. It is a great place to practice riding over things and is also a great place to practice riding fast!

There are still a few features I’ve yet to try but I’m hoping soon I’ll be able to ride everything here! The trails are windy, so it is also great for learning how to corner properly. It is one of the places I feel most comfortable riding solo, as well as at night, as the trail never strays too far from the main lot and there are always people around.

Luther Forest, Malta

Luther was one of the very first places I ever rode a mountain bike! The actual first place was Millstone Trails in Vermont, but that’s another story! Luther is another great place to ride, especially if you are learning. Trails are flowy and there are some good climbing sections.

Colonie Town Park, Colonie

Colonie is another one of the very first places I rode a mountain bike, which is saying something because some of these trails are hard! There are lots of roots and rocks and steep climbs and descents here. There is also some double track if you are just starting out and want to ride something easy. It is also right next to the Mohawk Hudson bike path, in case you really want to bail and ride on the paved path. The reason why I liked starting here is that it makes the other local trails seem easy. A lot of these trails are very fun to ride! My favorite is the Pasta loop.

Gurney Lane Bike Park, Queensbury

Gurney is a bit of a hike, located right off of exit 20 on Northway. BUT it is totally worth the ~ hour drive because these trails are incredible. They just may be my favorite trails in the area. They are fast, flowy, and there are even two new downhill style trails (E20 and Tango) that are super fun to ride. I never get tired of riding here! My favorite combo right now is riding Coaster to Salsa to Race Course for a super fun section. The trails are all very well marked and labeled according to difficulty.

Well, there you have it! Each of these places is very beginner friendly, while still fun to ride. If you are interested in learning to mountain bike, have any suggestions on where to ride locally that I haven’t mentioned, or just have a question, don’t hesitate to leave me a comment. 😀 Happy riding!