Mountain Biking

Our trails are epic! Five trails within the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area have received the International Mountain Biking Association’s coveted “epic” designation. In so doing, the Big South Fork became the first national park unit in the United States with IMBA-designated epic bike trails. That, of course, is no surprise. The Big South Fork already had more miles of designated bike trails than any other national park in the continental U.S. The list of designated bike trails in the BSF continues to grow. For the most current list of bike-designated trails within the national park, we encourage you to consult the Big South Fork Bike Club. The Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area has developed several mountain bike trails within the 125,000-acre park. In addition, biking is allowed on most horse trails in the park and on shoulders of highways and all backcountry roads within the park.

The Epic Ride

 
The Big South Fork’s “Epic” ride is a collection of five single-track trails connected by gravel roads that can be pedaled together, or individually.
 
Duncan Hollow Loop – A 5.3-mile ride (3 miles of which is on gravel road) beginning and ending at Bandy Creek.
 
Collier Ridge Loop – An 8.0-mile ride (3.6 miles of which is on gravel and paved roads) beginning and ending at Bandy Creek.
 
West Bandy Trail – An extension from Collier Ridge Loop to West Bandy Road.
 
Grand Gap Loop Trail – A 5.5-mile hiking trail along the western edge of the Big South Fork River gorge that is shared by mountain bikers. This incredibly scenic ride is the furthest away from Bandy Creek, but can be accessed by gravel roads (or riders can drive to the trailhead via Duncan Hollow and Alfred Smith roads). It connects to John Muir Trail.
 
John Muir Trail – A 7.0-mile segment of the John Muir Trail along the rim of the Big South Fork river gorge is shared by hikers and mountain bikers. This is the only of the five trails that is a point-to-point trail rather than a loop trail. However, at the end of the trail is a connection to Duncan Hollow Road, a gravel route that can be pedaled back to the trailhead at Grand Gap or Bandy Creek.

Resources

Explore Deeper

Big South Fork’s mountain bike trails are world class

“When you’re riding on the edge of the Big South Fork River gorge and you have a 200-foot vertical drop with the trail just 10 feet away from it, you just don’t find that anywhere else” » Read more

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