Schenectady Central Park

Mountain Biking Trails In Central Park

What a pleasant surprise - Would you believe it? ...a fun bunch of mountain trails in Schenectady's Central Park!

I got off to a very late start (a series of SNAFUs) but finally parked off Fehr Avenue and started riding at noon. Although the overall park is relatively flat, there were a lot of ups and downs and tightly-curved switchbacks to make the most out of every hill available! :-) 

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Loop One

Much of the first section of the trail I rode traversed thru marshy area. Fortunately--being late July--the place was bone dry but there were a lot of boardwalks in various shapes and sizes to keep the ride interesting.

Not exactly knowing where I was going, I simply followed the most well-beaten trail and the Green arrows.

If you like roots--then this is the place to go! There were sections of the trail that were as rooty as I am used to in Connecticut but frequent sharp turns and switchbacks make the sight lines limited so the ride was always full of unexpected surprises. (Quite a few log up and overs as well in all sizes!)

There were many spots with tight berms as well as long stretches with great flow so you could bomb  much of the ride and have a blast. Obviously--if you come here often enough to really know the trails --the faster you bomb, the better it will be each and every time:-)

Loop Two

The first loop took me back to the car but I headed on to try more trails. The initial part of the next section was quite hilly. One section especially was pretty wild--the hillside was riddled with twists and turns. Nicely contoured switchbacks keep you climbing and focused on the curves but nothing was too steep or over strenuous - these are nice trails!!

There are many instances thru out the trail system where you
have to squeeze thru tree like this - Fun!

Finally after paralleling a stream for a while, I took the Orange trail and ended up on the Fireroad. A short jaunt northward took me right back to the car.

The Obligatory Wound PIC - just a minor skinned knee from a no-big-deal fall I took after hitting a root,.

Conclusion

• Was it a fun ride? - Yes
• Were you sufficiently challenged, yet not overwhelmed? Yes
• Would you come back again? - Most definitely! There are parts of the park I still haven't ridden and I look forward to re-riding what I did (the more ya know it - the faster you can bomb!)

It's a great spot...