Mountain Bike Trails
It may surprise people new to mountain biking in our area, but we have access to some pretty awesome trails and trail systems. Locally, we have four trails to ride with each having it's own unique characteristics. Regionally we are pretty spoiled as well, with places like Detroit Mountain Recreation Area, Maplelag Resort, and the Cuyuna network of trails offering plenty of high quality trails and variety. Take a look below at some of the areas we love to ride. Click the red links to learn more.
Trails with asterisk (*) denote trails that are typically groomed in the winter for fat bike riding.
Fargo-Moorhead Mountain Bike Trails
| M.B. Johnson Park* 4.4 Miles + 105 ft. elevation gain Fast & flowy with a couple of interesting features. | Gooseberry Park* 4.0 Miles + 100 ft. elevation gain Fun, flowy trail with a few jumps and berms. | 1 mile + 45 ft. elevation gain Tight & twisty with many man-made obstacles. |
| Iwen Park* 6.75 Miles + 154 ft. elevation gain Longest trail system in F-M community that has a little bit of everything. |
Detroit Lakes Area Mountain Bike Trails
| Detroit Mountain Recreation Area* In the summer DMRA is a mountain bike park with miles of varied trails. Some are xc cross country with a fast and flowy feel and others are lift served gravity trails with jumps, berms, and drops. Something for everyone! Be sure to check hours of operation and trail conditions before making the trip. * - (some groomed fat bike trails) | Mountain View 4.7 miles + 435 ft. elevation gain Mountain view is a fun loop trail that can be linked with the xc trails at Detroit Mountain Recreation Area. Expect a bumpy ride over rocks and roots with a few short and steep climbs/descents as well. | Maplelag Resort* Located a few miles north of Detroit Lakes, Maplelag Resort features around 25 miles of singletrack in the thick woods around Maplelag Resort. It ranges from tight, old school riding to new-school flow. You'll encounter many rocks and roots throughout as well, and be sure to bring your climbing legs. Mind the the trail fee and if you are up for it give the Lagchilada Challenge a try! |
Jamestown, ND Mountain Biking
| Pipestem Creek Trail 8 miles + 800 ft. elevation gain Pipestem Creek trail offers enjoyable yet challenging singletrack just north of Jamestown, ND. Riders will face a fair amount of climbing with little opportunity to fully recover from one climb before being sent on to the next. Or stick to the outer section of trail for an enjoyable 3 mile loop. | Overlook Trail 5 miles + 641 ft. elevation gain This trail offers a great view of the Jamestown Resevoir throughout the entire ride. It'll help you ignore a couple of the short, punchy, sometimes technical climbs this trail features. | Split Rock Trail 1.8 miles + 104 ft. elevation gain Split Rock Trail is a great warmup ride for riders as they make their way to tackle the Island Trails or Overlook trail. Just long enough to get the blood pumping, with a couple short climbs to wake up the legs. |
| Island Trails 2 miles + 154 ft. elevation gain The Island Trails are Jamestown's newest mountain bike trails. They are nestled right between Split Rock and Overlook trails, making it a nice way to add additional mileage to your ride at either of those trails. |
Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Biking
Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area* It is difficult to convey Cuyuna's awesomeness in this small space. Once an abandoned mining area facing hard times, the local communities turned part of the area into mountain bike trails to turn things around - and it's working. There are around 50 miles of single track all in a well confined area. Many of the trails here are beginner and family friendly. There are also plenty of riding here for experienced/advanced riders as well, including large jumps, large drops and difficult rock sections. Located just north-east of Brainerd, MN, the 3 hour drive is just within day trip range from Fargo, but we love going there for a long weekend. If you book early enough there is great trail-side camping complete with beautiful clear lakes to swim, kayak/canoe, or even scuba-dive in. Thanks to the popularity of the cycling, the towns of Crosby and Ironton are now packed with shops, food, and lodging so the whole family can tag along and find something to do, even if not riding bike. Below are links to three of our favorite trail segments to ride when we visit...but you really can't go wrong with any of the trails here. | ||
| Bobsled Loop | Sandhog Mountain | Winze |
Maah Daah Hey Trail
| Maah Daah Hey Trail The Maah Daah Hey Trail is North Dakota's crown jewel when it comes to mountain biking. It is an IMBA Epic trail that runs through the Badlands of North Dakota. Total trail length is almost 150 miles from beginning to end on a point-to-point style trail. Much of that runs right through the heart of the badlands offering an outstanding, up-close-and-personal view of the unique landscape. This trail is definitely a bucket list experience for any mountain biker. If you like mountain bike racing, check out the Maah Daah Hey Mountain Bike races, typically held in the first weekend of August every year. |