Good mountain biking trail for a beginner

[eminva]

Generally speaking, where in the Washington region do you live? That might help us find some good trails near you.

For a beginner (or beyond), there are good trails at Wakefield Park in Fairfax County.

Have fun!

Liz

[acc]

Welcome! You have come to the right place ro ask. Many other members here know far more than i do about mountain bikes. Last summer was my first experience on one. So i can answer from a novice’s perspective.

I can handle 90% of Wakefield Park without whimpering, balking, or invoking the name of a higher power.

Ann

[Marcella]

I haven’t been to Cedarville in a long time, but I seem to recall that it’s pretty easy.

[jabberwocky]

Wakefield is an excellent beginner trail system, easily accessible from the beltway:
http://www.logoffrideon.com/trails/index.php?title=Wakefield

Lake Fairfax is also a good one for Reston folks:
http://www.logoffrideon.com/trails/index.php?title=Lake_Fairfax

Laurel Hill is an excellent, somewhat new trail system in Lorton:
http://www.logoffrideon.com/trails/index.php?title=Laurel_Hill

Schaeffer Farms is a good one for Maryland folks, although its slightly more difficult than the above trails:
http://www.logoffrideon.com/trails/index.php?title=Schaeffer_Farms

If you want company for a loop around Lake Fairfax, drop me a line. Its my local trail. I’d be happy to play trail guide.

[DaveK]

Rosaryville would be great for a mountain biking newbie. My friend does it on his cross bike – the trails aren’t that technical but they flow together very smoothly. My favorite park.

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/southern/rosaryville.asp

[Greenbelt]

@DaveK 14102 wrote:

Rosaryville would be great for a mountain biking newbie. My friend does it on his cross bike – the trails aren’t that technical but they flow together very smoothly. My favorite park.

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/southern/rosaryville.asp

Great thread. I’m going to try this one — it’s just a bit down the beltway from me. There are some unofficial (and not entirely legal) trails suitable for MTB in Greenbelt, but this is probably a better idea.

[jabberwocky]

Rosaryville is a good one too. I tend not to think of it as a beginner trail due to its length (10 miles per loop). The terrain is not difficult at all though. Its a good beginner trail for someone with decent fitness.

http://www.logoffrideon.com/trails/index.php?title=Rosaryville_State_Park

[Dirt]

Rosaryville is a great place for riding with beginners. Just be aware that it is also a place where lots of people go with their horses. Horses don’t often use the same trails that the cyclists do, but there are sometimes points where you meet up with them.

Remember that the horse people have the right of way. When you see someone on a horse, stop, get off your bike, stand next to it and talk to the people and horses. There are times when the person on the horse will let you know that you don’t have to get off the bike. I’ve also had times when someone has told me that I can just ride past. Usually it is good to err on the side of caution. Spooking a horse is not a good thing for anyone involved.

Hugs and kisses,

Pete

[CapsCyclists]

Thanks! I probably should have mentioned that I live in the Northern Virginia area. I’ll definitely try out Wakefield first!

[QuantFail]

LOVE Schaeffer’s farm. Excellent trails. Has an option of 5-6 different difficulty and distance. Not very crowded at all. Just awesome.

[Dirt]

@QuantFail 14747 wrote:

LOVE Schaeffer’s farm. Excellent trails. Has an option of 5-6 different difficulty and distance. Not very crowded at all. Just awesome.

Schaeffer farms on a weekend morning in the spring, summer or fall is often the opposite of “not very crowded”. It is still fun.

This time of year it often closes because of muddy conditions.

On the good side, there’s a new connector trail that hooks into the new Seneca Ridge Trail. That goes another 6 miles connecting up with Seneca Creek Park, which connects to more stuff.

The bottom line is this: With 2 short road sections (one a little more than a mile, the other about 1/2 mile) you can ride from the C&O Canal, up Muddy Branch trail, connect into Seneca Creek Park, connect into Seneca Ridge Trail, connect into Schaeffer Farms Park, connect into Hoyles Mill Connector and then to Black Hill Regional park. Depending on where you want to start, that can be between 30 and 40 miles of singletrack with very little road needed to connect it all. Having it accessible from the C&O is cool for us endurance riders.

If you don’t mind some longer road sections, it is possible to connect into Little Bennet, Upper McGruder, Seneca Greenway and a few others too.

This is how most of the above mentioned trails connect together with the C&O: http://app.strava.com/activities/2001666 That includes very little of Schaeffer Farms and it bypasses the new Seneca Ridge Trail.

The thing I like best about riding in MoCo is how it all connects up.

[Dirt]

And while I’m talking about connecting trails up…. Fairfax County has the Cross County Trail. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/cct/ The maps are pretty good at helping navigate parts of the trail.

At the north end of the county, there is Riverbend Regional Park with some good singletrack. You need to be careful because some trails are not open to bikes. That connects into the doubletrack through Great Falls National Park. That connects to the CCT and then to Lake Fairfax Regional Park. There are some nice new-ish trails there that are fun to ride. Heading south the CCT is quite pleasant single and doubletrack through Great Falls and along the Difficult Run Stream Valley. As it heads south, it crosses over the W&OD into Reston and has a very nice section of singletrack. There’s a bit of road section between Oakton and the east edge of Fairfax City. Paved/Gravel trail leads south to Wakefield Park, which has a small, but nice network of singletrack. Connected to Wakefield via the underpass below Braddock Road is Lake Accotink Regional Park. The trails there are a little more challenging than Wakefield, but still nice for a beginner. The CCT continues south for quite a while and eventually winds up at Laurel Hill Regional Park, which is on the property that used to be Lorton Prison. This is a great trail network and lots of fun for beginners. For those with a bit of adventure and who don’t mind some road riding, it is possible to ride to Fountainhead regional park for some more technical trails.

In all there’s a pretty easy way to connect up the Fairfax County parks with trails. They are, however, much more spaced out than the ones in Montgomery County.

Rock and roll.

Pete

[Author]

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