Anyone ever bike these trails? They’re near Cape North on the Cabot Trail.
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This trail info was just posted on their FB page…
I’ve been getting lots of questions coming in on the MTB trails lately, so rather than answer the same questions multiple times, here’s a blurb.
For whatever reason, my son and I got the mountain biking bug this summer and we started riding the ski trails that we’re suitable, good enough, for MTB here at South Ridge. Not being satisfied with sections of ski trail, some of which was (is) soft and spongy, we started reclaiming sections of the old MTB trails that were used for XC racing back in the day (think Highland Ski Touring MTB races in the… 90s, maybe?). When we first rode these “reclaimed” sections (with our limited skills and Canadian Tire bikes), we were like, whoa, that’s freaking nuts… but we were hooked! So we’ve pretty much been adding sections of trail ever since with a big emphasis on the challenge factor. The first project was the Top of the Ridge trail. This is our challenge trail (see earlier post). It’s a 2.5 km climb over roots, rocks, washouts, logs and stumps. The coming down part is fun! (note: current record for the trail is 13 going up, 4 coming down) It was around this time that I started thinking we might as well share this fun time with other “crazy” people so I posted on fb. One of the questions I’ve been getting is how long are the trails. Perhaps the best answer to that question is we don’t have a lot of kms (yet) but we get lots of kms in by riding sections more than once (especially the techy sections), perhaps in a different direction (climbed it, now I’ll try descending it). Typically, we’ll drop down a challenging trail and then want to try it again a little faster. We also spend some time just playing (sessioning might be the term) on the same section of trail. There’s currently no right or wrong direction on the trails, or signage for that matter (all in good time), so you can log a lot of kms zig zagging all over the place. We do a route, which really doesn’t have too much overlap, that puts us over 10 km - about 2 hrs of riding. You’re scratching your head, wondering how 10 km can take 2 hrs? Big climbs and slow technical sections. Then there’s the down time to watch your mate struggle through a tricky spots. Lol I mentioned that we do not have signage yet, but we do have a system that separates easy sections from more difficult ones - flags and ribbons - so no one should be caught unaware (see signage in parking lot). You also have to be aware of other riders and yield to the one coming down hill. This hasn’t been an issue yet because there’s so few riders. There’s no trail fees, but you must sign a waiver before riding the trails (blue Rubbermaid beside signage in parking lot). There’s a washroom on site - green door back of the house. There’s also a hose to fill up your water bottle, or wash your bike, around back. So, I suppose the question is, is it worth my time to take in the trails? Well, I wouldn’t drive a long distance just to ride the trails (remember, we’re just getting started, lots of work to be done yet), but I would definitely add it to my itinerary if I was traveling around the Cabot Trail, or, if I was also taking in the hiking trails at South Ridge, perhaps doing some wilderness camping too. On that note, there’s plenty of space in the yard for anyone looking to pitch a tent for the night. I also wouldn’t recommend the trails to beginner/recreational cyclists - it’s not a leisurely ride. If you have any other questions just send me a message. Cheers.
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I’m planning to be in that area next week. I’ll take some pics and video to post here.
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There was a xc ski/ mtb trail system in Cape North that we raced on for a couple of years in the mid 90s.
I recall it being savagely hilly, both up and down, so the location and the description jives with the OPs statements.
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Pretty sure these are the same as South Ridge. New owner. Tommy is a salt of the earth human and loves to share what’s out there. Was in on Wednesday. Just stunning.
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I did some backcountry skiing there a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful spot!
He grooms the trails for xc skiing and would probably allow fat bikes when conditions are right.
Just check with him before you head up there.
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