Shoutout to @chucsutt, @timber and @MTBA for showcasing some of the fantastic trails on offer in the maritimes.
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Great to see recognition.
Wouldnāt call Minto the best trails in NB or even one of the Best trail systems in NB.
Trash talking probably isnāt the best tech trail at Victoria park. That would have to be Treesum, McCreedy, or Hawk. Last I checked Trash Talking was a flow trail and itās likely the best one.
Anyways just my 2 cents.
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Iāll never understand why locals rip on Minto. Itās so interesting and different that it totally deserves to be hoisted up as a unique Mecca of riding. Even if you donāt think it even rates, you have to understand the impact of that terrain on first time visitors. I go back at least once a year and itās worth it every time. There are tons of good systems in NB and I would easily place it in the top 3.
Whatās better than Minto, @SQUATCH? MVP is fun, but not at the same level. Penniac is ok, not even close. Sugarloaf is a riot but not everyone enjoys DH (I do). Hillsborough is fun but no where close. Havenāt ridden Rockwood in ages, but I canāt imagine itās even close. Chaleur and French Fort Cove are awesome, but not as unique as Minto. Iāve not ridden Madawaska, so maybe itās better? I dunno.
Minto is a hoot, cool to look at, and very unique. I think that qualifies it as the best system
In NB.
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Anyway, no matter what trails we all like and ride, itās amazing to see our little provinces getting recognition as an amazing riding destination.
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Madawaska and Minto are so different, I wouldnāt know which one to call ābetterā than the other. Theyāre both fantastic trail systems in their own different ways.
You absolutely need to add Madawaska to your list @brightwhite. Itās a great way to break up the drive to/from Quebec and stretch the legs while riding some great trails, and thereās a fantastic wood fired pizza spot down the road to boot; Pizza Le Patrimoine
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I was going to ride it on the way back from Quebec last week, but we just didnāt have time and wanted to get home.
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Oh boy. This is gonna be divisive lol.
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Madawaska is better, by far I will say that.
To be honest vs Truro NS, the Fredericton area is weak, but itās constantly growing.
If Minto was your local trail, trust me youād ride it once a month. It looses the magic after youāve ridden it a bunch of times. Itās good, donāt get me wrong but as for progressing riders, I think locally MVP offers a better opportunity for progression as a rider, without the drive.
I donāt hate Minto, I actually quite enjoy it now that I have an XC bike. But I still donāt think itās better than anywhere else. But hey thatās opinions. I will say in prep for Elgin Iāll likely ride a lot more Minto.
Not trying to be divisive, just sharing one of hundreds of opinions, on it. But I do know that locally most people Iāve met donāt go out there super often.
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Thanks for sharing, Jamison! Awesome to see our region getting some love out there 
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Again amazing work to the creators of the content. Not trying to be overly critical. Just my opinion, I know more than what Iām thinking went into the decisions.
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As I read the article I found myself agreeing and saying āyep, agreed, flagship trails in that areaā and āyep, agreed, solid networkā for most of the trail systems listed. Iām fortunate to travel a lot with work that takes me to most of the trail networks in Atl Can and the article was def a Greatest Hits album.
Certainly a big fan of Minto, itās the epitome of fast, tight singletrack. The more speed you throw at it the techier it is. Being fit enough to rip the climbs will certainly help a rider keep the speed on the up. Without that fitness much of the terrain can seem difficult and a series of short descents with continuous painfully steep climbs. Iāve ridden a few hundred kms there and raced a couple 60k events there and have never met anyone that rips that doesnāt love it but can appreciate that not everything is for everyone. Not a lot of networks around that you can go smash a 30k singletrack ride and not touch your tracks. The whole mindblowing and unique terrain is just a bonus on top of the trails.
Madawaska/Edmundston is a fantastic network too, have logged a couple hundred k there, and while very fun and flowy with a lot of kms available itās quite wide (much of it is machine built width) and thereās not a ton of technical or supersteep trails or features. It would be a great training ground for Elgin and certainly itās perfect for the XCM events theyāve held there.
IMO a trail network can be fun if it has a few kms but itās not going to be great until you can put together a decently long ride without having to do laps of the same stuff. If one rider is avgāing 15-20 kph on terrain and another is avgāing 6-10 they may have different expectations and needs on how great that network is. I can think of a boatload of trail networks that have some great trails but the amount of terrain is limited and youāve done it and got the t-shirt after 60-90 mins.
Weāre blessed with a growing and diverse offering of trails in this region. I like to think of trails like music- I may prefer one genre or band in the moment but I donāt have a āfavouriteā that trumps everything else. Variety is the spice of life.
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Man, no love for Wrandees. Whereās the feels for that sweet 90s jank. Lolz
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Wrandees was our high school sweetheart- new and exciting and we look back fondly on the experience and we learned a lot of things but ultimately we drifted apart.
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Great article, and nails all the great trails in the region.
I absolutely love Minto, for me, its the place I enjoy the most in the region, I love the combo of speed and punchy tech, the landscape is also so unique, really cool spot.
I tried Brookvale for the first time last week and that place is also a blast,.so fast and fun. Coming from riding in HRM for 25+ years, the smoother flowy trails are nice!
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I keep thinking about that Simgletracks.com list of the āmost popularā trails in our area and how out of touch it was, compared to this list, which is near perfect.
I am absolutely in love with Brookvale, so much fun.
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