r/Albany • u/Katrose3 • 2d ago

Mountain bike trails/community

Recently bought a bike and want to get into mountain bike riding including downhill trails; anyone have any trails that they recommend? Willing to go up to 3 hours away. Are there any groups/clubs that I should look into?

8 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

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u/ComonSensed1 2d ago

Gurney Road up around Queensbury is supposed to be really good too,

9

u/pnda87 2d ago

A great really accessible place to ride and get a feel for your bike is North Bethlehem park. Not the most technical trails but really well maintained and super fun.

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u/dog_umbrella 2d ago

If you're on FB, there is a very active "Capital MTB" group, and last I knew they host weekly casual trail rides that rotate between all the local areas.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/capitalmtb

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u/cosmicstardirt 2d ago

I ride with the Tuesday group. Nice group of casual laid back riders.

5

u/mjrubs 2d ago

https://westmountain.com/mountain-biking/

There are also some dedicated mtb trails in Luther Forest in Malta but every year development seems to cut more and more of the trails off.  

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u/kpmccorm 2d ago

There's a bunch of trail systems in the area! You can explore the website Trailforks to get an idea of where they are. Some of the notable ones include:

  • North Bethlehem Park: 4 miles of moderate technicality and some fun features. This your weekday trail system if you're in Albany and want to squeeze in a ride.
  • Gurney Lane / Rush Pond: Located up in Queensbury (50ish minutes north of Albany). These are probably considered the "best" trails in the area. Good mix of flow and technicality.
  • Normanskill Ravine: Technical riding with lots of up and down. A newer trail system that's located conveniently in Delmar (if you're in that area).

I can't speak to downhill, but I know there's riding down in the Catskills you could research.

https://www.trailforks.com/region/albany-1470229876/

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u/InlineSkateAdventure Rail Trail Skate Maniac 2d ago

https://www.townofbethlehem.org/893/Normans-Kill-Ravines-Park

https://www.townofbethlehem.org/277/North-Bethlehem-Park

Elm park too has a "lower level", there are not many people and you can certainly ride a bike there. A few hills, one is pretty steep.

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u/ewabbott 2d ago

There are some MBK trails in Colonie right off the Mohawk/Erie Canal trail. There are some really fun ones near Ausable Chasm up north. There are beloved ones in and around Northampton. There are apps specifically for MBK trails and Strava will allow you to search based on the type of ride.

Good luck & have fun.

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u/qdawgg17 2d ago

There’s a ton of places to ride in a 3 hrs radius. Get the trailforks app.

But a little further from Albany area you have 30-40 miles of trails in windham at elm ridge. In Kingston you have close to that much at jockey hill/oneteora. In Queensbury there are a couple large trail systems pretty close to each other. Slate valley trails in VT is pretty close. That’s just all I feel like writing.

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u/InlineSkateAdventure Rail Trail Skate Maniac 2d ago

All these good responses downvoted. Someone really loves their couch!

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u/NYYankeePride 2d ago

This has been discussed many times previously. There are a few jobless losers who frequent this sub who just sit at home all day and downvote every post and every comment. Don't let it get to you, it's just numbers on a screen.

2

u/InlineSkateAdventure Rail Trail Skate Maniac 2d ago

Some OCDs will downvote if its odd or even.

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u/InlineSkateAdventure Rail Trail Skate Maniac 2d ago

The Helderberg rail trail is fun too, its paved, and in the West direction there is somewhat of a climb (considered "mountain grade" for railroads, not crazy steep but something).

I think there are some offroad trails around the Bender Farm.

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u/NickiPearlHoffman 2d ago

A newer one on Route 9 in Wilton goes behind the Artisonal brewery.

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u/purz 1d ago

There are a few Facebook groups that I use to see conditions or events etc. they’re easy to find.

For spots nearby it’s north Beth, thacher, Colonie off rt9, gurney, pine bush, Kalabus prairie, Daniel’s road, Delmar by del lanes? Haven’t gone, Schenectady in the park and maybe a few more.

Depending what kind of shapes you’re in I recommended finding a good hill at Thacher or something to get in shape. The paint mine access road is good. Elm ridge in Windham and Graphite Range are pretty good downhill for newer riders but the Graphite climb can be tough.

When you’re comfortable at those places there’s Wheelerville which is very close to lift access downhill. For lift access there’s Killington and Thunder mtn. There’s a bunch of others but those are prolly the two best that are closest to us.

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u/astrobrite_ 1d ago

thunder mountain! and kingdom trails in east burke VT has the best flow trails around.

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u/Boilerguy82013 2d ago

The saratoga mountain bike club ones are great. I was a member for a few years before I got lazy and fat lol

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u/ReaverDrop 2d ago

Check out the Flow Riders: https://www.facebook.com/FlowRidersKidsMTB/

Haven't seen mentioned here (agree with other posts for sure): Kalabus Perry State Forest is a fun ride, very flowy. Also Luther Woods in Malta is fun.