Top North American Mountain Bike Parks by Region

In this blog, we are discussing our favorite lift assisted mountain bike parks in North America and why. Everyone has their favorite zone to ride and hopefully after reading this article we can inspire riders to get out and experience new places.  Let us know what your favorite mountain bike parks are!

West

Big Bear is Southern California’s only lift served mountain bike park and features a large network of professional built and maintained trails for all different skill levels. Big Bear Mountain Resort puts a big emphasis on meeting the needs of both beginner riders as well as professional riders from the area. This is a shop favorite MTB destination as it is only a 2 hour drive from us! You can catch us shredding here a lot during the spring and summer months :)

Location: Big Bear Lake California, 2 hours east of Los Angeles

Bike Park Stats:
Peak Elevation: Bear Peak 8,805 feet
Base Elevation: 7,140 feet
Vertical Drop: 1,665 feet
Number of Trails: 9
Approximate Opening Day: May 26th
Day Pass: Announced mid April
Seasons Pass: Adult passes start at $299
http://www.bigbearmountainresort.com/summer/mountain-biking/mountain-biking

Mammoth is where downhill mountain bike racing was born! The spirit of mountain biking still lives on at Mammoth mountain. The last two years Mammoth has hosted USA Cycling’s mountain bike national championships, with downhill, dual slalom, and cross country events. Mammoth has something to offer every rider at any skill level, with their Discover Zone for first timers to the iconic Kamikaze downhill trail. Mammoth is home to over 3,500 acres of awesome trails!

Location: Mammoth Lakes California

Bike Park Stats:
Peak Elevation: 11,053 feet
Base Elevation: 7,953 feet
Vertical Drop: 3,100 feet
Number of Trails: 45
Miles of Trails: Over 80 miles of single track connected to the bike park
Approximate Opening Day: May 27th
Day Pass: $45
Seasons Pass: Adult passes start at $349
http://www.mammothmountain.com/summer/bike-park-overview/bike-park/mammoth-bike-park

Northstar is home to northern California’s largest mountain bike park. With 33 different marked trails on the mountain, Northstar has plenty of terrain to keep you busy. In 2016, GoPro partnered with Northstar to create a rider experience the first of its kind. With different cameras and challenges setup on different features on the mountain, Northstar and GoPro have created a unique interactive experience for its customers.

Location: Truckee, California

Bike Park Stats:
Peak Elevation: 8,610 feet
Base Elevation: 6,850 feet
Vertical Drop: 1,760 feet
Number of Trails: 33
Approximate Opening Day: May 27th
Day Pass: $54
Seasons Pass: $369
http://www.northstarcalifornia.com/bike-and-hike/mountain-biking.aspx

Some would consider Whistler Mountain Bike Park to be the most popular lift access bike park in the world! Whistler has it all and even more. Whistler has set the benchmark for what is possible at a mountain bike park. Some of the most progressive and talented riders have come from Whistler. The entire region supports mountain biking so much that the mountain bike lifestyle is engraved in its people. Each year, Whistler holds the final stop of the Crankworx series, bringing all of the best riders in the world to Whistler. For a true big mountain experience riding your bike, Whistler won’t let you down.

Location: Whistler, British Columbia. 1.5 hours north of Vancouver.

Bike Park Stats:
Peak Elevation: 7,494 feet
Base Elevation: 2,140 feet
Vertical Drop: 5,280 feet
Number of Trails: 57
Approximate Opening Day: May 20th
Day Pass: $61
Seasons Pass: $725
http://bike.whistlerblackcomb.com/

Rocky Mountains

 The Keystone Bike Park consists of some of the country's best downhill trails with progressive terrain for riders of all abilities. Take your bike up a chairlift and gain access to some of Colorado’s most exhilarating expert downhill challenges with rock gardens, rock drops and high-speed features. Beginner and intermediate bikers can enjoy roller coaster rides over bridges and berms without the steepness or rock gardens you’ll find in other areas of the park.

Also, Keystone is the hub for hundreds of miles of world-class single track . The Keystone Bike Park trails combined with the trails branching from the Colorado Trail provide seemingly endless riding opportunities.

Location: Summit County, 75 miles from Denver.

Bike Park Stats:
Peak Elevation: Dercum Summit 11,640 feet
Base Elevation: 9,280 feet
Vertical Drop: 2,360 feet
Number of Trails: 55
Miles of Trails: 55
Approximate Opening Day: June 10th
Day Pass: $44
Seasons Pass: giving you access to Keystone, Park City, Vail, Breckenridge, Northstar and Kirkwood only $389
http://www.keystoneresort.com/activities/mountain-biking.aspx 

Canyons Bike Park is located in Park City Utah, one of the most well known ski towns in the country. In the summer, Park City turns its focus towards mountain biking and Canyons is king. The bike park is moving into its sixth year of operation, featuring trails geared towards intermediate to advanced riding. Canyons Bike Park includes two skills parks and four skill-level trails with a variety of features. This lift serviced bike park is accessed from the High Meadow and Short Cut chairlifts both located at the Red Pine Mid-mountain Adventure Area. Bike rental and repair are available at Canyon Mountain Rentals, located in the Resort Village. Offering top of the line downhill and cross country bike rentals from Cannondale, GT and Schwinn.

In addition to the trails in the Bike Park, you can access miles of some of Park City's best singletrack by way of the Canyon's gondola. Dropping you off at 8,000 feet where you can hit the famous Mid Mountain trail or Wasatch Crest trail among others. Canyons Resort also has more than 20 miles of cross-country trails throughout the resort.

Location: Park City, Utah. A scenic 30 minute drive from Salt Lake City.

Bike Park Stats:
Peak Elevation: 9,990 feet
Base Elevation: 6,800 feet
Vertical Drop: 3,190 feet
Number of Trails: 7
Approximate Opening Day: June 17th
Day Pass: $37
Seasons Pass: giving you access to Keystone, Vail, Breckenridge, Northstar and Kirkwood only $369
http://mtbparks.com/Utah/270-Canyons-Bike-Park/View-details.html#overview

Southeast

Windrock Bike Park is a year round shuttle service bike with some of the most rugged big mountain terrain the southeast has to offer. The Windrock trail system has been in use for the last 20 years, but just in the Fall of 2016, Windrock opened as a fully functioning mountain bike park. Now featuring blue level machine built flow trails along with its renowned rocky terrain, Windrock suits riders of all skill levels. Only in its first year of operation, Windrock plans to continue expanding its number of trails along with adding a demo fleet of downhill bikes from YT Industries. The park is run by world cup downhill racer Neko Mulally, along with Sean Leader, giving its customers a unique experience being rider driven. The park is known for the quality of its trails bringing in riders from all over the country. Windrock offers its shuttle service on Saturdays and Sundays, while self shuttles are open Monday through Friday.  In March of 2017, Windrock will be hosting the first stop of the USA Cycling Pro Gravity Tour.

Location: Oliver Springs, Tennessee. 35 minutes north of Knoxville.

Bike Park Stats:
Peak Elevation: 3,200 feet
Base Elevation: 1,050 feet
Vertical Drop: 2,150 feet
Number of Trails: 9
Open Year Round!
Day Pass: $37
10 Day Pass Available for $250
http://www.windrockbikepark.com/

 With such a large trail network and great accommodations, Snowshoe is its own oasis. Snowshoe is unique in the fact that its resort, lodging, and resturants are all located at the top of the mountain. It’s as easy as waking up in the morning and rolling your bike right down the mountain. Because of this the bike park is able to access both sides of the mountain, known as the Basin area and the Western Territory. The different terrain offers a little something for everyone. Beginner riders can progress on the different machine groomed trails while expert riders can find anything from big jump lines to Snowshoe’s infamous rugged trail, Lower Hairball. Snowshoe Bike Park is a three-time winner of the top five best bike parks in the U.S. by MTBparks.com. Snowshoe will be hosting the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships in 2017 and 2018.

Location: Snowshoe, West Virginia. 3.5 hours west of Richmond Virginia

Bike Park Stats:
Peak/Base Elevation: 4,848 feet
Vertical Drop: 1,500 feet
Number of Trails: 40
Approximate Opening Day: June 2nd
Day Pass: $40
Seasons Pass: $249
https://www.snowshoemtn.com/things-to-do/activities/snowshoe-bike-park

Northeast

Highland mountain was one of the first mountain bike parks on the east coast with such an array of action packed features. The trails at Highland range from smooth bermed up jump trails to rocky and rough technical trails. Highland has developed a brand for itself that allows beginner riders to progress. With dirt jumps, cross country trails, and the Ayr academy on site, Highland has done a great job creating a fun place to ride on such a small mountain. Highland is a mountain bike park only and doesn’t function as a skiing destination in the winter, meaning its season starts earlier in the spring and finishes later in the fall.

Location: Northfield, New Hampshire

Bike Park Stats:
Peak Elevation: 1,497 feet
Base Elevation: 870 feet
Vertical Drop: 627 feet
Number of Trails: 23
Approximate Opening Day: April 27th
Day Pass: $44
Seasons Pass: $389
http://highlandmountain.com/

Mountain Creek is another top class mountain bike park on the east coast. Mountain Creek’s roots are in their rocky technical trails. When you want a break from the rugged terrain, Mountain Creek has plenty of machine built jump trails designed for all skill levels. This year the U.S. Open downhill race is coming back to Mountain Creek. In the past, the U.S. Open brought the world’s fastest downhill racers to Vernon New Jersey. 2017 should be a great year for the mountain.

Location: Vernon, New Jersey. 1.5 hours from New York City.

Bike Park Stats:
Peak Elevation: 1,480 feet
Base Elevation: 440 feet
Vertical Drop: 1,040 feet
Number of Trails: 50
Approximate Opening Day: April 27th
Day Pass: $45
Seasons Pass: $360
http://www.mountaincreek.com/bike-park

For big mountain riding on the east coast, head to Bromont! Bromont seems to go under the radar a little bit compared to other parks out there, but it is one of our favorite mountain bike parks. Although Bromont is most known for the great trails designed for its elite riders, they can accommodate the needs of beginner riders, advanced, and everything in between.

Location: Bromont, Quebec. 45 minutes southeast of Montreal.

Bike Park Stats:
Peak Elevation: 1,853 feet
Base Elevation: 590 feet
Vertical Drop:  1,263 feet
Number of Trails: 24
Approximate Opening Day: May 20th
Day Pass: $43
Seasons Pass: $270
https://skibromont.com/en/mountain-biking