mad river valley, waitsfield, vt
| Rating: | A+ | Ride GPX data: | |
| Difficulty | Big climbs, sweet downs. As much difficulty as you want. | Last Ridden: | August 2006 |
| Best Map Link: | No good or published ride maps found yet. www.state.vt.us/vtmap/vtmap.htm for a good interactive road map of VT. | Best Trail Sampled: | Cyclone |
Description: There is very little good info out there on accessing quality MTB in the Mad River Valley. There may be an issue with land access/use. If this is the case, let me know, and I will remove maps and data contained herein. Until that time, here is some information that we would have found very useful in planning and executing our ride their in August 2006. We got HOOKED up by a local rider name Lyle (not even sure I spelled his name right). He gave us a tour 25% or so of the best local riding that demanded lungs and skills, and offered an unexpected, but joyously welcomed session of world-class MTB.
Note on Accessing the Plum Creek Trail:
It's all the way at the end of the dirt road that you come to immediately after crossing the bridge on 17 closest to the bike shop (Dana Hill Rd.). That's the same road that Clinic and GS start from.
Ride all the way to the end of the road, past the Plum Creek camp, across a huge field, past another off the grid house, onto a muddy overgrown jeep road and you will eventually come to it.
General Summary from a person who knows the region:
We usually ride a loop that includes the Hyde Away Trail, then up Phen Rd., through Phen Basin on Chain Gang/ East Loop to the top of Stagecoach Rd., go off the north side of Stagecoach onto the Rocky Road Trail through to Kew Vasseur Rd. then down into Center Fayston which will ultimately put you out in Waitsfield on Old County Rd. This section of trail is one of the best downhill's I have done anywhere, flowy, twisty and fast for several miles.
Reverse is easier climbing, but the descent isn't as much fun. This is about 2 and half hours and you pass by a lot. 1500-2000' of total climbing too.
Another good loop is the one I mentioned in my post or several variations of it. For instance, you could park at the top of Village Road above Sugarbush and ride down trail to Sugarbush Woods Rd and out to GFR, cross over behind the Sugarbush Inn, up Guyers, up the powerline, down Maple Twist and over to Camel's HumpSF, throw in a Clinic/ GS loop, with a Cyclone finish back to town. Sure it's a car shuttle, but you'll also climb a few grand in vertical and get a lot of the best stuff. Dennyland, the area bounded by Rt 100, Rolston Rd and East Warren Rd. is also crisscrossed with great bike trails. You need a local guide until we get it mapped, or plan on wandering for a while. There are certainly worse ways to spend a few hours. Moretown is another option for a couple of hours of singletrack. The trailheads are off South Hill Rd, behind the Moretown Elementary School and across the little bridge from MoGen.