Mountain Biking NYC – Our Favorite Spots

If you’re looking for equipment, a decent mountain bike can be found at your local rental shop. Looking to get from point A to B? The city offers transit options if you’re on two wheels, and car rentals are abound if you want to make it a day trip. Now that those problems are solved… let’s ride! To learn everything we could about MTB, we enlisted the help of our friend Bostjan Brzin – local outdoor guide at Bike Hike Tours here in NYC. He’s an experienced mountain biker who’s ridden the best trails the world, and currently guides here in the city and the Northeast.

New to Mountain Biking in NYC? Here’s our Advice.

Here’s some additional advice to make sure your MTB experience in and around the city goes as smoothly as possible:

1. Stick to the Trails

Local clubs and parks departments created these great parks specifically for the MTB community. Respect local ecology and trail regulations to avoid causing damage to the surrounding environments. City regulations also prevent mountain biking on unauthorized trails, so educate yourself on local rules, or ask a professional at your local bike shop.

2. Bikes on Public Transit

Transit authorities set the rules for when bicycles are appropriate on trains, busses, and other methods of travel. You’re like to get a side-eye during rush hour at least, or a denial of services as worst if conductors or drivers feel your bike will be an obstruction. Read up on the MTA and Metro-North’s thoughts and regulations regarding bikes, as the latter requires one-time $5 bike pass.

3. Be Real

Mountain biking can be a danger-filled sport – part of its appeal. Ease into it. You’ll learn to read obstacles, manage momentum with your body and brakes, and protect that glorious bod. If you have an opportunity to go on a guided ride, or book individual lessons, be up front with your guide about your experience level. “Most people new to a sport mark ‘intermediate’ when they book with us,” Bostjan says. “It’s ok to say you’re a beginner. It gives guides like myself a more realistic picture of your skills so you’ll have fun.”

4. Have a Blast!

Remember the freedom of riding around your hood as a kid? Mountain biking as an adult gives you a similar feeling. It can be a difficult sport, but rewards you greatly as you advance. Don’t forget to take in the sights, smells, and sounds that come with New York’s beautiful parks and surrounding towns.

Where to Mountain Bike near NYC?

Enough chit-chat… here are our favorite spots to ride in NYC and beyond!

---

1. Wolfe’s Pond Park in Staten Island

Staten Island deserves more love. It’s placid, small-town almost, and enjoys more of its original woodlands than than any other borough. It played a key role in the Revolutionary War, and supposedly has the city’s best pizza. Wolfe’s Pond Park, set on the island’s southeast, is halved by Hyland Blvd. The park’s southern half boasts a nice beachfront and namesake pond, while the northern half holds the majority of the MTB trail we rode that morning.

View all images

We pulled off of Seguine Ave. onto tiny Herbert St., which is nothing more than a bend. At the end was a small parking lot where we geared up. Walking into the trees, we spotted a “dirt park” with small jumps as we walked up. Mountain biking’s premise is to do battle against the trail, often for miles and uphill –but a jump was a jump. Bostjan swung around the park’s corners and launched over them with his full suspension bike. The leaf-littered ground made the main trail difficult to find, so Bostjan cruised around to find a defined path. We were out early in the season, but it the trailhead could have been marked more clearly. It turned out there were two trail entries at the northern end of the park – immediately south of the jump park, and where Herbert St. bends towards the parking lot.

It’s amazing what you can ride over on a mountain bike. It’s a two-wheeled tank!”

Wolfe’s Pond has around four miles of trail from top to bottom. Bostjan mentioned the park’s variety of terrain would keep a beginner busy learning over the course of a summer. After hopping some roots and clearing downed branches, we did our own branching to explore the park’s intermediate to expert level tracks. We watched as Bostjan tackled a sizable downhill portion, and we made mental notes as he gave us technical tips on handling soft soil and loose rock. The park has something for all skill and equipment levels, but you’ll want to stay sharp – some trails lead to unexpected technical surprises. Make it day by heading down to the beach, or visiting Seguine Mansion Museum for a spot of local history.

2. Highbridge Park in Manhattan

Fort George Hill, on the northernmost tip of Highbridge Park, also has a rebellious history. The hill’s namesake fort was built in 1776 to defend Manhattan’s Harlem River entry. We parked at the hilltop on Fort George Hill Ave. and spotted a busy dirt park, next to basketball courts and ball fields. Clearly marked signs and trail maps confirmed we found the spot. Thanks to NYC Parks, the old hill’s still got it.

View all images

The mountain biking in Highbridge Park offers a few miles of quality singletrack – routes safely passable by only one bike. Aside from the hilltop entrance, you can link to the starter trails on Dyckman St. at the bottom of the hill. If you head north from the jump park you’ll link up with the easier trails, and to the east, one of the most advanced routes in the city. Bostjan put his skills on display on the expert route with switchbacks down the hill. Each tightly banked turn had a jump soon after. The track utilized natural features like boulders and some human-assisted rock garden –stretches of track covered in rock. I read later this route is considered double-black diamond, Hellfighter. It’s easy to underestimate difficulty when watching a master at work.

I can’t believe this is in Manhattan”

After the show, we rode over to sample some of the intermediate trails. Despite some patches of litter, the trails were well maintained and marked. There were a variety of uphill and downhill runs –”climbs” and “descents” in MTB terms – with varying degrees of difficulty. In summer, the hill’s canopy masks the skyscrapers, bridges, and cars, lending a surreal feeling that you’ve left the city for your own personal adventure park. If you’re interested in watching pros in action, various clubs around the city hold mountain biking competitions on Fort George. Take a visit to the medieval-themed Cloisters Museum nearby if you have some time to kill.

3. Cunningham Park in Queens

Cunningham Park was home to America’s first highway made for automobiles, but these days it’s mountain bikes that are blazing the park’s trails. It plays host to many sports, but the park’s North Woods trail system is built for mountain bike trips and hosts the best mountain biking in Queens. It’s also one of the best urban mountain biking opportunities in the city, providing eight miles of singletrack playground and 50 feet of elevation change within a relatively small area.

View all images

Cunningham’s northern tip is nestled among expressways, but you easily forget you’re in the city due to its woody cover. The trailhead is clearly marked on the park’s 210th St. side. It’s not unlike a door to another world as you immediately duck into the canopy. A big advantage to the North Woods setup is its continuity and length. A loop through the trail system was an action-packed 45 minutes, but you can stretch your run as a beginner by committing to some new moves. There are a variety of manmade obstacles like rock jumps to test your proficiency, and some features will have you ducking and weaving. If you’re into speed, there’s plenty to be had in the North Woods. And of course there’s a pristine dirt park, this time specifically tailored to the MTB crowd. The NYC Parks department and its volunteers deserve credit their incredible work on the city’s trail systems. GreenApple Corp – an environmental and ecological impact program– laid the foundational trails for mountain biking in Cunningham Park over the course of a year. They were guided by members of the Concerned Long Island Mountain Bicyclists (C.L.I.M.B.) and used International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) specifications to reduce environmental impact. There’s an incredible community around mountain biking in the city. Speaking of Long Island, we’d be remiss not to mention mountain biking in Glacier Ridge or mountain biking in Hither Hills State Park as far-off, but still great alternatives. However, if you’re looking for a guided adventure through Cunningham specifically, sign up for a three hour lesson with Bike Hike Tours. Bikes and helmets are included, and you can use or mention the code 57hrs when booking for an exclusive $20 discount!

4. Graham Hills Park in Pleasantville, NY

When the word “Pleasantville” leaves your lips, it’s hard not to smile. Go ahead, try it! It’s a chill town, fiercely proud of its local mindset, it shuns any mention that it’s a city. The town hosts a big summer music festival, a bustling Saturday farmer’s market, and was the original home of Captain Lawrence Brewery, now in Elmford down the road. Pleasantville is a mountain town that happens to sit only 300 feet above sea level. In a county rich with parks, Graham Hills Park is dedicated to mountain biking. It’s wrapped in expressways, much like Cunningham, and is a quick ride west on Bedford Rd. from downtown Pleasantville. We found the park’s entrance across from Pace University on the north – a hard to miss landmark. The trailheads began directly at the parking lot, which was a welcome convenience. A unique aspect of the Graham Hills is its two directional singletrack, which meant the possibility of meeting another rider going the opposite direction on a narrow trail. Etiquette says the rider going uphill has the right of way, and a friendly holler to alert another rider of your presence is always welcome. Graham Hills favors riders with a few MTB runs under their belt. Every 50 yards of track required quick thinking, a tight squeeze, or a challenging climb or drop. Beginners are often surprised by the upper body strength required while mountain biking, and Graham Hills tones your arms by the end of your ride. The park features speedy descents not unlike those you’ll find mountain biking in Colorado, but be on the watch for conditions ahead. It took little over an hour to explore most of the park’s seven miles of track, but you could easily stretch it to an afternoon run. If you have some time to spare, try a tasting at one of Pleasantville’s wineries or explore any of Westchester County’s numerous, beautiful parks.

5. Blue Mountain Reservation in Peekskill, NY

If the goal is advancement and a break from the city, it’s hard for mountain bikers to resist the call of upstate New York. If you head north along the Hudson River by car or train, it’s an hour and a half to reach one of the best mountain biking experiences in the entire Northeast – Blue Mountain Reservation near Peekskill. Established in the late 1600’s through an agreement with local tribes, Peekskill is ancient by American history standards. It’s a great location to take a day – or weekend – to explore the best the Hudson has to offer, including one of the most pleasant hiking trails in NYC, the one leading across the river at Bear Mountain. Local volunteers with the Westchester Mountain Biking Association (WMBA) watch over 20-plus miles of MTB-ready trail at Blue Mountain. Challenging singletrack routes spider between main paths which establish the trail system’s perimeter. There is a decent major elevation change as you ride toward the park’s eastern border. You’ll want a whole day to explore, and you can always return to tackle it all. Parts of the park were suitable for beginner growth, but Blue Mountain leans toward intermediate and advanced. Most of the runs featured rocky terrain, but there were plenty of “flow” or “pump” trails – momentum-heavy rides with minimal pedaling. A feature unique to Blue Mountain are its huge boulders to ride over, called “big rollers” in the community. There’s also a shooting range on the park’s southeast border, so stick to the trails at all times in that area. Blue Mountain is close enough to the city to visit regularly, but far enough to get a true taste of what mountain biking is in a full outdoor setting. It’s free to walk and bike onto, and $10 for a day for out-of towners to park. A tremendous value for the day.

---

Ride on!

Whether you’re visiting on business, as a tourist, or doing some rock climbing in and around NYC, we hope you make time to mountain bike New York this year. Each park is less than two hours from the heart of the city, and an easy ride once you figure out logistics. Are you ready to go on your first NYC mountain biking adventure? There’s no better way to explore the best mountain biking trails in New York than on a guided trip that’s completely catered to your skills and goals.