New to mountain biking and don’t know where to start? Might I suggest a quick trip to Sugarloaf and the Carrabassett Valley Trail System? It’s worth the trip, regardless of your skill level.
I’ve heard so much about the Carrabassett Valley Mountain Bike Trail System that a few weeks ago Briana and I decided to take a road trip to check things out. After a good breakfast, we headed to Kingfield, Maine. It was a beautiful fall day with peak foliage, and we enjoyed the ride. Briana was excited to put her new Salsa Timberjack to the test.
If you are not aware, I’m a roadie, and we are both relatively new to mountain biking, so we were looking for something we could handle and not get in too far over our heads. I scoped out the Trail Map and noticed some intersecting beginner and intermediate trails. It looked like a good place to start. You can download the trail map here but it is also available at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center.
Tip: Trailforks App – download the smartphone app, Trailforks. The app has live GPS routing and shows your current location as well as tracks where you have been. It’s very helpful to stay clear of the super sketchy trails and assists if you get turned around in the woods.
We parked at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center. Allspeed has a bike shop right there if you need anything before you roll out. We arrived at noon and quickly geared up and hit the trails. The Outdoor Center parking lot is right at the trailhead. We crossed the parking lot and dropped into Snail Trail (signage will say 101) and ripped down a nice flowing trail connecting with Rt 27 Connector (102).
We followed Rt 27 Connector until we came upon The Narrow Gauge Trial. Narrow Gauge opens to some nice gravel double track and rail trail. You could ride for miles on the Narrow Gauge if you wished. We chose to duck into a series flowy single track including Grassy Loops (201) and Golden Road (202). Nothing technical here but great practice and fun, especially for Briana on her new bike.
We spent some time riding around that area and started back to the Outdoor Center when we saw Meade Trail (205). Earlier I had a brief conversation with a rider in the parking lot and he told us not to miss Meade Trail and he was right. Meade is a fun flowy singletrack trail that follows the Carrabassett River, a beautiful Maine scenic trail. Do yourself a favor and take a rip or two on this one. The trail dumps you back out on Narrow Gauge.
When you get a chance take a trip. It is worth the drive, Carrabassett Region NEMBA does a tremendous job on maintenance and trail markings. Kudos folks. We were excited about how the day went, we tackled the easy trails and are now looking forward to going back and trying our hand at some of the harder ones. There is plenty of trails for all skill levels, so unplug and ride.