Colonie Town Park/Ridge Trail

Great trail and mix of everything, Shale is not an issue, it just adds to the fun

Easy to get lost/off track. Takes a while to find your way out, but is a fun trip. Mostly... Some uphills were so crazy, I just turned around to take another trail. The shale rocks everyone talks about is a very big problem. Didn't fall, but felt like my tires would just pop from them.

Well marked and easy to follow. Fun trail names. Definitely rideable with some tricky areas. Good old fashion east coast cross country mountain bike trail.

The closer to the water, the more fun and challenging it is. This trail system has something for every skill level. Remember though these are classic Northeast XC trails, so don't expect long climbs or gravity flow.

Very rocky, lots of climbs, a grab bag of terrain...(shale, sand, mud, dirt, roots). Not very flowy at all. Definitely need full suspension... hardtail is very challenging... BTW bring a med kit if you fall... lots of sharp shale rock

Lots of shale like rock, about 25% of ride.On south side of Bike trail is long yellow loop. Not much chance for other trails, so you do it all at once. Enjoyable ride, shale wasn't as awful as I expected, but was still prominent at times. Signage was great to complete one 3.5 mile ride On opposite side of trail , behind ballfields, the trail is totally different. Except for path along river, little shale rock. Lots of trails there, no markings. No the best in area, but fun - Central park in Schen is better, as much as because of lack of shale

It was my first time hete. Nice trail. More rocks that I'm used to but cool. Rock gardens are too difficult but can supprise if you don't pay attention. Will be back tomorrow to do some more riding.

Fun and close to home . This is fun going through the woods right before Halloween with all the decorations . There are also numerous other trails through the park. There's a trail in the center the park but is not marked. It is a great loop . I did not find this trail very hard . I did it with a hybrid bike as well as a mountain bike . It handled the shale area by the water with no problem. Best trails are east of the bike path .

Hardest trail I've been on in the area. I would rate this as above intermediate. The inclines are quick and tough and the shale is unforgiving. But this trail is a lot of fun. Very well maintained and even decorated still from Halloween :) Light mud in a few spots but most of the trails is pretty hard packed. In terms of difficulty this is the hardest trail I've been on near my hometown.

More technical and physically challenging than other popular trails around the area.

The trails are marked, named, and well maintained. The area is pretty and the locals bikers are very friendly.

Frankly, though, you have to be in better shape than I was to really do this trail. The first long climb had me wheezing and the constant changes in elevation never let me recover. Compared to Central Park, the ascents are just as steep, but 2 or 3 times longer, and more difficult with the rocks to negotiate. I was also worried for my bike there. I have an entry level cross country bike, and I felt like I was abusing it on the rocks at times. Also, though the paths were fairly well labeled, I was not able to figure my way out. With so many split-offs, I really wasn't sure where to go without a map, and I wound up doing a few frustrating loops before finally making a make-shift exit.

As a beginner/intermediate rider, I would rank this trail third out of the three main trails I've been to this year: Luther Forest, Central Park, then Colonie. A more advanced biker with a more substantial bike could have a lot of fun here.

The difficult rating of intermediate seems low for this as compared to other intermediate rated trails. The riding was pretty technical then add in rocks....and plenty of them.

Hats off to whoever made and maintains this place, its amazing,like a training grounds.

It's marked pretty well for most of the way around. Keeping it one way and safer. I did seem to lose track of the markers though a good ways in and found me relying on my GPS to get back out, without following the trail backwards. (And against the intended direction) I upload a screen shot of the GPS trail to show how the basic layout is.

..and to add, if you don't use bike specific shoes to clip to pedals and wear things like Vibrams (as I do), make sure to where the thick soled hiking versions......yes the rocks are that bad. :)

Nice little trail system. Pretty hard on your bike with the sharp shale. I blew a tire my first time going but not since then. Good but when other trails are around like Luther Forest it's better just to go there...

Great trail , to bad progress is taking a good portion of it away , But kudos to the group that maintain the trails and all the rerouting they are working on , A big thank you

Alittle tricky to find but is a real nice spot to go ride. Really maintained trails with Halloween objects all throughout the trail system.

Rode this for the first time this year, had a great ride, trail was dry and fairly well maintained. Saw a couple other people on the trail.

Short ride on 4/20/14, as still a bit muddy, but drying out; still needs a couple more days.

Did this trail this morning. The trail is in need of some work right now. There are a couple of places where large trees have fallen across it. Overall, it was a fun ride though.

I used to ride this several times a week. There's something for everybody. Fast singletrack, technical up & downhills, some water crossings. Its VERY easy to get lost and happened to me more than once. Go with someone who knows or GPS.