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Tags:
Level: Intermediate
Length: 25 mi (40.2 km)
Surface: Singletrack
Configuration: Other
Elevation: +138/ -134 ft
Total: 36 riders
Mountain Biking Finger Lakes Trail - Mt. Morris/letchworth State Park
#21 of 301 mountain bike trails in New York
The trail actually goes through much of western new york although not all is accessible to bikers. This chunk though has pretty much everything though. Creek crossings, tight singletrack, roots, some short climbs. Basically a fast trail but pretty technical. Especially for the area. Only the one trail so just keep going til you get tired then turn around.
First added by searsandrewj on Jan 1, 2003. Last updated May 1, 2020. → add an update
Before you go
- Drinking water: unknown
- Lift service: unknown
- Night riding: unknown
- Pump track: unknown
- Restrooms: unknown
- Fat bike grooming: unknown
- E-bikes allowed: unknown
- Fee required: unknown
This trail information is user-generated. Help improve this information by suggesting a correction.
ake 390 south from Rochester to Exit 7(Mt. Morris). Take Rt 408 West(or possibly south). There will be an intersection with 408 and 36, where you make a left then an immediate right to stay on 408. Drive right out of town and on the right side will be a sign for Mt Morris Dam park. Turn right on to that and drive til you see the parking lot on the left. Park in the parking lot and the trail is on the left of the entrance to that parking lot. There are actually two parking lots, both will be on your left, to get to the second one just keep going straight until you can;t go straight anymore and then turn left and park in the parking lot (you should be able to see the dam from this parking lot). I would reccomend starting from the second parking lot.
Deceptively difficult! This is a -really- nice and fairly fast trail. It's just a good old-school hiking trail that happens to work well for mountain biking...there are no jumps, no skinnys, no drops or other mountain bike trail cliches that I ran into.
That said, many of the numerous creek crossings are quite difficult (severe angles of departure and approach with tons of roots and rocks) and will challenge even skilled riders.
The trail has several dramatic and scenic overlooks of the Genesee river and gorge, so get your phone camera ready.
| ThankThe trail is linear (not a loop) so plan accordingly.
Getting there: Google "Mount Morris Dam & Recreation Area." That will take you right to the free parking lot right next to the trail head....do NOT go to Letchworth State Park - it's on the other side of the river and you have to pay to get in.
This trail has a little bit of everything for the intermediate rider .
| Thankgreat trail beautiful scenery some pretty sweet descents and if you ride the entire 25 miles then you should reward yourself by going into town to the local pizza shop and grab one of the most amazing philly cheesesteaks ever created!
| ThankA lot of fun! some climbing, long easy downhills with intermitent technical riding over washes.........great overlooks on north end of trail. Can be done in sections depending on how much time you have....
| ThankThe FLT through Letchworth State park is about 25 miles long, one-way. The FLT only allows bikes inside the confines of the park, so you're not supposed to branch out on any of the cool little side trails or go out of the park. Still, the 25 miles is pretty tough. Lots of hills, plenty of perilous creek crossings too. Mostly doubletrack. Parking and maps are really good here. Also, the scenery is amazing.* Review edited 4/22/2010
| ThankSurprisingly dry for early May, gullys are still quite muddy.
| ThankFast and moderately technical... nice trail, switchbacky and tight trees. No monster climbs, alot of up and down. well marked
This is one of my favorite trails in the area. I typically park in the Mt. Morris Dam parking lot and use the mile between the Hogsback overlook and the parking lot to warm up my legs. The scenery is second to none for trails in this area as it looks over the Letchworth gorge. It is especially beautiful in the fall as the leaves are turning. There are great lookouts at several points in the first couple of miles but after that you lose the gorge and you continue through the woods and the numerous stream crossings.
| ThankThe trail is nice because if you for some reason don't feel like going back on the trail you can always ride out to River Road on one of the 2 or 3 access trails and take the roads back to your car.
If you are up for a challenge ride the entire FLT from the dam to Portageville. We typically park a car at each end in case of serious injury, bike break-down and a place for extra food/water. This will generally take you 3 to 4 hours.
A couple of weeks ago I rode from the dam to Portageville where we had parked are other car. We filled up our camelbaks/bottles and grabbed some food and rode the trail back to the dam. It took about 7.5 hours of total ride time and we were glad to get off our bikes. It is definately not greenway riding as there are lots of challenging climbs and technical sections that keep you loving the trail.
Definitely one of the best trails in the area.
Fun trail has some nice scenery. It goes for a long ways. You have the ability to kick out at almost any point and return via the road. Great day trip if you want to do the long haul. I usaully get about 10-12 miles in and kick out to the road. Bring a camera for the first 3 miles after that forget about seeing much but trail.
| ThankOne of my favorite rides. There are some very challenging switchbacks and creek crossings but overall this is a very fast trail when dry. It can be a huge mess when wet so take note of the sign in the second parking lot about trail conditions. I've also ridden a nice section of this trail several miles away. Rather than turning right onto Dam rd keep going straight several miles away the road comes to a Y vear right on to the dirt road and there is a trail head just to the right.
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