Welcome to Ohio's oldest privately owned, open to the public mountain bike trail system. The trails are funded by donations and built by volunteers. VK is managed and maintained by Friends of Vultures Knob - a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to preserving access to the property.
VK is a mix of singletrack, access-road, fall-line and flow trails with some technical features. Spanning over 100 acres along the Killbuck River in the rolling hills of Wooster, The Knob has delivered a unique trail experience to the community for more than 25 years. The facilities are open 365 days a year (weather permitting) for open riding outside of race events. Camping is permitted and pets are welcome. Donations can be made on-site in the pavilion or online at vulturesknob.org
The trail is ridden clockwise unless by special event. A rough access road crosses the course at numerous points and can be used as a bail-out option. Any time you're confused with navigation, the basic rule of thumb for VK is to go uphill on the access road.
This trail is a blast and a half. Its not particularly challenging (except for maybe the one steep decent on the Over/Under pro line). It has a couple annoying climbs. But most anyone could probably clear the whole trail. Don't take the bypass at the Cradle, its way mellower than it looks. The trail is full of tongue in cheek humor and whimsy. From the glass highway to the 12 ton bridge, the trail humor will keep you smiling the whole way. I usually scoff at trails with entry fees and big rules signs, but by the end of riding this one I was throwing extra cash in the donations bin. I regularly travel between MI and PA, and this has now become a mandatory stop every time I cross OH. Later I read that the trails are on rented land and the maintainers have to pay for insurance, so aside from showing appreciation for a well built and maintained trail there is a real reason donating.
| ThankThis trail is pretty insane, I went my first time thinking my Hybrid bike with an 80mm shock would be sufficient.. man was I wrong. I still had a great time in the short time I was there before damaging my bike to the point I had to go home. I immediately bought a real MTB to be able to tackle these kinds of trails. I was a little confused as to where I was supposed to go and since there weren't many people there I didn't get any help. Hopefully next time I go I can follow someone to figure out where to go!
| ThankOhio's oldest privately owned, open to the public mountain bike system. Rated #1 in Ohio by Singletracks.com. VK is funded by donations and built by volunteers. The Knob is maintained with your support! The Knob is completely self-funded and not for profit. VK is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt public charity.
You'll find a mix of older single-track and newer flowing trails at The Knob. There's a fair amount of climbing mixed with flat or descending trail.
It's generally considered "hilly" in Ohio to have 100 ft of gain in elevation per mile. The current course has near 800 ft of elevation gain in 7.5 miles.
There are short, technical climbs mixed throughout the course. Most of the man-made features offer a bypass route or are rollable. There's plenty of roots and rocks and changes in direction.
There is a primitive access road that splits most of the trail - use this as a bailout if you bite off more than you can chew. Uphill leads to the pavilion and parking area.
Donate at the pavilion if you haven't purchased a Season Pass online at the VK website.
| ThankI drove 51 miles from my house today, 12/4/17, 53 degrees, ground dry, to find "VK" closed. I arrived at 12:00, waited around until 12:30. Saw 2 other riders there who were also surprised to find it closed. Deer gun season ended yesterday. We had all checked the websites before we left home and expected it to be open............. ??
| ThankA great trail that has it all. The numerous bridges are very unique and add an interesting element to the ride. It has a couple steep switchbacks that test your speed control and bike agility. It has a mix of man made and natural obstacles that test your line choice. It has a few free flow jump sections as you enter "the furnace". It has a pine tree forest section for scenery. It has technical climbs that are doable, barely doable, and doable, but not by me. It has a black diamond technical downhill with roots and a rock staircase that you'll need to walk once in order to decide if you should walk twice or ride once (you should ride), and it even has some fun signage that'll give you a laugh or a warning. Like I said, it has it all! Check Facebook for trail conditions.
| ThankOne of the best trails I've ridden, anywhere. The trails are technical and sometimes a little scary, but crews are always at work to make them better.
| ThankGreat work! This whole trail is sick- love the bridges that are built- nice signage- some fun climbs and even better DH- some fun little jumps as well- love this place- will be back next year!
| ThankIt a good challenging short loop. Great for repeats, but it really looks trashy and it looks like on old dump which it was. They have done a good job making trails but it's not flowing but good challenging short climbs.
| ThankAbsolutely the best trail for the drive! Kudos to the people taking care of this MTB wonder! I'm not giving anything away, if you have not ridden here yet get pedaling!!!
| ThankThe trailhead is pretty hard to find. A previous poster had it right, put 4300 Mechanicsburg Road into your GPS. Google maps also has it pinned as "MTB Trail" in Wooster, OH. There is no signage telling you where to turn off of Mechanicsburg Road, you have to turn at the sign for the compost company onto what looks like a driveway (paved with just white rock). This "driveway" is labeled "Access Road" on google maps. Follow it for maybe a mile past the compost company until you see the Vultures Knob sign.
Once finding it, I was surprised how nice the buildings were at the trailhead. There's a porta potty too. The trails themselves are very well marked. Don't forget to sign a waiver and make a donation at the main building.
The trails start off with some relatively basic meadow riding, but once in the woods, quickly turns in to some epic man-made bridges, and tough descents. A couple of the bridges were iffy...on the first one, a board cracked when I put my foot down. On a later bridge over a ravine just past a sign marked "Expert - Sport" it is probably three feet wide, and 12-15 feet long, with no handrails and a 10 foot drop into the ravine below. There's chicken wire across much of the surface to keep you from sliding off and killing yourself if the wood is wet, but I still walked a couple of them since I'm only moderately skilled a rider and I was by myself.
Which brings me to my best advice: do not ride this alone your first time. Respect Vulture's Knob! Somewhere around Mile 6 I was carrying too much speed and hit an unexpected quick left turn before a good sized drop, and slid off the trail. I haven't crashed in over 3 years while riding a couple times a week, but this trail will definitely challenge you. When I ride it again, I will bring knee pads, elbow guards, and a riding buddy.
The absolute best part of the trail was the huge suspension bridge. This bridge luckily did have a rope handrail, which will give even medium skilled riders the confidence to "give it a go".
Overall, these trails are very well maintained, considering its privately owned. There is one small spot back in the woods at around 4-5 miles that has some caution tape attached to a post. I didn't know what to expect so I walked up his section, and I'm glad I did because the trail is sliding into the ravine. Given the caution tape, I assume this is slated for repair.
Overall, Vultures Knob is a can't miss experience when you are in the area!
| ThankOne of the best trails in Ohio. Challenging and fun at all levels.
| ThankIt's tough for me to give a full review since my first time riding here was during the fall, so everything was leaf covered. But otherwise, this is the most well built singletrack around here. Great technical features (a few terrifying ones), and some awesome flowing sections with some jump and berm options.
| ThankLots of fun flowie runs, good mix of jumps & bridges. The land seams to drain well ... with a fair helping of elevation. But the place could use some updates ... signage, wood bridges and such
| ThankThis is a great trail if you need a good challenge and get ready for your legs to burn. Beware of the"Furnace" section if you go on an 80 degree day, brutal.
| ThankAwesome trail for Ohio, although challenging anywhere.
| ThankSome great features, congrats to builders and those maintain it. I went on a wet day which made it extra challenging, would to try it dry. I'll be back have family in woo.
Seriously awesome trail. Unique terrain with some gnarly trail features. The trail was a bit wet which made an already technical trail more difficult, but it didn't stop me from hitting the spines and going down the devils backbone or whatever the hell that steep drop is..all fun. This trail is only recommended to the experienced rider.
| ThankSo my brother had his bachelor party here and got me to join him. I have owned a 'mountain bike', but it is a rigid Raleigh M40, so he got me on a friend's second bike.
Good bike, but holy cow, this was the first real mountain biking I have ever done. I have been on a bike forever and was a country boy growing up, but this trail was awesome. I watched plenty of videos ahead of time of people on this trail and maybe that helped to prepare me, but I did relatively well...as in no broken bones!
So since then, I have take up MTB at a sprinting pace and can't wait to get back here to better hit the tight switchbacks, steep dips, dirt skills section and all the other awesome obstacles here.
| ThankThis trail has some long, sustained climbs that give you a decent workout. The technical features are amazing and they just keep coming. My only real complaint is the flow, which is definately lacking in some areas. Still, the builders managed to stuff more mountain biking fun into a tiny area than I would have believed possible. My hat is off to them. Everyone should get out to this trail atleast once. It can humble all but the best riders.
| ThankThe best trail I have rode and I will say to anybody if your into mountain biking you must ride Vultures Knob
| ThankVulture's Knob has been on my To-Do list for awhile so today I drove up from Columbus to ride it. The park entrance is at 4300 Mechanicsburg Road, which can be found at 40-51.052N and 081-58.813W. Follow that gravel road slowly back to the shack and park on the grass anywhere nearby. There is no official parking area, but just don't park on the dirt because trucks need to get through there to pick up mulch. After signing in, head out to the sign that says "The Beginning" and get started. The trail starts out as easy singletrack, but then the technical challenges make their appearance. Try those that are at your skill level - most can be walked over or ridden around but there are so many that you'll want to try them all. Today the trail was dry and fast and there was no underbrush to speak of - it appears to be well-maintained. I took alot of pictures along the way so I'll add them to the Photos tab so that you can see even more of the trail. For those from Columbus, Vulture's Knob is similar to Alum Creek P1 and P2 but is far more technical than P2. For those from Dayton it's like MoMBA but with more technical elements and the bridge to Hawk's Lair replaced by a swinging and tilting suspension bridge. For those in Cincinnati, you'll find it very similar to East Fork State Park. I am an older rider (54) and the one thing that impressed me at Vulture's Knob was how friendly everyone was. Overall, make sure that you ride this trail at least once in your life.
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