#7: Kingdom Trails / Q Burke Bike Park (Vermont)
The Kindom Trails XC network is massive, with about 100 miles of trails to explore. Add to that the trails at Q Burke bike park and you’ve got some excellent singletrack to choose from! Survey respondents mentioned several standout flow trails in the Kingdom Trails / Q Burke network including Roly Grail (bike park), Troll Stroll (XC Trails), and Jester (bike park.)
#8: Forks Area Trail System (FATS) (South Carolina)
When IMBA held their World Summit in Augusta, GA in 2010, FATS was only a couple years old and attendees got an early feel for just how much fun a machine-built trail could be. The area around FATS isn’t all that topographically interesting, so the trail was designed to eek out maximum entertainment value using the lay of the land. Is this a true flow trail where “little pedaling and braking” is required? Probably not, at least on the pedaling side (you’ll do that pretty much the whole time). But FATS does offer dozens of miles of buff singletrack where riders can absolutely rip!
#9 (tie): Coldwater Mountain (Alabama)
Coldwater Mountain is a massive project bringing world-class mountain biking to Anniston, AL, and the first 11 miles of trail opened back up in the summer of 2012. The Bomb Dog trail was part of that initial 11-mile loop and this fast descent with bermed turns, jumps, and long sight lines certainly fits most people’s definition of a flow trail. In recent years more machine-cut trails–like Mama Bear and Baby Bear–have been added that are even smoother and with longer sight lines, though these lack the amount of descending found on Bomb Dog.
#9 (tie): Cuyuna Lakes (Minnesota)
The substantial 25-mile Cuyna Lakes trail system opened back in 2011 which, even in a relatively young sport like ours, isn’t all that long ago. And in the five years since opening, Cuyuna has built up a reputation for featuring some of the best trails in the midwest, if not the whole country, including Bobsled, a one-mile-ish run with high banked downhill turns and rollers. One Singletracks reviewer wrote earlier this month that the trails are “Superb, Brilliant, Flawless!”
#9 (tie): Slaughter Pen Trail (Arkansas)
We’ve recently been hearing a number of people singing the praises of mountain biking in Arkansas, specifically Bentonville, so it’s not surprising to see Slaughter Pen on our list of the most popular flow trails in the USA. Like FATS, Slaughter Pen is a network of flow-style trails, though more than a little pedaling is required to make it all the way around. If it’s true flow trail you seek, be sure to ride the Medusa trail at Slaughter Pen!
#9 (tie): Rope Mill Park (Georgia)
Again, this is a relatively-new trail system and the flowiest of the flow trails at Rope Mill, simply called “The Mill“, just opened for business in 2015. The Mill is short but chock full of bermy goodness, with jumps that new riders can roll with ease while more experienced riders will use these same jumps to take to the skies. Nearby Blankets Creek normally seems to get all the attention but these days, it’s not unusual to find a full parking lot at Rope Mill!
After putting together this list it’s interesting to note that most of these trails have been constructed (or reconstructed) within the past five years or so. Not only that, most, if not all, were built using machines (at least for part of the construction).
Did you miss our survey? Sound off in the comments and let us know what your favorite flow trail is!
Do you hate flow trails? Then our next survey is for you: Tell us about the most technical trail you know of.
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In the area, Allatoona Creek also has pretty impressive flow as well. Masons and Mumbo Jumbo provide about 8 miles of fast, fun riding too. You can burn really good clockwise on Mumbo.
Granted I have not ridden trails on the West Coast (at least not many) so maybe there are better ones.
May 26, 2016