The Best Mountain Bike Trails in the Northeast, City-by-City

Best Bike Trails in Toronto Toronto is a large, spread out metropolitan area, but that doesn’t mean mountain bikers can’t find great places to shred. Don Valley Also known simply as “The Don,” Don Valley is a sprawling park space that practically dips its tendrils into the heart of downtown Toronto. The trail system has multiple entrance …

Best Bike Trails in Toronto

Toronto is a large, spread out metropolitan area, but that doesn’t mean mountain bikers can’t find great places to shred.

Don Valley

don valley bike trails
Photo: bighit69

Also known simply as “The Don,” Don Valley is a sprawling park space that practically dips its tendrils into the heart of downtown Toronto. The trail system has multiple entrance and exit points throughout the city, so riders are never far from grabbing a snack or a pint. Mountain bikers will find short, steep descents, wooden trail features, and trails that tend to be better-suited for intermediate to advanced riders.

Joyride 150

joyride 150
Photo: Syd Patricio

Toronto is a densely-populated city, so it’s no surprise that one of the most popular places to ride is actually indoors. Joyride 150 features a beginner’s area, a cross country track, a pumptrack, skinnies, jump lines, and even outdoor dirt jumps. Since most of the tracks are located under cover, the “trails” at Joyride are generally open year-round.

Bayview & Stouffeville

bayview & stoufville
Photo: lhzawd

Directly north of Toronto in the Richmond Hill area, the Bayview / Stouffeville trail system boasts about 15 miles of trails. In the winter, these trails are well-suited to fat biking while in summer, riders will be stoked to rail the berms and bridges. There are even some steep descents and big jumps for those who need a quick gravity fix.

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For those with a little more time on their hands and the ability to get away from the city, here are some other trails that are not to be missed.

Hydrocut

Photo: Rafrider

Hydrocut is ranked the most popular mountain bike trail in Ontario according to Singletracks readers, and it’s located just a little over an hour west of downtown Toronto. The fast, flowy trails are directional, so you can rail as fast as your bike will take you without worrying about a head-on collision. Overall, there are about 15 miles of trails in the network, with most rated for intermediate riders.

3-Stages

Photo: olimoo

To get to the second most popular bike trail in Ontario, visitors will need to drive about two hours north of Toronto to 3-Stages. Technical roots and rocks abound, so beginning riders will want to ride somewhere else. The trail system offers 12-ish miles of trails, which one Singletracks reader described as a “wonderous maze of trails.”

Hardwood Ski & Bike

Photo: olimoo

The Hardwood Ski area is located about an hour and a half north of Toronto and seems to be worth every minute of the drive. With about 80 miles of connecting trails, a pumptrack, and jump lines, visitors can easily spend a whole day–or a whole weekend–enjoying the stoke. The trails are well signed and mapped, which makes it an easy visit for first-time guests.

Next up: Boston.