The Northerner’s Guide to Southern Singletrack

Ocala, FL: 29.19° Latitude

Ahh, Florida. Just a mere mention of the name warms the body! But don’t think the two Florida picks on this list are on here for the weather alone; both are legit places to ride a mountain bike and riders will NOT be disappointed.

Ocala, FL is located just west of the massive Ocala National Forest and even in January and February, the average low temperature stays in the mid-forties. And get this: the average high in those months is in the 70s! Snowfall (as if I had to mention it), is 0.0 inches on average.

The real attraction in Ocala National Forest is the Santos trail system, home to a claimed 85 miles (!) of singletrack. I’ve personally completed a 40ish mile ride in Santos so I can say that number probably isn’t too far off. The thing is, the terrain is fairly flat–as you might imagine–but the trails are so much fun that you forget you are mountain biking where there are no mountains. There’s even a massive freeride area and a public campground right at the trailhead, making planning a winter trip to Ocala a breeze.

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