The Best Places to Mountain Bike in South Florida
Where are the best places to go mountain biking in South Florida? Hold on…backup a moment - mountain biking in South Florida? There aren’t any mountain ranges in Florida! So, where do riders go mountain biking in South Florida and just where are some of the best places to ride mountain bikes in South Florida? Surprisingly, the quality of mountain biking and the trail systems and mountain biking parks in South Florida is extensive and outstanding.
The massive coastal sandbar that makes up Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties is packed with superbly constructed and maintained technical, flowy trail systems and mountain biking parks with miles of meandering singletrack, impressive jump lines, super technical sections, and plenty of twisty, delicious bermed trails loaded with big drops, table tops, and sprint zones to satisfy any level of rider or mountain bike racer.
South Florida mountain bikers live and ride in a climate where snow and ice doesn‘t exist and riding year round is a lifestyle. Almost all the hundreds of miles of trails are man made and are found in designated mountain biking parks. Imagine plots of land the size of a 36–hole golf course with sculpted trails wrapped up in a jungle with elevations ranging from zero to 20 feet. There are varying soils consisting of shell rock, sandy mud, clay, and actual black earthen soil and rocks. Unlike trails in the Sierra Nevada, the Rocky Mountains, the Tetons, or the Appalachians, for instance, the best mountain biking trails in South Florida require the rider to continuously pedal and maintain momentum and flow or you simply won’t carry enough speed to stay upright. It’s fun and hard and requires skills most riders in mountainous regions aren’t equipped with or used to and riding the trails from the Jupiter area down to the Miami area is very different than anywhere else you will ride.
Jonathan Dickinson State Park mountain biking trails offer so much variety it would be difficult to ride all of it in one day. Bunker Hill is a DJ and technical delight with some difficult climbing and definitely requires experience and skill to ride it at speed. The main trails at JD are fast, flowy, and so fun you won’t be able to wipe the smile from your face.
Markham Park mountain bike trails offer over 10 miles of such varying types of trails there’s something for everyone regardless of their ability. Popular South Florida mountain bike races are held at Markham throughout the year with hundreds of racers and the venue itself is ridiculously amazing.
Dyer Park mountain bike trails are one of the more interesting and one of the best mountain biking trails in South Florida simply because of the amount of elevation you can gain from riding the unidirectional singletrack on “the hill.” Dyer Park was built on an old landfill and has about 50 feet of elevation in a square mile including a longer perimeter trails encompassing the hill and entire park. There are several races each year held at Dyer and trail development has greatly increased over the last decade. Be prepared to become much more advanced at riding twisty singletrack!
West Delray Regional Park mountain biking trail is centrally located between these three counties and offers plenty of challenges for everyone but that mostly depends on how fast and hard you pedal. Again, there is not much elevation change near the Everglades. West Delray Regional park has undergone a trail overhaul in the last couple years. There is a respectable jump line and although the trail, which is just shy of 6 miles, isn’t all that long, it will make your heart pump due to all the turns, rocks, roots, and the wildlife.
Quiet Waters Park mountain bike trails is one of the gems of some of the best places to mountain bike in South Florida. The trail is about 7 miles of unidirectional mountain biking singletrack for both novice and advanced riders. The trails are well-marked and wind through roots, rocks, sand, and jungle–like terrain. Quiet Waters has recently undergone quite a lot of trails rebuilding and has changed considerably in the last year. Let the racing begin!
Amelia Earhart Park mountain biking trails offer riders all aspects what represents the best of mountain biking in South Florida. The trails range from easy to difficult and although there isn’t much elevation gain or loss to speak of, the trails are not necessarily flat but are fast and you can carry decent speed through long, round, twisty corners in the beautiful jungle–like canopy.
Virginia Key mountain bike trails are delightful and offer all of what anyone would want to be challenged with. Skill is required and if you’re a rider suffering with vertigo be prepared to endure the elevated wooden ramps and huge wooden berms!
