Mountain Biking Dash Point
Being located near my house, I have ridden, hiked, run, and walked the dog on these trails hundreds of times throughout the years. The best thing about the trails is that they are close by for me, otherwise, I do not think it is worth the drive for most people since there are better options out there. The trail system has no real flow to it, especially since banked corners are nearly non existent. My biggest concern, however, is the dumbing down of the trails over the years. There is very little challenge remaining in the trails. The trail "Log Jam" for example, used to have numerous logs across the trail. There are nearly none now, as most have been taken out. The only thing that makes the trail remotely technical is an abundance of corners. Many of the rooty sections have now been covered up in gravel and made smooth and easy. There are literally many sections, especially off of the Hoyt road entrance, that someone could easily push a baby stroller on. What's next, pavement? It seems that the trails have been converted to make the walkers happy, but really, how hard is it for a walker/hiker to have to take one step over the occasional log or pay attention to their foot placement between roots? If they truly are yearning for the smooth, then I would suggest sticking to the sidewalks and paved trails, us Mountain bikers have far too few options as it is.