White Clay Creek State Park is my go-to local place when I'm fiending for some flow. I try and get over there a few times a year for big pedally rides when conditions are primo in the spring and fall. Technically, it's two different systems, White Clay Creek State Park & Middle Run Valley Natural Area, but most people refer to them collectively as "White Clay". This is understandable as the trail systems are connected and you'd likely go from one park to the next without knowing. One thing to be sure of is that you want to park in Middle Run at the Bird Lot, as it's free (as opposed to the White Clay lots) and it's a great central location with easy access to the entire park.
Located in Newark, DE, about an hour from downtown Philly, these trail systems are exceptionally well built and maintained (shoutout to the Trail Spinners) with tons of flow throughout and sneaky elevation due to the progressive trail building style. If you like flow, I'd say that it's worth driving 2 hours to check out this trail system if you've never been. There's not much in the way of tech, but there're enough roots (and routes) to make it interesting and it can be ridden very fast. There is a ton of trail and it's designed as stacked loops so it's easy to make a ride as long or short as you want. You can print out a great map that will help you navigate the trails here: [ Ссылка ]
For this particular ride, my buddy Jim and I hit nearly all of the good stuff, doing the loops in what I believe to be the best directions. I'd say there are a few miles of worthy stuff that we didn't get to, but it was a pretty comprehensive ride. You can find the Strava for the ride here: [ Ссылка ]
Some items of note:
- The trails are notoriously bad drainers...any significant rain will turn the trails slick and they're a whole lot less fun (not to mention you'll be creating ruts and doing trail damage)
- This system can be a bit pedally (in a good way) so it's great for hard tails and trail bikes (leave the enduro rig at home for this one)
- Hunting Season - They close some trails during shotgun hunting season (mid through late Nov), so check out trail closures before making the trip.
Where you should park: [ Ссылка ]
Trailforks: [ Ссылка ]
0:00 - Intro
0:29 - Possum Hollow - [ Ссылка ]
1:27 - Boundary Line Trail - [ Ссылка ]
2:51 - David English - [ Ссылка ]
3:41 - Whitley Farms - [ Ссылка ]
4:59 - Middle Run Bird Lot - [ Ссылка ]
5:29 - Chestnut Hill Connector - [ Ссылка ]
5:57 - Old Coach Downhill - [ Ссылка ]
6:46 - Snow Goose CW - [ Ссылка ]
7:53 - Snow Goose CCW - [ Ссылка ]
8:57 - Double Horseshoe - [ Ссылка ]
9:21 - Lenape Trail - [ Ссылка ]
9:59 - Skills Park - [ Ссылка ]
11:03 - Bryan's Field - [ Ссылка ]
11:33 - Lenape Trail - [ Ссылка ]
#mountainbiking #flow #trail
