Our Top 10 Florida MTB Trails

I came across an interesting article on FaceBook the other day. It was a post on SingleTracks.com, a website dedicated to spreading the word about trails throughout the country and the author featured his top five favorite trails in Florida.  You can check out the original link here.  That got me thinking about our own top 5. Because Kevin and I are nerds, making top 10 lists aren't uncommon, and we pretty much had already rated the trails in our mind. But, some recent changes, more experience, and better skills have helped us to really shape our top 5.

Before I start, the author listed his top 5 as:

1. Santos, Belleview
2. Alafai/Balm Boyette, near Tampa
3. Tom Brown/Cadillac, Tallahassee
4. San Felasco, Gainesville
5. Markham Park, Sunrise

We have ridden four of these five parks/areas  (well, I haven't ridden, #4, but Kevin has).  Cool enough, we agree on most.  Definitely NOT his #4. Kevin hates that trail. But that's ok ;)

Once I sat down and asked Kevin for his insight, we both had to stop. It's so dang hard to pick just five!!! So we moved to top ten. We like them too much!!

10. Mt. Dora -- this is our hometown trail. That's not the reason it's up here though. It's a cool little trail for sure. And it'll kick your butt.  With a new wooden wall berm, a tough as heck red (difficult) trail, and a murderous uphill climbing exit that makes a thrilling downhill entrance, you can't leave this guy out. Plus it's fun riding down storm run-off concrete!! ;)

9. Virginia Key, Key Biscayne - I haven't blogged about this one, but it gave me some fun fodder for sure.  When you enter the park, you see iguanas and cats, yes, cats sprawled out all over the park entrance lawn. Everywhere.  Crabs cross the road in front of you. And you may run into race car driver Juan Pablo Montoya.  But, besides all that, the trail is very cool. Sketchy obstacles like a true flight of mobile home stairs, concrete wall berm, and rock bridges that make you jitter all give you an adrenaline buzz, just in time to be relaxed as you return to the parking lot by the beach.

8. Amelia Earhart, Hialeah - Who wouldn't love riding up into the back of a semi trailer and flying out the other end? Or taking a speeding s-curving downhills with berms that are more than impressive. This little park packs a punch that makes it a thrill to ride.

7. Mala Compra, Palm Coast - Ok. Best part? Riding and working up a sweat and then jumping into the beautiful ocean. Besides that, this park offers lots of technical trail with some fun stuff as well. And, there's one down hill like no other I've scene...complete rock, two story option that makes me wonder how anyone has skin left after they take it.  This park is serious fun.

6. Carter Road, Lakeland - Two words. The Fingers. Wanna know if you've got it? Ridge them and you'll find out. You may come out with no teeth. Riding along the limestone quarry lakes, up and down technical climbs and drops, and the legit possibility that a big momma gator might be at the bottom of a descent make this one a ride not to miss.

5. Chuck Lennon, Deleon Springs - Near and dear to our hearts, Chuck Lennon has been one of the two main parks where I learned to ride. This is the park where I'm willing to try new stuff, like jumping down into a pit instead of rolling, or climbing bridges two feet wide. Riding next to a speeding Amtrak train isn't bad either. The red option kicks ass. Blue Raccoon is one of my favorite trails of all time, especially the roller coaster section. My heart really belongs to Chuck.

4. Balm Boyette, Brandon - Not sure why the author put this trail with Alafia because even though they are close by each other, they are NOTHING alike.  Their terrain and trails are completely different.  Aside from the two mile ride in, everything else here rocks. Built on preserve land, this trail takes you through forest, open land (where big wild hogs will chase you. True story.)  Pandemonium is awesome, Golf Cart is fun, but Ridgeline is the best trail in Florida. Bar None. YouTube it. The drops and climbs offer real G-forces. And it's long. And there are like a dozen of these drops. One is even named OMG. Yeah. I freaking love this trail. But take a map.

3. Alafia - Lithia - Old limestone quarry territory here, which makes for some great trails like Rabbit Ears, Rollercoaster, Bridges, and Gatorback. North Creek is a beautiful and fun trail, and it's one of our favorites. The layout is very friendly and the facilities are extremely nice. Definitely a great place to ride and worth the 2-hour drive.

2. Markham Park, Sunrise - This one is so close to the top spot for us. This park is so stinking fun because it's so diverse. Technical stuff that challenges our skill, some tough climbs with downhills that are amazing, and awesome wooden features make this so much fun. This trail offers sooo many spaces for speed. Gun Range, Route 66, Outback, and Alligator Alley... A little bit of everything!

1.  Santos/Vortex, Belleview - We agree with everything the author said about Santos. It has so many amazing features, when we ride, we want to do it all. The Santos side trails are fun with good flow, some like John Brown and Anthill are very challenging and technical but enjoyable. Then, once you cross the road to Vortex, craziness ensues with the jump bowl, wooden ramps, new wall berms, qualifiers, and impressive climbs. This trail reminds me every time just how much I love mountain biking...and that's what it's suppose to do.