New Jersey offers numerous mountain bike trails. Whether maintained by state or county government, these trails provide miles of single-track for all levels of riders. From cross country trails to downhill free-ride parks, New Jersey features a touch of everything. Grab a map, toss your bike on the rack and spend a day pedaling through the best trails in the state.
Locations
Most mountain biking trails in New Jersey are located on state forest lands or county lands. Most county colleges in southern New Jersey offer trails, with Gloucester County College offering an intricate network of well maintained, up-and-down trails.
State forests and Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), often have numerous trails available to biking. State forests and parks offer maintained marked trails for shared use with pedestrians, cyclists, and sometimes horses. Wildlife Management Areas offer game trails, natural or group maintained bike trails interconnected with the dirt roads used by the Department of Environmental Protection and hunters.
Diablo Freeride Park in Vernon, a privately run downhill cycling park, offers rental equipment for those cyclists desiring the thrill of downhill. Or bring your bike at your own risk. Downhill trails are the summer version of ski trails.
Features
Diablo offers obstacles on their trails from pallet bridges to planks. Most state forests have locals who have built plank bridges over streams or muddy areas. Atlantic County Park in Estelle Manor offers built up and maintained log ramps, dragon backs or series of small ups and downs, and plank obstacles. The majority of obstacles can be biked around or walked over.
Most state parks allow night riding. Most county parks close at dusk and night riding is not permitted. Diablo is only open during daylight hours. The park's hours of operation vary seasonally.
Trail Maps
The state park lands will offer maps at the ranger stations or recreational activity offices. Keep in mind that only marked trails will be on the maps. A myriad of interconnecting trails exist between the marked trails. WMA areas are not trail mapped. For some areas, such as Monmouth County Parks Turkey Swamp, the trails intersect and meander. A GPS is recommended if biking in unfamiliar areas.
Diablo Freeride Park and Atlantic County Park at Estelle Manor offer well-marked biking-only trails.
Trail Preservation
Mountain bikers are allowed at the majority of the state parks. Take out what you bring in. Yield to pedestrians and horses. By observing the rules set forth by the state park system and the International Mountain Biking Association, you can ensure the continued use of these great places to ride.
Support
Some groups help keep the trails clear of briars and debris. Consider donating some time to helping upkeep the trails in order to ensure their continued availability and condition. Trails that are not maintained offer dangerous obstacles; cyclists riding without checking the condition of obstacles and trails are an accident waiting to happen. Help support the groups that keep these trails a joy to ride.
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