Mountain biking is considered one of the most technical bicycle sports in the world. Here, you have to ride a bike most of the times in a difficult terrain. You can find dry lands with high heat, hard ground, dunes, fast descents and other challenges that an arid environment could give to live an amazing adventure. On the other hand, you could find wet landscapes, with high mountains, tall trees, lakes, little bridges, among other things that will make that kind of sceneries perfect for living incredible bike rides passing through a lot of obstacles. There are also more quietly sceneries for those who prefer relaxed trails and soft roads.
Image courtesy of Tudor BuligÓ‘ at Flickr.com
This is an individual sport, so you have the freedom to choose the track that you want to do, but you can also make trips with friends to challenge the nature together. Mountain biking has many categories, among which are downhill, cross country and free rides. All these categories bring different defies and there are some harder than others. However, in any of these sorts, you have to prove yourself through your biking skills and riding technique.
Related: Read Patrick Dwyer’s “A bike ride from Copeland through Fakahatchee, Picayune and Marco Island”
Mountain bike in Florida
If you are in Florida and you like the adventure, you have to try one of our recommended bike trails. There are different roads in the categories mentioned above, with multiple difficulty levels. Every recommended track has its own particularities and challenges. You have to see depending on your skills and technique, which of these sceneries test your conditions and abilities.
These recommended places are not sorted specially, they are just nice roads with different difficulty levels where people can demonstrate their skills and have a good time riding a mountain bike.
Anthill
Located in the city of Ocala, this is not a longer trail (it has approximately 1 mile) but has enough rocky obstacles to make it a difficult road. It is recommended to experienced mountain bikers for its challenges which need a lot of technique and experience in rocky roads. It also has good numerous ascents and descents.
There is a local bike shop if you need something for your biking ride. If you do not want to ride, you can also find places to walk and to do trekking, and some camping areas if you want to spend more time there.
Alafia River State Park
Located in Brandon, this trail has multiple sections. There are parts perfect for beginners or intermediate riders, but also for most advanced ones. The road has some very challenge paths, with descents, rivers, and bridges. It is recommended for novices, intermediates, and advanced bikers, depending the section you choose.
Alafia River State Park is not just a biking zone. You can also find a bike shop, bicycle laundry places, water stations and bathrooms with hot water. There are also car parking lots, camping areas, and hiking places.
Related: Read Patrick Dwyer’s “A bike ride from Copeland through Fakahatchee, Picayune and Marco Island”
Mountain bike in Florida
If you are in Florida and you like the adventure, you have to try one of our recommended bike trails. There are different roads in the categories mentioned above, with multiple difficulty levels. Every recommended track has its own particularities and challenges. You have to see depending on your skills and technique, which of these sceneries test your conditions and abilities.
These recommended places are not sorted specially, they are just nice roads with different difficulty levels where people can demonstrate their skills and have a good time riding a mountain bike.
Anthill
Located in the city of Ocala, this is not a longer trail (it has approximately 1 mile) but has enough rocky obstacles to make it a difficult road. It is recommended to experienced mountain bikers for its challenges which need a lot of technique and experience in rocky roads. It also has good numerous ascents and descents.
There is a local bike shop if you need something for your biking ride. If you do not want to ride, you can also find places to walk and to do trekking, and some camping areas if you want to spend more time there.
Alafia River State Park
Located in Brandon, this trail has multiple sections. There are parts perfect for beginners or intermediate riders, but also for most advanced ones. The road has some very challenge paths, with descents, rivers, and bridges. It is recommended for novices, intermediates, and advanced bikers, depending the section you choose.
Alafia River State Park is not just a biking zone. You can also find a bike shop, bicycle laundry places, water stations and bathrooms with hot water. There are also car parking lots, camping areas, and hiking places.
Image courtesy of Rino Peroni at Flickr.com
Santos Park
Santos Park is situated in Ocala and is considered by many as the best mountain bike place in Santos. It is also the biggest place for biking with more than 81,290 acres of area. The trail has different marked sections with colors to indicate the difficulty levels of each area. The yellow ones are for beginners, blue for intermediate bikers and red for the advanced ones. For the most skilled riders, there are a lot of rocky places with different challenges that will put to test the abilities of the ones who want to try the harder sections.
The Park has also different places to do trekking and walks through different landscapes. This is a perfect way to know diverse sites from there. Besides, there are multiple camping sections with bathrooms and water stations.
Loyce E. Harpe Park
This biking place is located in the city of Lakeland. With approximately 10 miles of area, the Loyce E. Harpe Park has a lot of diverse trails that pass through and old phosphate mine giving to the bikers a lot of challenges and different kind of roads. The mine has a single track that passes through it and defies the riders with multiple obstacles.
As the other zones mentioned above, the Park has the possibility to walk through different paths and many areas for camping. Additionally, the Park has local bike shops.
Conservation Levee Greenway
With almost 24 miles of path, this preservation area situated in Tamarac has smooth trails for beginners’ riders and for those who want to try an easier route than the trails mentioned before. This road has some rocky parts, but most of them are easy sections. It is a recommended place for novices, due to its quiet tracks. It is allowed to make night ridings.
Conservation Levee Greenway also has a lot of animals. You can see in your rides some alligators near the trail, so be careful with them. You can also go camping in some areas and make walking tours.
Santos Park is situated in Ocala and is considered by many as the best mountain bike place in Santos. It is also the biggest place for biking with more than 81,290 acres of area. The trail has different marked sections with colors to indicate the difficulty levels of each area. The yellow ones are for beginners, blue for intermediate bikers and red for the advanced ones. For the most skilled riders, there are a lot of rocky places with different challenges that will put to test the abilities of the ones who want to try the harder sections.
The Park has also different places to do trekking and walks through different landscapes. This is a perfect way to know diverse sites from there. Besides, there are multiple camping sections with bathrooms and water stations.
Loyce E. Harpe Park
This biking place is located in the city of Lakeland. With approximately 10 miles of area, the Loyce E. Harpe Park has a lot of diverse trails that pass through and old phosphate mine giving to the bikers a lot of challenges and different kind of roads. The mine has a single track that passes through it and defies the riders with multiple obstacles.
As the other zones mentioned above, the Park has the possibility to walk through different paths and many areas for camping. Additionally, the Park has local bike shops.
Conservation Levee Greenway
With almost 24 miles of path, this preservation area situated in Tamarac has smooth trails for beginners’ riders and for those who want to try an easier route than the trails mentioned before. This road has some rocky parts, but most of them are easy sections. It is a recommended place for novices, due to its quiet tracks. It is allowed to make night ridings.
Conservation Levee Greenway also has a lot of animals. You can see in your rides some alligators near the trail, so be careful with them. You can also go camping in some areas and make walking tours.