Looking for a good loop at MDR

[Jase]

I would like to take another look at this park sometime this weekend. I've been there once already and got a little lost. Looking for a good loop. Does anyone have a loop that can be put together? I've tried the yellow trail but got to it from the Saffin Rock-rill parking lot. From there, I wound up at the Saffin pond parking lot. What is the best way to go from the Saffin pond parking lot. I also know about the contruction that's going on as well.

Thanks in advance for the help...

 

[goldsbar]

There's some old threads on this where I asked the same question and got some really good answers. Suggest you search for the thread. Do you have a GPS? Routes are really hard to describe at Mahlon as many trails aren't marked and there's a lot of switching between singletrack and fireroad. It's well worth putting in the effort to figure out.

The construction you described is easily bypassed on the road. The road actually parallels the dirt road by the lake for some time. It's hard to tell in the summer but in the winter it's obvious.

A quick suggestion would be to cross the street from the lot, ride down the rail path and make the first ride. It might be a little boggy for the first hundred feet but will eventually climb and lead to some nice but shortish singletrack loops. With any luck you'll get lost and eventually wind up at the top of cascade (a great singletrack dh). If you don't have a GPS or someone to guide you, just accept getting lost a couple of times.

 

[Fogerson]

Hi Jase,

It all depends on how much you wanna' ride and what your technical proclivity is...

If you take a look at Mahlon from the trail directory in the above navigation bar, you'll find a description of most major trails, a map, and a gps link or two.

Have fun!
Tim

 

[crash]

Snow Bowl Ski Area

Can you still ride the old ski trails? I remember bombing down these back in 1992. From the ski history of NJ website:

"The Snow Bowl trails are part of the Morris County Park System, located in the Mahlon Dickerson Reservation. The Snow Bowl parking lot is accessed from Weldon Road, just up the hill from the Jefferson Township High School in Milton, NJ. Access is easiest from NJ Route 15, the Weldon Road exit, then 5 or 10 minutes to the parking lot just past the park's picnic area, with the school visible below. The original a-frame poles that supported the entry sign are still in place"

 

[Jase]

Thanks everyone. Did what i did to find my way around other parks, I got the yellow loop figured out. Now would like to do others trails. Saw the turquoise trail. I took that trail the first time i was there, just have to see where it goes coming from the top.

Was this was a ski area back in the day?

As a skier that taught and now a race coach at Mountain Creek, i can appropriate this with history of all the ski areas that NJ had and still have...

http://www.skiernet.com/snow-bowl.html

 

[anrothar]

Pretty sure you can still bomb down, or try to climb, the ski hills at Snow Bowl. They were open for use back in '08. The JHS xc running team trains on them, and I used to incorporate them into a lot of my rides. Really fun, borderline out of control high speed downhilling. If you follow the fire road that starts as the Yellow trail at the end of the paved dam, and continue straight where the Yellow trail turns left at the top of the hill, you'll eventually come to a T intersection. (you can also make this route 90%+ singletrack via the Beaver Brook Trail, but you'll need to bring your technical skills and love of hike-a-biking.) Turn left and follow that fun double track for several miles, corssing the powerlines for a second time. You'll eventually end up on top of a ridge. Straight will take you down to either the HS or the Fire Tower access road, right will take you to the fire tower, left will take you to Snow Bowl.

Just be aware of hunting season, as this route will take you through both a WMA and legally hunted private land. Don't wear any white during hunting season and try to incorporate red or safety orange into your riding gear. That main fire road is an easement, and is legally accessible year round. If hunters try to give you sh!t, remember that you have every right to be on that fire road, but just try not to be an idiot about it. There's a diference between being smart and being right and dead.

Oh, and you WILL get your feet wet on this route.