What are some places to ride not to far into PA

A Potted Plant

Honorary Sod
I am planning on going to Glen Park but wanted to see what else is out there.

Here is what's on my PA list:
Glen Park
Raystown


Yes I know raystown is 3 hours away, but if I could get more places as far as jungle for me(an hour) I'd be happy.
 

mattybfat

The Opinion Police
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Scranton area has really good mtb vibe

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jackx

Well-Known Member
I've never been to either Nesh or Nox, but have the hallucination that Lake Nokamixon is more developed. Nox is only 9 miles doe. You can get Way more miles in Allamuchy North, Deer, SSP.

 

gmb3

JORBA: Sourlands
JORBA.ORG
Someone already posted but definitely check out the Lehigh Valley - most places are easy access off I-78. Salisbury, South Mountain, Trexler come to mind. (www.bikevmb.com)
Jacobsburg is eh but has mileage and a change of scenery and is just north of I-78 right off Rt-33.
Glen Park and the Poconos have stuff too and right off I-80.
 

Jmann

Never gonna let you down.
Besides Pennsylvania, and not in nj, spots that are in the 2ish hour radius from me that I like:
Middle Run/white clay creek
Taconic 909
Stewart
Glacier ridge
Sprain ridge
Blue mountain

Places I haven’t been but heard good things:
Lippman park
Elm Ridge
Port Jervis
 

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
In addition to what's already been mentioned, here are a few more options not far from NJ:

Wissahickon, Philadelphia (about 30 minutes into PA from NJ via PA Turnpike): Multiple options for rides of 10-30 miles of trail mixing tech and flowy wide singletrack with about 100 feet elevation per mile. This is a destination spot in the region.
Belmont, Philadelphia (about 30 minutes into PA from NJ via PA Turnpike): ~15-20 miles of techy up and down riding. The log-over capital of the east (seriously, I don't think they've ever removed a single fallen tree here - they just leave them all as trail features, so there are sections where you're bumping over logs every hundred feet or so for miles at a time.) But it's getting flowier - some of the newer stuff is machined, so overall it's not as challenging as it used to be. The nice thing is that they didn't get rid of the old school stuff - they just built ways around some of it.
Marsh Creek, Downingtown (about 45-60 minutes into PA from NJ via PA Turnpike): ~15 miles of flowy singletrack around a lake. Some steep climbs here and there, but overall pretty tame riding. Start area is across the lake from the main park entrance, though - there is no way to get to the trails within the park from the main entrance. You'd want to go to Chalfant Rd area, a couple of miles past the main entrance. Bonus: only about 5 miles from the original Victory Brewing site.
Blue Marsh Lake, NW of Reading, PA (about 45 minutes into PA from NJ via Route 78 to Route 222): Single 30 mile loop around a man-made lake. Very flowy and fast, but a few challenging climbs and about 4K elevation for the loop overall. It's a commitment, though, as the loop doesn't really have any cutoffs that don't leave the park and force you to double back on roads you wouldn't know. So once you start this loop, you're committed to a 30 mile day for the most part. Blue Marsh is one of my personal favorite places to ride, but it can be very messy when it's wet. (Just in case you want to stay overnight: No camping here that I'm aware of.)
French Creek, Birdsboro, PA (about 60-75 minutes into PA from NJ via Route 78 to Route 222 to Route 422 South): Multiple distance options from 15-25 or 30 miles. French Creek is one of the rockier more technically challenging rides in the region. Some challenging climbs (especially in the Hopewell Furnace area) and long extended rock gardens. Overall, pretty rocky (The MASS race here is called "On the Rocks at FC" for a reason.) Has camping areas, but I don't know if they're currently open or not.
Green Lane Park, Green Lane, PA (about 60 minutes into PA from NJ via Route 78 to 309 South to Route 563): 20+ miles that mixes pretty much everything mentioned above - ultra tech on the Orange Trail, steep climbs and ripping descents on the Blue Trail and flowy, super-fast and tight singletrack on the Red Trail. My buddy is the head of the trail crew here and he's done an incredible job building this place up. It started with about 14 miles a few years ago and now he's up around 20-24 with minimal repeating of sections. The riding at GL is like a hidden gem because it's kind of remote and tricky to get to and (frankly) most people from outside our area don't even know it exists, but with the mileage that's been added lately and the quality of the ride, it's getting to the point where it could be destination-level riding. It's just that good. It's a fantastic mix of old-school singletrack and flowy contour trails. There is a campground right at the main park area (near the Orange Trail trailhead) but it's currently shut down for Covid-19.
 

Som3guy

Member
I have a place in PA, in the Pocono, so ride there a lot. Here's my ranking for NE PA:

5. Glen Park, East Stroudsburg - close to northwest NJ, right off 80, small network, one hard climb (if you don't whimp out and park near the top), some decent but short intermediate single track, but dirt bikers are beginning to take this place over, ripping up the trails. Glen Park used to get lots of love from Vertical Earth, the local bike shop, and owner Dan Whitehead. But that was then. He closed his shop and moved to CO in 2017 and Glen Park has been going downhill (oof, I said that) ever since.

4. Big Pocono State Park, on top of Camelback, Tannersville - also close to NW NJ, right off 80, one decent intermediate singletrack trail, 1-1.5 hrs riding roundtrip w/no stops, drains well since on top of a big rock (Camelback)
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3. Prompton State Park, Honesdale - tucked away in a former coal mining area, nice park with lake swimming, boating, fishing, intermediate single track network, 2-3 hrs riding, rarely crowded. Pleasant way to spend a day.

2. Bear Creek aka South Mountain, Macungie - serious single track network of blacks and blues, 3-4 hrs riding to cover it all, well-maintained, site for some mtb races. Good destination for a stayover, nice inn there (Bear Creek), swimming pool, pond, other amenities to keep non-riders amused.

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1. Eales Preserve at Moosic Mountain, Route 247, Jessup - bring your A game. Serious rock fest, as challenging as any of the big boy n girl stuff in NJ. There's also an intermediate loop, Blueberry, that avoids the toughest stuff like Conglomerate & Stonehenge, mostly. 2-3 hrs riding. Beautiful colors in October. Other than trails, nothing here but a parking lot, and that's not easy to find. Here's directions from Google (https://www.google.com/maps/place/4...m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d41.438142!4d-75.541375)
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goldsbar

Well-Known Member
I haven't been to many in PA, but I'll give a vote for Moosic. It's very different than much of NJ (or PA!). Some parts are sort of open pine scrub brush, other areas are more wooded. Plenty of rocks, so that part will be familiar. Overall, it really feels like you're someplace outside of the east coast.
 
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slingblade_uhhuh

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
Where are they? I've tried the map from the local bike shop and all it had was a boring climb and some gravel riding. Zero single track
Jim Thorpe's best single track, American Standard and all, were on State Game Lands. Those trails were labeled as Hiking Only about a decade or so ago after too many complaints from the local hunters about the out-of-town mountain bikers.

I'm a big fan of PA's Weiser State Forest, aka: Rattling Creek Trails.
 
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Som3guy

Member
I haven't been to many in PA, but I'll give a vote for Moosic. It's very different than much of NJ (or PA!). Some parts are sort of open pine scrub brush, other areas are more wooded. Plenty of rocks, so that part will be familiar. Overall, it really feels like you're someplace outside of the east coast.
I agree, Goldsbar, the terrain is very different there, tho not sure why. I assume some rock mining went on there at some point, creating all those odd rock setups.

I was there this one time a few years ago, right after a lot of the Preserve had been burned, either a wild fire or controlled burn. Felt like I was riding inside a dormant volcano or the surface of the moon
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