Has anyone been to a a place called blue knob? or might be intristed in going? Its also called blue mountain. I think its about a 4 or 5 hour drive west into pennsylvania. Its not a bike park, but they put bikes in the back of a pickup and drive up the mountain then one guy drives down to pick everyone up. and bring them back up. Some of the trails look pretty awsome and it seems to be the only place you can downhill in the winter.
ive got a few weeks till my knee heals from the last day at diablo, but the idea i cant ride dh till may is lame.
-also if you know other places to dh in winter pass them along
Blue Knob is a ski resort near Pittsburgh. I've read mixed reviews.
Blue Mountain is a ski resort near Allentown, PA. There have been rumors floating around for years about them setting up a mtn bike program, but apparently the owners simply aren't interested. The closest they've ever gotten was a few Mtn X races on the boarder-cross course (on snow).
There's also Blue Mtn in NY, which apparently has some good DH-oriented trails (I've never been there, but have seen some video clips).
I used to shuttle at Skyline back before Mtn Creek/Diablo re-opened. From what I've heard here and elsewhere, the purpose-cut, DH-oriented trails have fallen into disrepair. While much of them could have been ridden on an XC bike, a DH bike would be prefered. And I'm not sure I'd want to try Backbeach (12' minimum drop) on an XC bike.
Fredrick, MD is probably you're best best until snow falls (then all bets are off unless you're willing to fly). A good number of the trails are not "official" trails. I know the guys who cut many of these trails. A couple of them moved up to Semi-Pro practicing on these trails. Some are not for the faint of heart. Go to Ridemonkey.com, visit the DC/NoVa forum and post that you're interested in hooking up with some locals for shuttling. If you're lucky, they'll drop you a note. Some of the trail entrances are hidden so you'll never find them just riding around. Some day I'll get back down there... some fun stuff.