So Underrated!

markd

Member
Rode Clayton today, haven't done so since last summer. Even though the trials are not long, this has to be one of the most underrated parks around. Its got some great climbs and great downhills. The views are nice and its hardly ever crowded. TM from the winter and Sandy is great. Some newly cut trails to avoid some larger fallen trees make it even better.

Get out and ride Clayton. Yeah, you'll probably circumvent the park a few times, but it'll be work your time and sweat! :)
 

Arwen's Mom

Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains
He's wrong. Clayton stinks. Stay away. WAAYYYY beneath all you experts. leave it for the newbies :p
 

kingbobyjr

Active Member
Rode Clayton today, haven't done so since last summer. Even though the trials are not long, this has to be one of the most underrated parks around. Its got some great climbs and great downhills. The views are nice and its hardly ever crowded. TM from the winter and Sandy is great. Some newly cut trails to avoid some larger fallen trees make it even better.

Get out and ride Clayton. Yeah, you'll probably circumvent the park a few times, but it'll be work your time and sweat! :)

Agreed, rode there for the first time last night. Clayton is just plain flat out fun!!! :D

He's wrong. Clayton stinks. Stay away. WAAYYYY beneath all you experts. leave it for the newbies :p

Ha Ha Ha!!! Yes...stay away...stay far away...nothing to see here folks.... :D
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
The downhill from the fields is one of my favorite trail sections in this area. The "chute" you speak off was better 5 years ago as erosion as destroyed it, but still fun.
 

TeamMuddySprocket

Well-Known Member
Clayton is.a.good workout for all levels.... hammer or spin up the hills they are all makeable!

Agree that erosion has lessened the trail quality a bit.. but still a blast
 

Mitch

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The downhill from the fields is one of my favorite trail sections in this area. The "chute" you speak off was better 5 years ago as erosion as destroyed it, but still fun.

WARNING::: They have rerouted the straight away 50 yards into this trail due to downed trees. Myself and 2 others that I know have dropped into this from the turn at too fast a speed and crashed into this mess of uncut tree branches.Very very unsafe TM.
 

njmark

Professional Cyclist
Going to try to ride here Monday, conditions permitting. Just watched a couple videos and it looks like a blast. This wil be my summer to expand my horizons beyond 6mr and Mercer.
 

rick81721

Lothar
Going to try to ride here Monday, conditions permitting. Just watched a couple videos and it looks like a blast. This wil be my summer to expand my horizons beyond 6mr and Mercer.

If you're into masochism try the sourland mountain preserve. My ass bone is still sore (and I have bruises on my shins and knees) from my floundering in the rocks last saturday.
 

njmark

Professional Cyclist
That's why I haven't been there yet, its one town away but I'm not into injuring myself, at least not this early in the spring.
 

kingbobyjr

Active Member
Going to try to ride here Monday, conditions permitting. Just watched a couple videos and it looks like a blast. This wil be my summer to expand my horizons beyond 6mr and Mercer.

Go for it...I'm pretty sure you will love it. I also ride mostly at Six Mile as it is only like 4 miles from my house.

Here is a part of the write up I did about Clayton from my blog...

"Someone on the MTBNJ forums described Clayton like this ”its like a rollercoaster”. And sure enough, rollercoaster would be a great way to describe this park.

Clayton Park is a tiny park in the grand scheme encompassing 422 acres of land with some 6 miles of trail, all of which are open to biking. The trail itself is all singletrack that gets wide at a few points and is quite compacted and firm while in other spots it was a bit loose and sandy. If you are looking for a technical or rocky trail, look elsewhere. That doesn’t mean the trail is totally without obstacles, there are plenty of roots and a few logovers to keep one busy. You can even get a bit of air off some of the roots.

The real challenge at Clayton in my opinion, is the elevation gain. My Garmin 800 clocked in a total of 852 feet of gain over the 10.10 miles I rode there. If you like climbing, you will love Clayton. With a loss of 844 feet, there is also plenty of no pedaling higher speed fun. The best of those descents IMHO, is on the Old Forge trail. The section I’m talking about is just 0.3 of a mile long and slightly eroded. That erosion makes for a slightly sketchy descent at speed. Even so, slow old me was able to get my bike up to 25 mph coming down it. I probably had a grin on face (with my tongue sticking out to one side) stretching ear to ear coming down that.

In a nutshell, Clayton Park is just plain fun."
 

njhiker43

New Member
This is definitely an under-rated park. I have been going the last few weekends, getting there around 8am and it is a ghost town. It is small but you can do a few loops and change it up each time to not get bored. It definitely is a roller coaster experience in the back. Lots of fun.
 

knobbyhead

Next off the Island.
Went here last weekend after not being there for over 8 years. It seemed a lot flatter the last time I rode it. It was a lot of fun.
 

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
not sure that clayton is underrated. it gets lots of props on here. I think it gets less love then some others simply because (1) its kinda out of the way and (2) it is really small (so for many folks on here its not gonna be their regular ride).

its a very fun park. IMHO, the best place for singlespeeds in the immediate are (better than Allaire and 6MR even) due to the rolling nature of the hills. there are a few sections that have a great roller coaster effect. all of the hills are makeable but can start to hurt towards the end.

but the place is pretty small so after an hour or so, it can get repetitive.
 
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