On a recent trip to Killington, VT Amanda and I discovered this gem of a mountain bike area, Pine Hill Park in Rutland, VT. We actually drove through Rutland on our way to Killington, they are approximately 14 miles apart.
Amanda prefers much more moderate mountain biking and True Wheels Bike Shop in Killington recommended that we check this park out.
This park was great and one of the nicest that I have ridden in. It is obvious that a bunch of hours have been put into this park. All of the locals told me that there is one gentleman that is the driving force who arranges all of the volunteer hours needed to create and maintain an area as great as this. We would all be lucky to have a person like this for our own trails.
We were supplied a trail map at the bike shop which you can also download on the parks web site. When we got to the park Amanda wanted to make sure I didn’t take her on anything outside her comfort zone so she went to the bike shop located at the park and asked them for some advice on what trails to check out. The gentleman working there was very helpful in pointing us in the right direction. At the shop they rent 29er hard tails if you are in the area without a ride. Inside the building that the shop was located was a killer in door skate and bike park. In the winter it is an indoor ice rink and then for the summer months it is converted to an indoor park. If you lived there you would be in heaven between the bike trails and the indoor park.
We headed out into the park and I was really impressed by what I saw. Every trail intersection had painted wood signs that marked the trails with a sign that told you how far it was back to the trail head. All of the turns were banked with the proper drainage to ensure the trail dried out properly. Then there were a great series of bridges throughout the park that were amazing. Be sure to check out the photos on the parks web-site.
We rode primarily beginner to intermediate trails but I saw some feature and trails that looked like there could be something for most everyone. There wasn’t a ton of vertical so I am sure the downhillers would be happier at the local resorts for down hilling.
When I left the park I was really inspired by what has been accomplished and what could be accomplished on my home trails. There have been a lot of hours placed into this park and it shows. Not only was it great for mountain biking but would be great for trail running or hiking. In fact on a day that we had planned on hiking we hiked a few of the trails here.
If you are in the area be sure to check the park out, it is very impressive!
