Find the top rated mountain biking trails in Columbia, whether you're looking for an easy short mountain biking trail or a long mountain biking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a mountain biking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Great trail. Love the new bridges and smooth black top.
When I first started riding the Chester Valley Trail, the connection to the SRT was only a concept. So I would ride from King of Prussia to Exton, parking at the park and ride lot. It is mainly flat and mostly wooded, but there are a lot of road crossings, the most dangerous one is right after entering Chester County, where an exit ramp from Rte 202 has cars not caring about stopping at the trail, which has a walk sign. There have been signage improvements in a lot of the other trail crossings, taking some of the risk out of it. It is paved, and the only steep part, and hardly that, is around the Vanguard Headquarters. There is a park at Exton, with water and restrooms. In addition, unlike many trails, it is considered a commuting trail so there is winter maintenance. That makes about a 25 mile round trip to Exton and back. Since then, the trail now connects to the SRT. Connecting, one has two very steep bridges to go over, and other less steep parts approaching King of Prussia. That part of the trail is mainly in the open, and road crossings are signal controlled. It goes along Rte 202 in Chester County, and there are sound barriers, so when the trees are in leaf, it actually is muted in noise. In Fall colors, it is gorgeous. And in hot weather, cool, especially in the Chester County portion. A positive is it is flat, but a negative are the many road crossings. I have found a mix of riders and walkers but it seems few riding clubs traverse the trail, so riders will not be zooming by one. In the summer, on weekends, there is a recombinant bike group for handicapped people who you may meet, starting from the Exton Park.
This was the second time I visited this trail. But the change in parking location from Quarryville the first time to Red Hill Road in Pequa this time made all the difference. From the that trailhead, you can choose what direction you’d like to enjoy the trail. But I would highly recommend going west towards the Martic Forge Trestle and the beginning of the spectacular views of the Susquehanna to River
I just moved back to the Philadelphia area. The Chester Valley Trail continues to be one of my favorites. I’m a mid-level road biker and this trail suits me well. The CVT is in beautiful shape: lots of trees and the western half in particular is very bucolic. Yes there are road crossings and some traffic noise, but honestly, the tree cover and the quality of the trail make up for any issues. I also like it because it’s not as busy as the SRT (another excellent ride and great for faster riders or the Perkiomen)
It’s a simple riverside greenway. It’s a little hillier than I expected for a riverside trail, but it’s in good shape and not too hard to ride. Most of the river view is blocked by shrubbery, but you can still see it, and it’s pretty nice. The trail was a bit crowded on a Monday evening.
It’s along the bed of a would-be expressway, and therefore there’s really nothing to see. I averaged 12 mph, and it felt slow. It’s in outstanding shape and looks new, but the perfect shape combined with the lack of scenery made it utterly boring. At least it had a fun downhill.
It’s effectively a widened sidewalk along a suburban boulevard opposite from a commercial shopping center. I’m sure it’s functional in that way, but it’s not really a *trail.* I’ll still give it 3 stars though because it’s in perfect shape.
It’s very short, but a good ride while it lasts. The Oregon Pike crossing is daring. Other than that it’s just a simple high-quality short-trail.
Pretty straightforward; not much to say. Just watch the tight switchbacks north of the tunnel if you’re on a bike or something with wheels.
In all honesty, I rode this entirely too fast. The trail is quite narrow, enough so that I had to pull over to let another cyclist continue in the other direction. That said, I still had a lot of fun blazing the downhills. Lots of root-bumps as well. Some of the hills are pretty aggressive for bikes.
It’s really just a park pathway but longer. Nothing special. Smooth ride.
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