Shared by Jonathan Harding, Visitor Services Intern, as Guest Blogger.

My friend scoffed "There are no real mountains here anyway" declining my invitation to go mountain biking last weekend; as he had just moved from Colorado. After exchanging a few texts he condescendingly agreed to accompany me for a mountain biking adventure at York River State Park in Coastal Virginia.

Backbone Trail is main mountain biking trail and ravines and gullies criss-cross this mountain bike trail system making for fun rides

Some of the trails leading to the mountain bike trail system are multi-use, always yield to pedestrians and horses

We pulled up into the York River State Park parking lot just a few minutes after the gates opened, and we were the first ones there. The ranger at the gate offered us a trail map and we began to plot our route. Each of the trails is graded based on difficulty; green circles are the easiest, blue squares are intermediate, and black diamonds are for experienced mountain bikers only.

We agreed on the trails we wanted to ride, gathered our gear, checked our tire pressure, donned our helmets and took off 

We started on a wide open access road with green ferns growing under the forest canopy and I was excited. Just being outside on a beautiful morning enjoying the scenery was enough to keep a smile glued to my face. All the trails at York River State Park were marked by signs with the grades of the trails right under the names. 

Using a fish eye lens I was able to capture some of the great forest canopy over the mountain biking trails

As we entered the forest the trail narrowed down to a single track where these nice flowing trails led to more technical terrain. My heart pounded, and my focus tightened as we navigated goat path descents, hairpin curves, roots and rocks; my mind raced to assess the situation and stay ahead of my bike.

I was able to feel the contour of the trail beneath my tires, the wind in my face: this is what I love about mountain biking 

The trail mellowed and put us back on the main path and when I stopped and turned to my friend, he was grinning ear to ear.  “I can’t believe that we’re still in Virginia,” he said straining a bit to get it all out in one breath. I smiled back, out of breath myself. We stood for a few minutes leaning on our bikes as we ate some snacks and drank our water. Rejuvenated he looked up at me and said “Ready?” but before I could answer he was off riding towards the black-diamond.

York River State Park has more than 30 miles of mountain biking, hiking, and horseback trails so whether it is your first time or you’ve been riding for years there’s a trail for you. Remember some of the trails used to access the mountain trail system are multi-use for hikers, bikers, and horses. So be sure to yield to horses and pedestrians and always wear safety gear including a helmet. 

You can learn more about the trails at Virginia State Parks by clicking here.