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Holyoke-Skinner State Park

I rode yesterday at the Holyoke-Skinner State Park Topeak-Kenda MTB Adventure, and had the greatest time. The trail system there is exceptional in its variety, pacing, technical challenge, and natural beauty.

Max and I drove out to very early to get breakfast before the ride at a Northampton diner. The plan for the day was, “Boys go riding, girls visit museums and shops”. After our atmospheric (but not altogether tasty) fueling stop at the diner, I hightailed it off to the Notch Visitors Center in nearby South Hadley. The weather was perfect, though a little warm; it would eventually reach the high 80s.

The park is a little linear range of mini-mountains with peaks around 1000 feet, just across the Connecticut River from Northampton, probably about 10 miles in length. It’s much higher than the surrounding land, and you can see it from some distance away as you approach it. The range runs along a west/east axis, with a gap in the middle where Route 116 passes through it. The north side of the range is an unrideably steep escarpment (cliffs, really), so most of the trails wind through the jumbled hilly landscape on the south side. Here is an excellent trail map of the area, made by one of the trail builders.

This gap was the starting point for yesterday’s ride, and large trail systems extend in both directions along the ridge from it, west and east. The “main drag” for the ride was to the west, about 12 miles in an area known as “Earl’s Trails”. However there was also a marked loop on the east side of 12 miles called the “Batchelor St. Trails” that was not as well advertised at the registration booth. I asked around and soon found someone who rode regularly at the park, who told me that the 12-mile eastern loop was much more technical, the western side smoother, faster and more cruising-oriented. I opted for the eastern side, and I wasn’t sorry!

There seemed to be very few riders when I started, but I soon fell in with 3 other folks who were going at the same pace as myself. Two were from NY State near Great Barrington, with a buddy from Becket, MA.

The trails were indeed technical, but extremely well laid out and engineered. They made really good use of the terrain and had lots of challenging features. We remarked on how, although the riding was difficult and we were messing up a lot on the tricky parts, every single trail felt theoretically rideable given enough time to master it. The landscape was variable, winding through hardwoods, little Hansel-and-Gretel forests, hemlocks and white pines. The terrain was up-and-down, with constant climbs and descents — some long and satisfying, others thrilling in a roller-coaster fashion.

After 90 minutes we stopped, exhausted, and discovered we had only ridden 6 miles. It felt like we had done more like 8 or 9, due to the constant climbing and technical moves. During our rest at the top of a short, near-impossible-looking pitch, a couple of other bikers approached from below. We could tell immediately that they had local knowledge from the practiced line that they took; they both cleaned it to the top. When they stopped and we started talking, it turned out that these were folks who had built most of the trails we were riding! We rode the rest of the way with them, with frequent deviations from the marked loop: “I can’t believe they left this trail out — you guys have to ride this one!” This second half of the ride was even more fun because, along with the fun detours, we got occasional insiders’ tips on where to point the wheel. A lot of these trails have sections that look impossible but where clever armoring and ramping allow a perfectly clean ride right through, if you know where to go.

At the end, after 3 1/2 hours and only 12+ miles, our group was completely fried but happy. I would gladly come back here another time soon. It’s only about a 90 minute drive from Boston, and well worth a regular trip. The riding here is among the best in the state. If you like technical X-C mountain biking, this is more than a match for the hardest of Lynn Woods or Vietnam and yet it’s much larger in area, with more mileage and more variety. It’s also in a beautiful natural area. Going back soon!

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