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As the title really; have two weeks' in the state come July and fancy hiring a bike for a few days off-roading. I've looked on-line and can't get a hang on where to go; I've no idea how their trail descriptions compare to ours. As a guide I ride the Surrey Hills and am happy with places like Afan. Has anybody been and found somewhere half decent?
Where abouts in Pa? I lived in Bethlehem (north of Philly so on the eastern side of Pa)) for 2 years and spent my whole time biking, climbing and boarding.
Most of the purpose built trails in state park are pretty tame, but the trails up in the Appalachians are very rocky and technical, which is why they bred bikes like the Cannondale Beast of the East and Fat Chances with high BBs etc.
In west Philadelphia I was born and raised, on the playground is where I spent most of my days. Chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool, and shootin' some B-ball outside of the school. So can't really help with cycling stuff, sorry. Watch out for people who are up to no good; who knows where it might end...
There are ski resorts in the Poconos and Lehigh Valley. Some of these have bike parks for the summer, Blue Mountain is one.
[url= https://www.skibluemt.com/ ]https://www.skibluemt.com/[/url]
Not a gnarly option but if you head to Jim Thorpe there is a 25 mile all downhill old railway line that you can get bike hire and uplift for pretty cheaply, run by the same outfitters who do whitewater rafting, which is excellent too, either mucking about fun or full-on depending on dam-release days schedule. I'm getting old, our trip was nearly 15 years ago.
[url= http://poconobiking.com/ ]http://poconobiking.com/[/url]
There's loads of great riding in PA so it depends where you are going really. It's ten years since I've been, but I'd love to do more of the, really technical, riding in the Appalachians.
Jim Thorpe has some great singletrack woodsy riding, and you get to use the rail to trail to get back into town
Used to have a season pass at blue mountain, and as it was floodlit used to slope off work early and get a good 4-5hours boarding in a couple of times a week. Got bored of snowboarding.
Seems odd, now, living in Oxford :-/
Pretty casual as to location really - just mooching around. Johnstown looks a good bet?
OP - I'm in Murrysville, PA (Pittsburgh suburbs). Never been to UK, so have no idea how things compare. There are lots of trails in PA of just about every description.
Johnstown area - an hour+ away from me. I'd suggest Blue Knob (yes, really 😆 ) and Yellow Creek (coincidence?). I'd also recommend some riding in the Laurel Mountains. Apollo and Laurel Mountain if you like rocky technical trails. You'll need a guide, though. Contact [url= http://www.lhorba.org/ ]LHORBA.[/url]
[url= http://www.7springs.com/ ]7 Springs[/url] ski resort has a DH park as well as XC trails (24 hr race course, mainly).
Lots of city and county parks in and around Pittsburgh. Probably hard to link trails together w/o someone to show you. Signs and mapping are generally poor.
Ray's mountain bike park in Cleveland is a 2 hr drive away. Pittsburgh has the Wheel Mill (similar). Nearest trail center sort of thing is [url= http://www.allegrippistrails.com/ ]allegrippis trails[/url] at Raystown lake (2 hr drive)
If you'd like to do more of a touring thing, you can bike from Pittsburgh to Washington DC via the [url= http://www.atatrail.org/ ]Great Allegheny Passage[/url] rail trail and the C&O Canal towpath.
It all depends on what you are looking for...
Pennsylvania isn't as huge as some western states, but its not that much smaller that the UK. Driving is the norm; you'll be effed w/o a car. Trains are for moving freight, not people. 😉
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Thanks Joe! It's difficult to find stuff in the USA as the maps and trail descriptions do seem a little poor. I've ridden in Oregon and the Rockies at BC so have an idea as to distances. In Bend I asked the bike shop which trail they'd suggest. The trail head was an 80 mile drive away, and the ride loop was for three days. Not hugely family friendly! Both times found some local loops, although the one in BC involved an 11,000 foot mountain climb!
We're driving out of New York and into P for two weeks. I'm guessing with all the mountains you have, that mid drive I'll hook up with a bike shop in a promising area.
Know what you mean about the driving over there. However at least you can get places - the UK can be a nightmare to drive in!
Pennsylvania mountains aren't like the rockies. They're much smaller (Mt Davis, highest in PA is only 3212 ft elevation), but totally covered in forest. There aren't any 3 day loops in this area that I am aware of, either. But there are lots and lots of places to ride with a wide variety of different types of trails.
Maybe also consider Wissahickon park in Philadelphia and Rothrock State Forest in the middle of the state.
Unless you have a reason to be there, I'd look for somewhere to stay other than Johnstown. Its know for 2 things; both of them were floods. It was a steel mill town, and most of the industry left 30-40 years ago.
Lots of family stuff to do in & around Pittsburgh. Here's some propoganda - [url= http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/ ]http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/[/url]
Edit - and be sure to visit a gun shop while you're here so you can tell people about it when you go back home!
Pittsburgh looks like a place to visit. The reason we're going to Pennsylvania from New York is due to the fact* that all of the guidebooks here feature 125 pages on Florida or California, yet only one or two about Penn. Could mean there's nothing there, yet any place with ancient mountains running through it, and a lake the size of a sea, must have some redeeming features.
Gradually getting to grips with where to go - Ray's looks reasonable, especially the fat bike hire; got me written all over it.
Thanks for the replies - looking forward to it now.
As for the gun shop, will do. Always meant to, yet somehow with Wall-Mart etc. selling guns, which I found a tad surprising, I never got around to it. Now with a young son in tow, it is a must. As is showing my daughter, who is addicted to junk food, that her life isn't complete until she's been to a place that has muffins for breakfast and where crisps/chips come in packets the size of pillows**.
*actually because wife saw a program on Hershey's, so we're going there for a day. Hershey's is horrible chocolate I realise, as does she, but, hey! chocolate is chocolate.
**again another tenuous reason for going to the States - but by heck the smell of warm muffins and unlimited coffee in some motel puts me in heaven.
The Wissahickon in Philadelphia is excellent - hard to believe that there's such good riding in a major metropolitan area. Be like finding 10 miles of Peak district in Clapham. Philly also a superb city to visit in general.
When I was there (15 yrs back) Jim Thorpe was were all the local riders went for big days out - never rode there myself though (no car). Did go there for some hiking and it's a beautiful place.
Hershey Park is your typical tourist trappy theme park I think. Never been there...
This is a list of factory tours; there are a few potato chip makers. As well s some breweries...
[url= http://factorytoursusa.com/state/pennsylvania/ ]http://factorytoursusa.com/state/pennsylvania/[/url]
PA also has a huge system of State Parks. Some have cabins or yurts to rent, you can whitewater raft at Ohiopyle. Others have lakes, trails, all sorts of stuff [url= http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/index.aspx ]http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/index.aspx[/url]