You can learn to ride at this trail system in Hunterdon County

(Hunterdon County Mountain Biking Progression Pt. 2)

Back in 2021, I wrote a piece for this blog about how to start up mountain biking around the county. This article will wrap up those ideas and suggest how to help your new biker feel comfortable on all sorts of trails. Now that you’ve gotten your loved one into mountain biking, where should you take them next?

Nassau Trails

For Hunterdon County, this is the best and most diverse riding spots. Also, you could do an entire progression there. In the first part of the Hunterdon Mountain biking progression, I talked about riding the flatter trails around Nassau. Once the person you’re getting into biking feels comfortable on those trails, you can move onto rougher (and more fun) trails like Wall Ride and Todd’s Trail. 

After they’ve conquered the trials of Springside, move onto the steeper and rockier Nassau side. Then, ride La Primera and Flatlands. If your burgeoning mountain biker can handle all this, then ride the rest of the trails. At this point, your new riding buddy should be up to snuff and understand how to safely ride the trails.

Options outside Hunterdon

While the Nassau Trails have a variety of trails to learn on, you’ll probably want to check out other spots outside the county. Here are some of my main recommendations from easiest to hardest (so you can ride outside the county as a progression too).

Nockamixon State Park- Quakertown, PA

Not actually at Nox but a good picture.

Like Nassau, Nockamixon has a variety of trails that cater to the beginner to the advanced rider. The park is set up in a series of loops with the trails nearest to the trailhead being beginner friendly. 

For a beginning, I would start with Hammer Trail which loops back into Cold Spot. This map shows a connector trail that goes to the Hammer Trail loop, but I don’t remember that being an option the last time I rode there. You might just have to ride the one half of coldspot, which is what I usually do. 

Feeling confident about your new biker? Go ahead and ride Eastern Woods which has some of the best views of the lake. 

If you went to Nassau first, and your burgeoning biker feels comfortable with all those trails, than it should be no problem to ride all of Nox, as the locals call it. 

Six Mile Run- Franklin Township, NJ

At Six Mile Run in 2019.

When I started biking, Six Mile Run was the #1 Mountain Bike trail system in NJ, even though its ranking has fallen on Singletracks, it’s still a fantastic destination. The looping system features a red clay soil that provides lots of smooth and easy trail for the eager biker. 

I advise beginners to park on Canal Road and stick to the White and Blue trails. Make sure you avoid the Red trail on that side of the park or you will be walking up some steep hills you are unlikely to be able to get up. 

No bad choices 

While Nassua is the only good choice within Hunterdon County, all three of these options are fantastic for helping a new biker gain confidence on the trail with minimal risk. Each one is unique too, since Nassau has the most North Jersey rockiness, Nox has the cleanest layout and Six Mile Run features the smoothest trails overall. That means, you are in great shape to get your loved one into Mountain Biking!