When did you ride? Was up there yesterday in hopes of some DH but nothing but rain the whole time. Thought about hitting the Emerald trails but grabbed some lunch & a brew instead. Guess I didn’t miss too much.

The Emerald Outback trails are some of my favorites in the state.  The high elevation, cool temps, and unique topography really bring out the mountain in mountain biking.

With that said it is not intuitive at all to put together a great route there.  I've been riding those trails since they came back to life in 2009 and they have changed and expanded in major ways numerous times since they were re opened.  The trail maps aren't very good and I don't know of any real good resources that outline the best routes there.  


There is great riding there with a mix of big rock features, smooth jumps, and rooty texture if you know where to go and how to link it up.  There is a cool descent called the west bowl that I typically end my rides up there with that dumps you out below the resort with a 15-20 minute pedal back to the resort.

A couple of quick notes:

• Ride the whistle pig trail that starts at the bikepark and goes down the oz slope to start an outback ride if you're already at the bike park.  Turn right at the bottom and pedal up Oz rd to either get back to the resort or enter the Emerald Outback trails at multiple location

  

• Oz forest run has a really fun downhill with unique "turtle rock" types features to roll on and over

• Witches Backbone and Witches Tail is a really fun DH that has multiple jump lines within.  Witches Tail is the best of the jumps and can be looped using a gravel road

• Southern Ridge is a slog in either direction, lol

Not sure if the video is any good but just saw it posted.  Oz Forest Run is a really fun piece of the Emerald Outback. 

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