Mountain biking is amazing for so many reasons!! Exploring beautiful areas, getting exercise, safety from cars on the road, and an added mental and physical challenge of navigating trails. It is absolutely a thrill! It can be a bit intimidating if you have never tried it, though! You don’t know what the trails are like or what to expect. So here are three trails that are fantastic for beginners, yet a blast for more experienced riders that enjoy a fast and flowy ride!
Lake Rebecca Singletrack
If you’re willing to take a little drive out of the metro, this trail is so worth it. Lake Rebecca is located in Rockford, MN, and it gives you 13.25 glorious miles of singletrack!! So you will definitely get your cardio workout riding here – I’d advise bringing snacks! The great thing is that you don’t have to do all 13.25 miles. There are several loopback trails so you can make this ride as short or as long as you please. Or do a favorite section a couple times.
There is nothing extreme about this trail. I’ve taken both beginners and my nephews (10 and under) riding here, and everyone has loved it. The trail is well kept and continuously updated. New challenges and obstacles are gradually being added to the trail. So if you crave a little more excitement, there are some fun boulders, log piles, and drops. A few mild enough that my young nephews conquered them! Almost all of them are easy enough to avoid if you’re not quite up to that.
Lake Rebecca has the standard green, blue, and black (beginner, intermediate, and expert) progression. I would say the only thing that makes the expert trail more difficult is the elevation changes. Otherwise, there is nothing particularly hard about this section. So as long as you can handle 13 miles of mountain biking, don’t scare yourself about the “expert” label here.
Overall, I LOVE this trail. Whenever I have summer plans in the west metro, I try to fit in a ride at Lake Rebecca as well! The fast, flowy trail with gorgeous water views is right up my alley. You’ll often spot a swan enjoying the day on the water, too.
Elm Creek Singletrack
After you’ve conquered Lake Rebecca, you are ready for Elm Creek! Also a lengthy trail at 12.7 miles, you’ll be building those biker legs in no time! It’s located in Champlin, MN, and is another Three Rivers Park trail, as is Lake Rebecca.
The green section of Elm Creek is kind of off in its own area. Super basic and a great place to take those kiddos to start out! The blue section has plenty of fun for everyone with some really sweet roller sections that will have you grinning! The expert section of Elm Creek is more challenging than Lake Rebecca, but it’s still nothing too crazy. So if you feel confident on the blue, I don’t think you’ll be overly surprised at anything on the black.
You’ll find me at this trail a lot during the mountain bike season. It has a fun variety and is just a blast to ride. It can get pretty busy at times, but I’ve never felt overly crowded on the trail as there are a lot of miles for riders to spread out on. And don’t forget to bring your favorite snacks and beverages to enjoy after the ride! They’ve got a few picnic tables as well as grassy areas to rest your legs and fill your belly.
Xcel Energy Mountain Bike Trail
Xcel Energy Mountain Bike trail is a newer trail located in Shakopee, and it’s unique for several reasons. This trail is not in the typical park or woodsy location, but it does have a good combination of open prairie and through the trees riding. It’s also not the normal dirt trail, but rather an all-weather trail surface. This doesn’t mean you should ride while it’s raining, but you can get out biking much sooner after a rain compared to most trails.
Xcel Energy trail is short, especially after talking about the last two trails. It’s only four miles in length, but it’s super easy to loop and keep the riding continuous. You’ll enjoy easy flow trails, technical features to practice your skills, and my favorite, great rollers and berms. There is no black, or expert, section on this trail, only green and blue.
If you live in the metro and don’t want to drive far, it’s a great option if you don’t mind a shorter trail and riding loops. I don’t mind as there were some really fun sections I enjoyed hitting several times. Rain can be such a bummer for mountain bikers since it usually shuts down trails, so it’s a treat to have a trail that you can jump on shortly after it rains!
I have so many more local mountain bike trails I love, but I thought I’d share a few of my favorites that are great for riders of all levels! What are your favorite trails?! I’d love to hear where you all like to ride!
2 thoughts on “Three of My Favorite Local-ish Mountain Bike Flow Trails (Great for Beginners)”