MetroParks Mountain Biking Area — Attraction in Bath Township

I go and move away from my hometown area, and come back to find this awesome place was created while I was away. I had heard about this place from my parents, but I for some absent-minded reason never thought to come here on a weekend or holiday when visiting.

In any case, this place is great for the beginner, intermediate, and somewhat advanced mountain biker. I did a good deal of mountain biking in hilly woodland trails and on a downhill summer ski-slope track while out of the Dayton area, so I say "somewhat advanced" in that the portions of the black diamond trail that I saw were not exactly up to the difficulty par of the downhill MTB tracks black diamonds. Furthermore, there is only one major trail, and a minor one at the black or double black difficulty. That being said, I haven't explored the entire black section yet (Hawk's Lair and the minor Talon trail). I am still building my skills from being able to traverse all the intermediate level stuff faster. edit: The Talon is really gnarly and should be able to test the hardcore adrenaline junkies pretty well. Hawk's Lair near the Moonscape section is also quite a challenging ride.

That being said, I can't think of too many elite folks living in Dayton that would be disappointed in this area, so it is really a moot point, probably. This place is part of the public Metroparks program in Dayton and is free to use, so they aren't about to put too crazy downhill ski resort style features here. The high entry ticket cost at the ski resort covers not only the maintenance and features, but the high risk too.

Anyway, enough of all that, because this place is a load of fun, great exercise, and should appeal to a very wide range of people. On my first time out, I saw families getting some great exercise together, spending time outdoors, and the children wanted to keep going apparently for hours. I saw friends enjoying time challenging one another to keep up speed on the difficult trails and getting a great workout at the same time. There was even an older senior couple getting some trail time in at the easy difficulty Hilltop Flow loop. All in all, an incredible way to attract adults and children outdoors for hours on end.

As far as the details to keep aware, the top would be that most all of the single-track trails are two way, with I believe the only exception being the Hilltop Flow. Now, this may seem discouraging, and it does have its obvious head-on drawbacks, but there are some advantages to the two way single track, as counter-intuitive as that might sound. Being able to run a trail both ways effectively increases the diversity of the trails by allowing folks to try a particular feature as both an uphill climb and a downhill speed run. The designers also did a pretty good job of avoiding blind turns where terrain or vegetation thickness would be hazardous. Also, it isn't too hard to take some common sense precautions like making a noise, whistle or whatever when cautiously making a blind turn. The trail users all seem to be quite courteous and the etiquette among everyone seems to naturally work quite well. I am pretty used to the two way system from some of the ungroomed MTB trails I would run at state parks, with little signage and no difficulty grades posted.

In any case, an awesome place, and I can't wait to go back some time early for their 8am opening time. That being said, I didn't think it was all that crowded for my first time visiting, and it was the 10th anniversary weekend...

A great place for beginner as well as advanced mountain bikers and likely the best local option for this sport (mountain biking also available at Hueston Woods State Park and John Bryan State Park). MoMBA and Metroparks have done a superb job designing this IMBA mountain biking area. There are 7 trails here, in order of increasing difficulty: Creekside, Twisted, Upper Stealth, Lower Stealth, Mr. Zig Zag, Voodoo and Hawk's Lair. You definitely get a good workout with a well-rounded experience of trails and terrain. There are neat features areas/sections within some of the trails, like Hamilton Gorge, The Spiral, The Moonscape, The Humps, The Arena, Upper Ridge, Lower Ridge and Art in Nature. There are maps, a water fountain and port-a-John's available at the trailhead and an information spot at Five-Points Junction. The trails are very well-marked and well-maintained. EMS evacuation points are in several areas (don't ride alone, wear a helmet, bring water, use sunscreen, have a phone and tell someone where you will be riding at) There were some other riders there, but not a ton, and everyone was friendly with good trail etiquette (i.e. "Rider up!"). Trails are closed if there is mud (call Metroparks ahead and check) and the park hours vary by season but are conspicuously posted at the gate. Deer can be seen here. This is a nice hidden gem in Dayton and I will...

This mountain bike park was my home from 1962 till 1977 when my family moved out west. We lived in a house that was built in 1815. Our family had about 32 acres and the county owned another 40-50 acres. The people who owned the house after we left sold the property to the county and the county turned both properties into one mountain bike park. The sad thing was the county tore down the house. They told me it was too costly to renovate. The barn that is still there was there when I grew up. It is the only remaining building from when I lived there. There was a spring house foundation below and left of where the barn sits as you look down hill. There was also a smoke house on the left. As you look to the right of the barn, there were 3 or 4 chicken houses. I moved there when I was 6 or 7 and left when I was 20 or so. I’m now in my 60’s and I think if my time growing up here often. I spent a lot of time on both properties. I have been back since moving and I am amazed at how much the plants have over taken the property below the barn. Nearby just up union road is a very...