BIG Year for Barkeater Trails Development
The trails at Craig Wood have quickly become a "must ride" destination when in Lake Placid. This summer, they got even better.
By Phil Brown
I spent this past summer rock climbing and hiking out west. Although I brought my mountain bike, I didn’t ride very often. So I was eager to get back in the saddle upon returning to the Adirondacks in mid-September.
I chose one of my favorite rides on the trails near the Craig Wood Golf Course outside Lake Placid and was delighted to discover that the Barkeater Trails Alliance (BETA) had been working hard in my absence.
As usual, I began on the Scott’s Cobble Trail and did the short loop on the Putt-Putt Trail for a warmup. Continuing on Scott’s Cobble I soon came to a new trail, Pirate’s Cove--so new that it had only a makeshift sign. Pirate’s Cove is a tenth of a mile long. Like Putt-Putt, it winds through the woods on mellow terrain. If you’re new to mountain biking, Putt-Putt and Pirate’s Cove are great fun and a perfect introduction to the joys of single-track riding.
After Pirate’s Cove, I followed the Scott’s Cobble Trail to one of the golf course’s utility roads. In the past, bikers turned left and followed the road a tenth of a mile or so before re-entering the woods. No more. BETA has built a quarter-mile of new trail to eliminate the road riding. Just cross the road to continue on single-track.
I followed Scott’s Cobble uphill to the Cobble Wood Connector, which I took to the 19th Hole Trail, a downhill thriller. Reaching the Jackrabbit Ski Trail, I was surprised to find yet another new trail--so new it didn’t have any sign. I later learned it is called Duffer’s Delight.
Duffer’s Delight is a wonderful trail, longer (three-quarters of a mile) and more strenuous than Putt-Putt and Pirate’s Cove. The map on BETA’s website colors it blue for intermediate. It has a fair amount of ups and downs, but few rocks and roots to contend with. Advanced beginners should be able to handle it--as long as they avoid the Kreature Feature.
The Kreature Feature is a huge boulder with three wooden ramps leading to the top. Riders can roll up one ramp and down another on the opposite side. It’s something I might try when I work up the courage. Experts can take a third ramp and ride off the boulder’s high side. Not sure I’ll ever do this.
On the other side of the Jackrabbit, BETA has built a short trail that bypasses a short steep section of the ski trail. It will be useful to skiers and bikers on the uphill approach to the golf course from Bird Song Lane.
After my ride, I emailed Josh Wilson, BETA’s executive director, to find out what else the organization accomplished this year. Here’s a partial list of interest to bikers:
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Added 1.5 miles of new trail at the Blueberry Hill network outside Elizabethtown.
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Added a mile of new trails at Dewey Mountain outside Saranac Lake.
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Built a bridge and repaired several others on multi-use trails in the Fish Creek area, in addition to rerouting trail to avoid a wetland.
Wilson said BETA is still working on plans for next year, but he hopes to resume construction of single-track in Wilmington, Saranac Lake and Elizabethtown. The organization also will install proper signs for the new trails at Craig Wood.
For those interested, after finishing Duffer’s Delight, I returned via the Back Nine Trail to the Cobble Wood Connector, which I followed to the Blue Ribbon Trail. I then coasted downhill to the Scott’s Cobble Trail and retraced my route back toward the parking area. At the end, I hit up the Pirate’s Cove and Putt-Putt a second time. With all the side trails, the ride totaled five miles with 725 feet of climbing (and an equal amount of descent). All of the trails are rated easy or intermediate.
Thanks to BETA, the Lake Placid region has developed a reputation as a mountain-bike destination. In my travels out west, I discovered a town with a similar vibe: Driggs, Idaho, on the western side of the Tetons. I spent two days riding through the sagebrush hills of Horseshoe Canyon. Lovely trails and beautiful scenery, but I am happy to be back in the Old North Woods.
Phil Brown edited the Adirondack Explorer newsmagazine for 19 years before retiring in 2018. He is the author of Adirondack Paddling: 65 Great Flatwater Adventures and publisher of Adirondack Birding: 60 Great Places to Find Birds. He also collected and annotated the regional writings of Bob Marshall in Bob Marshall in the Adirondacks. He continues to write for the Explorer as well as BikeADK and other outlets. When he isn’t at the computer, he’s usually doing something important such as climbing a slide, skiing the Jackrabbit Trail or riding the BETA trails.