The Best Mountain Bike Towns in the U.S., Ranked

Does anyone remember when mountain biking was a fringe sport? I do. Back in the day (call it the eighties), mountain bikers were borderline outlaws, riding forest trails on the sly and thumbing their noses at “the man.” Now, mountain biking isn’t just mainstream, it’s a way of life and an economic force. Don’t believe me? Visit one of the towns on this list, and you’ll see it’s centered around fat tires in one way or another.

The criteria for this article were simple, and honestly, far more subjective than the factors I used to determine the Best Bike Towns. Sure, there’s some hard data involved—the towns that made the cut need to have a lot of singletrack. But just as important as miles of trail is the vibe. A town on this list has to embrace mountain biking as part of its core identity.

I’ve ridden most of these destinations myself. I’ve spent the last two decades traveling across the country for Outside and other magazines, often in search of the best mountain bike trails and the communities that build and support them. A few below are still on my bucket list to ride (I’m looking at you, Bentonville), but they have made so much noise in recent years, that they can’t be denied.

I took geographic diversity into account when making this list. I could probably write an entire article about the best mountain bike towns and never get out of the state of Colorado. But we don’t all live in Colorado or even travel there, so I tried to spread the love around while still adhering to some strict, and sometimes subjective, guidelines.

Read on and find your next great mountain bike destination.

7. Duluth, Minnesota

Miles of Trail: 110 and counting.

Claim to Fame: The Duluth Traverse.

Vibe: Hardworking, Midwestern know-how.

Duluth doesn’t get the love it deserves. At its heart, it’s a blue-collar seaport town that just happens to be in the middle of the country on the shore of Lake Superior. It has evolved from a mining town to a shipping town and more recently, one hell of a mountain bike town. The local club, the Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores (COGGS), embraces their Midwestern ethos and work hard on the trails in their backyard, creating five different hubs, each with its own sense of character. Mission Creek has more than 20 miles of flow, great for beginners, while Spirit Mountain has lift-served gravity in spades. Hartley Park splits the difference with a combo of flow and rocky tech over its 15 miles of trail, and the incredible Duluth Traverse connects it all into a seamless, full day experience. And the town of Duluth itself has become an under-appreciated cultural hub of the Midwest with a legitimate food scene and plenty of breweries to quench your thirst in a downtown that’s incredibly easy to navigate on bikes.

The Ride: If you want to experience Duluth at its finest, you pedal the full Duluth Traverse, a 42-mile point-to-point romp that is entirely within the city limits. You’ll get a taste of all of each of the city’s trail systems, get big views of town and Lake Superior beyond, and do it all within a quick pedal to coffee or beer in downtown. I rode the full Traverse several years ago and loved the varied terrain and even the occasional road stretch connecting singletrack. It’s a big day ride, but it’s not super technical. If you’re looking to push yourself, there are plenty of opportunities to extend mileage and difficulty as you make your way through the various trail systems.

Post Ride: Bent Paddle Brewing was my go-to when I visited Duluth years ago, and it’s still going strong, though from what I hear the wood-fired pizzas at Ursa Minor Brewing need to be on your to-do list. And this is a lake town in the Midwest so you have to get some smoked fish from Northern Waters SmokeHaus.

6. Park City, Utah

Miles of Trail: More than 400 miles surrounding town.

Claim to Fame: Bike parks. So many bike parks.

Vibe: Summer ski town stoke.

Here’s the crazy thing about Park City: The mountain biking might actually be better than the skiing. And the skiing is world-class. Park City was the first Gold-Level Ride Center designated by IMBA, and it’s only gotten better since that honor was bestowed upon the town. The infrastructure is there thanks to the ski resort economy—plenty of lift-served terrain, ski shops turn into bike shops when the snow melts, and the city operates a free shuttle to trailheads. With more than 400 miles of trail to choose from, there are plenty of options for every kind of rider. Park City has one of the best lift-served bike parks in the country at Woodward Bike Park, but also the city-run Trailside Bike Park, which has jump lines, pump tracks and downhill trails that you can pedal for free. And sure, Park City can feel like a high-end resort town (because it is), but you can’t deny the charm of Main Street with its manicured Old West-style buildings flanked by Utah’s finest slopes.

The Ride: Choosing a single ride in Park City is like choosing a single dish at an all-you-can-eat buffet. But I gotta go with Mid Mountain Trail, a 26-mile high alpine cruise that runs from Deer Valley to Park City Mountain Resort, hovering around 8,000 feet in elevation the entire time.

Post Ride: You’re in Park City so let’s splurge a bit and hit High West Distillery after your ride. They make some of my favorite whiskey in the world, and have two destinations you can visit while in town. The Saloon is the more casual spot where you can get flights of High West booze alongside dishes like schnitzel or elk ragu. Perfectly suitable. But for the ultimate experience make a reservation for the Prix-Fixe dinner at their Nelson Cottage, where every dish is paired with a specific whiskey.

5. Oakridge, Oregon

Miles of Trail: More than 300 around town.

Claim to Fame: Enduro central.

Vibe: Timber town transitioned to tourism.

Former timber town turned singletrack stalwart has been the king of mountain biking in the Pacific Northwest for more than a decade, earning an early Gold-Level Ride Center designation from IMBA back in 2015. Oakridge and its sister town Westfir are completely surrounded by national forest, and the terrain is classic PNW—think thick trees and a forest floor coated with ferns. Thanks to its timber town pedigree, the national forest is full of old logging roads that make for relatively easy climbs to access the singletrack, so it’s world-class enduro riding territory. But if you don’t like to pedal, several companies in town run shuttle services, because logging might have been Oakridge’s past, but mountain biking is its present and future.

The Ride: The classic ride near Oakridge is the Alpine Trail, which isn’t technical but offers incredible diversity of terrain, from an open meadow singletrack to long sections of flow through dank, dark Oregon forests. There are some incredible views of the Cascade Mountains from ridgeline sections too. If you do the full Alpine Trail, you’re looking at 15 miles of mostly downhill with 4,000 feet of vertical drop ending at the town of Westfir. You can shuttle or do a full 35-mile Alpine Loop.

Post Ride: Belly up to the bar at 3 Legged Crane Pub and Brewhouse, a British-style pub known for their house-casked ales and proper fish and chips.

4. Brevard, North Carolina

Miles of Trail: More than 350 miles within one hour of town.

Claim to Fame: Pisgah’s best singletrack in its backyard.

Vibe: Southern hospitality, but with gnarly trails.

Brevard often gets overshadowed by its neighbor, Asheville, but this small town of 8,000 is the true epicenter of mountain biking in the South. Pisgah National Forest is known for its rooty, extremely technical singletrack and the best of those trails are in Brevard’s backyard. Meanwhile, Brevard’s front yard is occupied by DuPont State Recreational Forest, which has more than 80 miles of more friendly trails to explore, not to mention plenty of waterfalls and swimming holes for a post-ride plunge. There are some trails you can pedal to from town, but for the most part you’ll have to get in your car and cruise gravel roads through Pisgah National Forest to hit the trails. Beginners will need to pick and choose their rides carefully as the elevation changes and technical challenges of this singletrack are notable. As for the town itself, Brevard proper has evolved from a sleepy hamlet to a legitimate destination as the culinary and beer scene has stepped up its game.

The Ride: It’s summer, so I gotta recommend visitors head to DuPont State Forest, where you can create massive loops connecting singletrack with former carriage roads that take you by massive waterfalls and backcountry lakes. The Big Rock/Cedar Rock Trail loop takes you up and over a granite dome, with long-range views and the chance to ride rare, southern “slrickrock.” Check out the impressive Bridal Veil Falls before you head back into town.

Post Ride: Every ride needs to be capped with a beer at The Hub, a bike shop/bar right at the entrance gate to Pisgah National Forest. I think it’s the law. There’s usually a food truck, too. Oskar Blues also has a great outdoor space at their brewery outside of town.

3. Moab, Utah

Miles of Trail: More than 150 miles of singletrack near town.

Claim to Fame: It’s the original mountain bike town.

Vibe: Desert outpost with homemade ice cream.

Moab has been a top-tier mountain bike destination almost since the invention of the mountain bike itself. I’ve been visiting this desert outpost to ride fat tires since I was a grad student at CU Boulder (a long, long time ago) and while the town has certainly evolved, it’s also kind of stayed the same. There is so much to do around Moab (two national parks, world-class rock climbing, so many 4WD options) but it still feels like a mountain bike town at its core. Moab hosts a regular Town Race Series in the spring and fall that draws some incredible local talent, while most new businesses popping up go out of their way to accommodate bikers. And the trails are always beautifully maintained. The only problem is choosing which trails to ride, as the options are seemingly endless.

The Ride: There are so many options to choose from around Moab, it’s important to focus. Trying to knock out The Whole Enchilada is the classic ride, but honestly, it’s too much for most people to tackle. I really like the terrain in the Klondike Bluff trail system, which has really fast, flowy singletrack near the trailhead, but gets super technical in a fun way as it climbs a ridge that separates BLM land from Arches National Park. You’ll also get to ride by some dinosaur footprints, which isn’t something you do everyday. This system alone has 50 miles of singletrack. I like Alaska, a 4-mile leg that has some razorback ridge moments with views into Arches National Park.

Post Ride: Refuel at Thai Bella, which has large portions and a shaded outdoor patio. Also, a lot of restaurants and breweries make their own ice cream, which is a trend I would like to catch on with the rest of the country.

2. Bentonville, Arkansas 

Miles of Trail: 80 miles in town, 500 miles in the mountains.

Claim to Fame: Singletrack sidewalks.

Vibe: Bikes are life.

During the last decade, Bentonville, a relatively small town in the relatively small mountains of Arkansas, hasn’t just entered into the conversation of best mountain bike towns in the country, it’s dominated it. There has been so much fat tire momentum here, thanks to some hefty financial support from the Walton family and a citizenry that has bought into the potential of bikes, that the rest of the country is simply trying to catch up with Bentonville’s progressive take on mountain bike infrastructure. While the 80-mile portfolio doesn’t have the volume of some other towns on this list, almost all of those trails were built from scratch with mountain bikes in mind. So that’s 80 miles of high quality, roller coaster fun in town. You can drive to another 500 miles within the Ozark Mountains throughout Northwest Arkansas. And it’s only getting better. Bentonville and its sister town Bella Vista are set to debut a lift-served bike park feeding 200 acres of gravity trails (stay tuned for a dedicated article about that soon) in June.

The Ride: Get a sense of just how accessible and incredible the singletrack is in Bentonville by riding from the town square directly into Slaughter Pen, a system with more than 40 miles of trails. You’re going to want to do a big tour here, but make sure it includes the All American Trail, which is beginner-friendly, but full of pumpy flow that all riders will love, not to mention plenty of optional skinnies and bridges. Tack on The Masterpiece too, which features a steel sculpture that plays double duty as a rideable feature and a piece of public art.

Post Ride: Grab a beer at Bike Rack Brewing, which hosts regular community rides and has a taproom next to Bentonville’s Town Square.

1. Durango, Colorado

Miles of Trail: More than 300 miles within 30 minutes of town.

Claim to Fame: Immediate access to world-class singletrack.

Vibe: Mining town with college town smarts.

Every time I visit Durango, I come away wondering why I don’t live there. The town itself is cool, with a historic downtown with refined Old West-style buildings that bleed into tree-lined neighborhood streets. The Animas River carves around the edge of town and the mountains begin immediately where the pavement ends. This means you can get on your bike in the heart of downtown and pedal in any direction and find something cool to ride. I know because that’s exactly what I did on my most recent visit to Durango last fall. The 500-mile Colorado Trail has its southern terminus in Durango, so you can access high-alpine singletrack in the San Juans, and local groups keep expanding in-town options with the development of the 1,800-acre Durango Mesa Park. Durango is currently biding to host the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in 2030.

The Ride: I like the Horse Gulch/Telegraph Trail System, which has a lot of variety for different abilities and it’s located in town, so you can pedal straight from the trailhead to the brewery. You’ll find plenty of fast, flowy sections, but there’s also some techy switchbacks, especially as you climb higher in the system. Make sure you ride Skyline, a 1.7-mile climb/downhill with panoramic views of Durango below.

Post Ride: Durango has plenty of breweries, but Anarchy Brewing has a lowkey taproom right around the corner from Horse Gulch. When you’re hungry, 11th Street Station features a collective of different food trucks.

Graham Averill is Outside magazine’s national parks columnist. He’s been riding mountain bikes for far longer than he’d like to admit. He’s covered the top bikepacking trips across the U.S., and the best small adventure towns.

TELL US IN THE COMMENTS: Agree with our take? Or do you think we missed a town?