Birdsboro Preserve, PA

Crabryder

Crabryder

Well-Known Member
Anyone ride here often?
Road here a few weeks ago and had the feel of mostly downhill (no lift servicešŸ„µ) with natural rock features (drops and gaps) might buy a full hard chin guard helmet for this place next time.
 
On the bucket list as it can be connected to French Creek. Believe it's an old quarry as there's an active 1 not far from it.
 
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For sure, but you will need to work to reap the rewards you'll get for some of these downhills and certainly if you have the stamina to combine with French Creek it's worth it.
Was only there for the 1st time, but my son moved out that way( (15min) so hopefully I'll get to know my way around up there.
 
I'm lucky that my friend lives close to the trailhead and can give me a tour. Hit all the good stuff but so much out there. Kudos to Berks trailworks for an outstanding trail system

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Birdsboro actually connects to French Creek via the Horseshoe Trail. Basically, if you park in the main day use area of French Creek (near the ranger station), you could take Boone Trail through the Boone/Turtle combo and then pick up Horseshoe Trail about halfway around the Boone Trail loop. Follow Horseshoe out to Geigertown Road and cross the street to pick up the Horseshoe Trail in the Preserve. It is a long and steep climb up into the maze of trails in the Preserve. The "downhill-ier" trails (like Black Dog and Ramble On) are on the other side of the Indian Run Dam Loop. And if you head out across Haycreek Road area, you can pick up more trails both XC and (IIRC) the techies trail in the Preserve, Helter Skelter. There is a lot of up and down throughout the Preserve, but once you get away from Geigertown Road, it's nothing like the climb you do there. Lots of fun stuff, but it can be confusing if you haven't been there before. Trailforks has a nice layout of the marked trails, but just be aware that there are a lot of unmarked trails in the Preserve as well. Some of them are among the best in the park, while others go nowhere and it's kind of trial and error to figure out which is which if you don't have local knowledge.

I've ridden there a bunch of times, but aside from the first time I was there, I've only ever done it by riding over from French Creek. And I am not yet totally comfortable navigating everything in a way where I could lay out a course. I usually start from Shed Road at French Creek, ride the Mill Creek section and then head over and take Lenape out around to Boone, ride all of Boone and then drop into Horseshoe to head over to the Preserve. That's a tough ride with a ton of climbing, but when you get into the flow areas of both of them, all the climbing pays off.

Definitely worth a trip, but if you want to justify the drive with a longer ride, I'd recommend combining it with French Creek - between the two of them, you can put together one very long, challenging day.
 
Ok, I parked at Haycreek Rd. lot crossed a bridge and headed up I think Coclica Double track and kept climbing and cursing my 42 tooth cassette. it does seem like this gives you a lot of access to Zed's, Roller Coaster and Pirate Jet once your up, but any suggestions on a better place to park would be appreciated?
 
@Norm
Supposedly a nice campground like Lackawanna in french creek, sounds like we should scratch out a weekend on the calendar. I'm definitely game.
 
Crabryder said:
Ok, I parked at Haycreek Rd. lot crossed a bridge and headed up I think Coclica Double track and kept climbing and cursing my 42 tooth cassette. it does seem like this gives you a lot of access to Zed's, Roller Coaster and Pirate Jet once your up, but any suggestions on a better place to park would be appreciated?
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There is a lot on Calico. Thatā€™s where I start from.
 
Crabryder said:
Ok, I parked at Haycreek Rd. lot crossed a bridge and headed up I think Coclica Double track and kept climbing and cursing my 42 tooth cassette. it does seem like this gives you a lot of access to Zed's, Roller Coaster and Pirate Jet once your up, but any suggestions on a better place to park would be appreciated?
Click to expand...
That was where I parked the one time I rode there without starting from FC. Haycreek Road kind of cuts right through the middle, so you can access a few different areas right from there.
 
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