Mt Penn - Reading, PA

[aedubber]

So has anyone been out here before? I saw some older videos and this place looks super fun , esp for the DH freaks and monster AM riders on the forums . They got some super fun fast rocky single tracks , berms, jumps , etc .

I guess years ago they actually used to host some DH racing here too


Weather pending , im looking to make a trip out here and see what its like.There is no trail map , so a tour guide is needed or just explore it im assuming .

 

[1speed]

I wasn't even aware there were any trails there, so they must be really local at this point. There's a huge trail running club up that way that do some really tough races, but the only riding I know in that area is French Creek to the south and Blue Marsh to the west.

 

[aedubber]

Yes sir , they have some really good trails and steep downhill trails .. If you google it , you will find some older videos but ya they are there .

 

[jayres6]

Mt Penn

I know some guys who ride there regularly and love it. I have to join them there. It's a bit of hike for me. easier for me to get to wiss or whiteclay.

I'm guessing if you poke around on garmin connect you might find something. Even if you don't have a garmin, having a visual understanding of the trail system is helpful.

 

[aedubber]

Ya I actually sent a PM to someone that rides there often and had a video of the place ., said he would give me a tour

 

[Norm]

Ok so I have been Trailforks surfing, something I will tag @JimN about because I know he does it too, and this place keeps popping up. It is now the #1 ranked place in PA and it's not that far away.

Check it:

Mount Penn Preserve on Trailforks

The Mount Penn Preserve Partnership (MP3) strictly prohibits individuals from creating new trails within the Mount Penn Preserve as per the municipalities’ and County of...

www.trailforks.com

Now I know TF can be a little off but it says 54 miles of trails. Even with the rounding errors that means there has to be a solid 25 miles of trails here. So from NJ, this has to be considered a destination park.

So a quick Strava segment search shows me that @Off The Road Again has ridden here. So as the teacher of this class, I am calling on you. How is this park?

Also tagging @1speed because I see this is right down the road from Blue Marsh which it appears you can ride to. Add these 2 parks up and you easily have a 50 mile day out there.

Also found @chemgirl on Strava. Calling on you as well for info. Looks like you were there not too long ago.

 

[JimN]

Looks like a solid maze of trails.

 

[JDurk]

This is what I think of when I hear Mt. Penn.

 

[gmb3]

I have not ridden there in ages, and then it was only really for a few of the Duryea DH races videoed above so can't really speak to mileage since i didn't see many trails. Only advice i have is the trails are really close to town and it can be sketchy so be careful where you park and what you leave in your car. The terrain is rocky, the local crew has built a sanctioned jump line recently, i think there are also unsanctioned features, i believe many people still do DH shuttling there (though i think you can still XC loop it). I think there might be some bad blood between the sanctioned and unsanctioned parties based on some FB rumblings i've seen. Will post race photos when i get home tonight. At a high-level, think of trails similar to Glen Park, PA (if you've been there).

 

[phillychris498]

These trails are listed on Singletracks as two areas, labeled "Airfield" and "Antietam Lake Park." Singletracks is crowd-sourced, so might not be as reliable, but there's some good content of the trails on there:

Airfield

Airfield is a singletrack mountain bike trail in Reading, Pennsylvania. View maps, videos, photos, and reviews of Airfield bike trail in Reading.

www.singletracks.com

Antietam Lake Park

Antietam Lake Park is a singletrack mountain bike trail in Mt Penn, Pennsylvania. View maps, videos, photos, and reviews of Antietam Lake Park bike trail in Mt Penn.

www.singletracks.com

 

[gmb3]

Not as many photos on the old desktop as I thought. Duryea DH 2007:

Bunker Jump (which lead into the road gap)

Toward the start near the Pagoda:

 

[teabagger11]

Haven't ridden there yet but some friends have and they love it good XC riding in addition too downhill stuff, as far as blue marsh it is just a long slog not a lot of single track but short lake loop is about 20 something miles and I believe the longer loop is 32ish. I also think I saw somewhere that some clip was redoing a lot of the trails there

 

[onetracker]

I rode Mt Penn while visiting family in Lancaster two years ago. Reading is also a IMBA Bronze level ride center. I was totally lost until I started riding with a local guy who showed me the goods. The trails are pretty raw and there are a bunch of road crossings. Has more of an urban feel; is not a backcountry experience IMO. Ride up to the Pagoda; really cool. Cool kiosk at the trail head with safe parking (Antietam Lake Parking Lot). Very close to town with good coffee, beer and food options. Overall good for a day trip. For longer trips, check out French Creek and Marsh Creek and do some camping.

Lots of good info from the local club:https://berksmountainbiking.org/

Not as popular or big but close to LancasterReading is Governor Dick which is a really cool spot: http://sambabiker.com/attachments/045_Governor Dick Trail Map Full Property 2-23-11.pdf

 

[Tim]

I rode Mt Penn while visiting family in Lancaster two years ago. Reading is also a IMBA Bronze level ride center. I was totally lost until I started riding with a local guy who showed me the goods. The trails are pretty raw and there are a bunch of road crossings. Has more of an urban feel; is not a backcountry experience IMO. Ride up to the Pagoda; really cool. Cool kiosk at the trail head with safe parking (Antietam Lake Parking Lot). Very close to town with good coffee, beer and food options. Overall good for a day trip. For longer trips, check out French Creek and Marsh Creek and do some camping.

Lots of good info from the local club:https://berksmountainbiking.org/

Not as popular or big but close to LancasterReading is Governor Dick which is a really cool spot: http://sambabiker.com/attachments/045_Governor Dick Trail Map Full Property 2-23-11.pdf

I think that's really good advise to park near Antietam Lake. I lived in Reading for a couple years (20 years ago, long before I rode MTB) and it is definitely sketchy. Antietam Lake is not so bad.

I just looked at the Trailforks map for this area. Wow! I had no idea any of this was up there. It kind of makes me want to go back to check it out.

 

[1speed]

Also tagging @1speed because I see this is right down the road from Blue Marsh which it appears you can ride to. Add these 2 parks up and you easily have a 50 mile day out there.

Yeah, there are actually a few different areas over by Mount Penn (some of them "locals only" iirc.) I've done French Creek and Blue Marsh together - they're about 25 or so miles apart on the Schuylkill River Trail. That ride's a nice mix of stuff, but the end is a dick punch when you have to climb back up into French Creek from Birdsboro. In all the years I've been riding Blue Marsh, though, I've never actually ridden Mount Penn so I should rectify that. I have a friend who does a group ride that routes through Mount Penn and hits the area around the Pagoda (which is where Duryea DH starts) so maybe I'll have to try to jump into that some time.

 

[bucknejo]

I think that's really good advise to park near Antietam Lake. I lived in Reading for a couple years (20 years ago, long before I rode MTB) and it is definitely sketchy. Antietam Lake is not so bad.

I just looked at the Trailforks map for this area. Wow! I had no idea any of this was up there. It kind of makes me want to go back to check it out.

I used to live in Reifton / Exeter Township as young lad and couldn't wait to leave. Would be nice today to have 20 or whatever miles of ST right outside my front door. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.

 

[Igotsoul4u]

I got to ride MT Penn today. What an awesome trail system. Really nice views too. What I mainly went for is the jump line. It didn't disappoint at all today and neither did my Megatower. Good times and worth the drive. One random downside is trash and glass. I feel like its a popular drinking spot for kids.

 

[Off The Road Again]

Ridden Mt Penn several times - great trail system. Got newer trails, which give the older trails time to recover. Has a similar rocky feel as much of Jersey trails (CR and north Jersey). Pretty big place, so there are a lot of options. The jump line/ downhill race stuff (with road gap, btw) is above my skillset, but the DH race they have there is supposedly a big attraction for pro riders. Overall, a fun place to ride.

 

[Off The Road Again]

Ok so I have been Trailforks surfing, something I will tag @JimN about because I know he does it too, and this place keeps popping up. It is now the #1 ranked place in PA and it's not that far away.

Check it:

Mount Penn Preserve on Trailforks

The Mount Penn Preserve Partnership (MP3) strictly prohibits individuals from creating new trails within the Mount Penn Preserve as per the municipalities’ and County of...

www.trailforks.com

Now I know TF can be a little off but it says 54 miles of trails. Even with the rounding errors that means there has to be a solid 25 miles of trails here. So from NJ, this has to be considered a destination park.

So a quick Strava segment search shows me that @Off The Road Again has ridden here. So as the teacher of this class, I am calling on you. How is this park?

Also tagging @1speed because I see this is right down the road from Blue Marsh which it appears you can ride to. Add these 2 parks up and you easily have a 50 mile day out there.

Also found @chemgirl on Strava. Calling on you as well for info. Looks like you were there not too long ago.

@Norm I've ridden there a bunch with my brother, who lives in that area (closer to French Creek). Really nice trails, similar rockage as NJ (Mooch, Sour, CR and North NJ). I was a sheep when riding, so don't know the trails that well to lead anything. It is worth exploring tho, TF should have some good loops and leads.

 

[Norm]

Finally got to ride here this weekend. Place was decent but I am not sure it is a destination from NJ. We were in Lancaster for an AAU basketball tournament so it's sort of an easy one to hit. The A Line is pretty awesome. It's early in the year for me but I did hit one of the tabletops at speed and I managed to nail it. But I did not push it much beyond that. Some fun stuff there but also some beat up stuff you get in NJ. We did explore a few areas of the park and at the end of the day, I feel like it would be significantly better with a local guide.

@onetracker mentioned Governor Dick which we almost went to, but decided to go here. Lucky for us there's another tournament here in the summer so we may hit it then. We may also just go to French Creek instead as that's not too far.