Review Date
September 6, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 2 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Every few months

Reviewed by: goldsbar ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Great place. I come from years of XC riding and wanted to try my hand at downhill. I'd been to Whiteface and Killington before once each but it turns out the best place is right in my home state of NJ. Something for every rider. The beginner trail is what I'd consider a not so steep technical XC MTB trail. The double diamond stuff is just sick - really rocky with drops. Single diamonds are in between and can have decent drops (bigger stuff always optional) and tons of rocks. Recommend doing what I did and renting a proper downhill bike if you don't have one. Sure, you could use a rigid hardtail on some of the trails (even some of the double diamond groomed jump stuff minus the drops). But, if you really want to hit the rocky diamond and above trails with confidence, go for the bike that's meant for this stuff - makes a huge difference.

Recommended Route:
Stick to the right side of the mountain for the first few runs if you're a beginner. Maybe take a ride down the green and blue trails a couple/few times and then move to Triple Drop (really Triple Roll as they're no longer drops), Dirt Merchant, etc. Temptest on the other side of the mountain has a decent size drop that's really easy to hit.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Nada - this is the only true downhill place in the area. Plattekill if you want to drive more.

Review Date
August 7, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: BRienecker ,  Downhiller

Summary:
the whole atmosphere is awesome. there is somthing for everybody here. but if you dont like or cant handle rocks. this may not be for you. but in the case that you enjoy rocks it is heavan.the rock gardens and jumplines are like no other! and the tabletops on dominion are very large.also, if you veer of the trail, you could roll downa 20 foot mountian like i did, but i def. recomend this park, the employees are very helpfull and chill

Recommended Route:
ego trip,dominion,upper breakout,lower breakout,alpine, the indycross, dirt merchant,triple drop,slayer,and others

Review Date
December 23, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: CraShRyDer7@gmail.com ,  Downhiller

Summary:
there are many trails to choose from, and envolve many different skill levels. there is always a way around an obsticle for someone who cant ride such a thing

Recommended Route:
anything super smooth, supper rocky, or a jumline, has a lot of roll downs, ect. thats the best stuff, but other trails are still great

Other recommended trails in the same area:
anything there

Review Date
December 20, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a year

Reviewed by: mtbr69 ,  Downhiller

Summary:
basiclly, amazing i love diablo i rode there for a couple days this summer its a fast lift up and fun and a unique selection of rountes you can take, you could do as many runs you want it just depends if you can keep up

Recommended Route:
i usally took otb to lower dominion to lower breakout to alpine it was the best but thats just one trial route you can take all trailsa re good but there is this one trial i wound up on and it was coverd in rocks and it was steep i think it was alyer but it was hard i had to walk some parts

Other recommended trails in the same area:
none theres nothing other than diablo to go to

Review Date
September 5, 2006

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Every few months

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by: spylab ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
For those like myself who spend at least 3 days a week on local, semi-flat XC trails (Allamuchy, Hopatcong), Diablo is a great chance to run into some of the quickest, trickiest and most confidence-challenging trails anywhere nearby. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and pushed my Trek hardtail to its limit, though a full suspension setup is much preferred, and a DH/FR build is necessary to tackle most of the double black diamond trails (as well as a LOT of experience riding this type of terrain).

For the most part, the trails are well marked and well maintained. Rain ruts along the main downhill, as well in pretty tricky spots (i.e. directly at the bottom of the Flume Drop) can easily end in a trip over the bars if you are not ready for each and every one. From time to time they do close some of the more popular trails such as Alpine or the Dominions, but the crew can be seen actively repairing closed areas, which is reassuring.

One big issue is their trail mapping. The website's "map", besides being a couple years out-of-date, shows the trail lines running sort of mish-mosh on top of the snowed-in ski map. Even while at the park, there is no accurate map detailing all the trails, which can be a bit frustrating if you are looking for a specific run. In addition, Diablo should in reality offer some type of legend system to signify the type of trail (rather than a square, diamond or double-diamond only). They do have the Dominion runs marked as jump trails, however it can be quite a nuisance when you are looking for a new, quick run and end up on an endless rock garden like Deliverance, Slayer or Ripper.

All things said and done, Diablo is a great park to test your confidence, experience a good bit of thrill (some of the ladder bridges, especially on Careless Whisper, will challenge even the best riders), and definitely take a GOOD BEATING, both on your equipment and yourself!

Recommended Route:
Recommended (based on my somewhat amateur DH experience):
TWIST
UPPER DOMINION
LOWER DOMINION
UPPER BREAKOUT
DIRT MERCHANT
TRIPLE DROP
ALPINE
DOMBOO
CRAP CHUTE
FLUME DROP
[Unknown Trail] Carries straight after Crap Chute's steep descent, travels down by the river
[Unknown Trail] Cuts behind a small red barn mid-trail, brings you to the Flume Drop

Not Recommended (personal opinion of trails I found intolerably over-rocky):
DELIVERANCE
SLAYER
[Unknown Trail] Offshoots just before Road to Nowhere, then continues on right. Just a monster rock garden.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Haven't ridden any other DH parks, however some good XC reviews about Waywayanda S.P. just a couple miles away have been heard.