Review Date
November 29, 2006

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 2 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: rivercliff ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Thought I would chime in as an out of town guest to this trail. I thought it was a blast. It made by Thanksgiving trip to the relative's house worth while. The folks that built this trail did the absolute best that they could do with the land they were given to work with. I don't understand those sand pits, but they are part of the land. I wish they would have had some long climbs to work with too, but hey, it is TX. The rock garden is excellent. No, I did not make it through the rocks without having to walk part of it. I don't think after 10 more rides I would make it through without getting off for part of it. THAT is what will make me look forward to having to visit the relatives again.

Recommended Route:
Ride it all. Not likely that you will clear all of route D, but it is a blast trying it.

Review Date
February 18, 2006

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: manwe ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
This is a nice trail and has something for everyone. If you are not an advance rider stay off of Loop D. Very challeging rock garden and I would suggest to not use clip in pedals if you are going to ride loop D cause you will need to step off quick. This trail also has some sand pits that are hard as hell to get thru when it is very dry. I also rode this trail on a hardtail (what a mistake).

This trail has some beautiful spots on it to stop and view.

Recommended Route:
Stay to the left and don't go on loop D if you don't want to do the rock garden.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
BOULDER PARK about 40 miles away or Johnson Branch which is in the same area.

Review Date
October 30, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: Jason M. ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
This is another great trail created by Dorba. This trail is so nice and scenic with several great views of the lake on loop E. I have yet to ride a bad DORBA trail. These guys really know how to craft fantastic trails.

I really did not what to expect for this trail. The reviews were mixes so my expectations were not that high. In fact, the negative reviews have kept me from wanting to try this trail up until today. I must say I was thoroughly impressed with IDB. This is a great trail! One of the areas best.

Those of you who have ridden Johnson’s branch and have not ridden this are seriously missing out. I believe this is the better of the two Ray Roberts trails. IDB is more scenic, faster, longer and more of a workout. This is one of the most unique trails within the Dallas area. It is rock riding at its best, which is rare in North Texas. But do not let this scare you away.

Don't get me wrong. The rocks make this a challenging trail and is definitely not at beginner level. But I think anyone who goes to this website has ridden a few times and thus should enjoy this ride. You will test your handling skills out here. But for the most part, if you have decent to average handling skills you can go out here and ride the majority of this trail.

While the rock gardens are a real challenge they are not impossible. I cleaned the majority of them and I am definitely not what you would call an expert level rider.

This rocky element is what makes this trail so much fun. The workout you get is better at a trail like this due to the power you must exert to climb up and over rocks and boulders.

Isn't that why we bought mountain bikes for anyway? Isn't it to challenge ourselves on challenging terrain? I question how any serious rider can come to this trail and write a review about how bad this trail is or how hard the rocks are. Man if you can't enjoy this trail, then I do not believe you really like mountain biking. Because in my opinion this trail represents what mountain biking is all about.

Recommended Route:
The full loop. Stay left the entire way and you should do the majority of it. Pay special attention at the points you cross the roads close to the beginig and ends of the trail. At end of the trail clossest to the trail head the return trail and the trail out are parralel and it is real easy to get crossed up at both road crossingscrossings.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Cedar Hill S.P., Tyler S.P., Bar-H, Dinasaur Valley, Knob Hill

Review Date
May 26, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by: SoloWithOthers ,  Racer

Summary:
This is now my favorite trail local to the Dallas area and the main reason is that it is challenging, a great work-out, and I feel like I have accomplished something by the time I get back to the trail head.

I would never bring a beginner to this trail as it is designed to challenge experienced riders. Now that Loop E is in palce it is so worth the drive.

This trail is not for everyone. But if you think Texas trails oare boring, this is one that might change your mind.

Recommended Route:
A-B-C-D-E-D-C-B-A loops. The trail is well marked. If you get to the beginning of loop D at the sidewalk and you don't want it to get much tougher. Come back down C loop. It's much longer ont he way back and you will still have some challenging hills and other things to keep you entertained. I think many less experienced riders get suckered into going out on D thinking that they will not get enough distance in without it.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Johnson Branch, Bar-H, Tyler SP, Cleburne SP

Review Date
February 24, 2005

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Visitors rate this review
3.75 of 5, 4 votes

Reviewed by: Beldrueger ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
I have ridden about every trail in the area and I have to disagree strongly with the negative posts. This trail has some very tricky uphill sections over rocks, but if you think that this trail has too many rock gardens I advise that you never ride on the East Coast. This is not a trail like Northshore where every rock garden has a pretty defined smooth line. I actually consider this trail a very fast trail and have chosen it as one of my training trails for this season. It does not have any very exciting challenges, and if you don't have the bike handling skills, rock gardens can be pretty frustrating. It is a great cardio trail and has more elevation changes and varied terrain than almost anything else within a short drive of DFW.

Recommended Route:
The expert loop simply has bigger rocks and steeper uphills. There is nothing on this trail that requires incredible skills to conquer, but beginners will be easily frustrated if they try to hit all the expert loops .. and it won't raise the fun factor. I guess I find this trail so appealing because of the high cardio requirements and good uphill bike handling\balance requirements. It is certainly not a rollercoaster fun trail like loop 10 at RCP.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
I ride every other day when the weather permits. Johnson Branch is a very similar trail, and yes I would say that I prefer it to IDB, but not by much. It is also further away for me. Erwin Park and RCP are very smooth trails, and fun to fly through. Northshore is a fun trail, but if you like to go really fast you will be risking collisions as traffic is two way.