Review Date
March 10, 2008

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: techbike_108 ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Know about this trail for a while. Based on reviews of other trails on MTBR I have not got around to this one until now. We have done all the big parks around. Santos,razorback(before it went bye-bye) Alafia, Markham Park, ect. This trail does not over the elevation and jumps of most of the other parks but for what it has it is very well maintained. The soil is fairly well packed except on the access roads that you must ride on at times. The corners are plentifully and well made. The best part of the trail IMO is at the extreme northern end along the canal bank and ridge line. I think this is a great trail to hone your turning skills and cardio. If this trail where at Santos it would be rated a "Blue square"

Recommended Route:
You can get turned around in there pretty easy until you do it once. Then its pretty straitfoward. Just pick a entrance and go.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Ghram Swamp.

Review Date
February 9, 2008

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: rcracer440 ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
I've been riding this trail a few times a week now since December and the more I ride it the better it gets. It took a few times out there to learn the layout and it helps to tag along someone who's ridden it before. There is a little bit of something for everyone, from easy flat winding trails through pine/palmetto trees, to ups and downs over roots and swampy areas along the river. Along the river has a few difficult areas but nothing most people cant handle. I have a 10 mile loop I ride with no back tracking, but there is a few miles more than that around there(atleast that I know of). Only reason I'm not giving it a 5/5 is because it doesnt have any cool bridges or jumps like Santos and Markham. The wild life and scenery is great, I saw 3 big gators the other day and theres always armadillos jumpin out in front of you. Rode the trail at night once which was amazing. Definitely a great trail and the only one I've found in the Orlando area.

Recommended Route:
I like starting on the north end of the parking lot and keeping right along the road until getting to the bridge and entering the trail on the left side along the river. Take that all the way up the river to the horse trail that runs north/south. Cross the first bridge on the north side and take the trail on the left just before the second bridge. Its a big loop that brings you right back to that bridge. Then take the horse trail about a half a mile south and theres a dirt road on the left side with another trail that starts right on the right of that road. From there just keep on the trail heading east, which will run North/South along a creek before heading east again back to the parking lot. The whole loop is exactly 10 miles.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Nothing really in the area. Santos in Ocala is great, as well as Markam in Ft. Lauderdale if you're looking for something more difficult.

Review Date
December 28, 2006

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: super7 ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Moving to Orlando from Colorado a year ago, my expectations were very low for finding any decent off roading. And while it is a far cry from any of my favorite front range haunts, this little network of trails is actually not bad, all things considered. Of course there are no hills and not really any sections that could be called technical (you shouldn't ever have to clip out unless you make a mistake), but it is possible to get a good 1 to 1.5 hours of work-out riding in without re-tracing your route too often. It's also possible to get a fast'ish rythmn going through some twisty sections, and the different surface conditions--from deep sand to wet roots--keep you on your toes. There is a bonus for riders coming from out of state--you can ride here all year round, and riding in the middle of winter when the temperature is about 75 degrees out is sweeeeeet. The semi-tropical scenery/wildlife is nice too (watch out for the tortoises and armadillos on the trail though!). Now for the bad part--it can get very crowded on weekends (I've found it best to go later in the day) and there doesn't seem to be any agreed upon riding direction. As a result you better be extremely careful if riding fast. I've already had one head-on collision there in which the other rider was OK, but I broke my collar bone :(. So be careful. I've been back often since and now always shout that I'm coming at every blind turn (there are lots because of the foliage), which has so far avoided some other close calls.

Recommended Route:
One of the reasons I like this park is that I can ride there from my home in Winter Springs in about 30 - 40 minutes, which gives me a good warm-up. I would think it is just as easily rideable from UCF and anywhere east of the 417. I enter the park from the lesser used entrance on Snow Hill Road near highway 419 (there is a small car park there if you drive). Then I ride down the bike/hike/horse trail for about 3/4 mile and either join the single track at the bridges trail or keep on the horse trail until I branch off at the river. Either way, I usually make my way eventually along either side of the ditch and up to the other car-park and then complete the loop by coming back the other way (reversing the route ride-to-ride to mix it up a bit).

Review Date
November 27, 2006

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: Solitude ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Lots of single track here, a little bit of double track thrown in as well. There are quite a few miles of trails here, Ive ridden 15+ mile days here without doing much backtracking. Mostly just flowing, winding single track, not much technical stuff, but there is the odd log, logpile, tree roots and some smallish drops to mix it up.. but again nothing too extreme. All in all a very fun place to ride, its well worth the hour drive for me to get here.

Recommended Route:
I take I95 north to exit 223 (sanford/ mims) go left at the end of the ramp. You will pass a KOA campground, and some gas stations and then theres nothing much for miles. Eventually you come to a 4 way intersection/ stop light with a couple of gas stations. At this intersection swing a left, go a mile or two and the road bends to the right... at this bend GO LEFT on snow hill road. Follow snow hill road straight, you will see signs for Little Big Econ, after the bridge there is a trail head parking lot, Jones East Parking lot. Park here. Take any of the trailheads here, and enjoy your day.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Nothing nearby that I know of. Palm Bay and melbourne has a few trails.

Review Date
November 10, 2006

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 2 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Visitors rate this review
2.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: epfreezer33 ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
I recently moved to the Orlando area and I have been searching for a place to ride. I moved from Denver where I was spoiled with awesome trails. I went with my roommate last weekend and rode Snow Hill. I'm not quite sure why people are rating this an intermediate trail. I would definitely classify it as a beginners trail. It is very sandy and flat with only the occasional tree root to negotiate over. I have been seriously deprived of bike time lately so it was some well maintained singletrack to get some saddle time. I entered from the eastern trailhead and may have missed some of the more challenging trails. I will definitely go back and do some more exploring.

Recommended Route:
I will have to ride some more on this trail system before I can recommend a route.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
I'm still searching. I might just have to make the trip up to Ocala if I can't find something a little more technical around here.