Review Date
December 28, 2008

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: woowoowoowoo ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
I hated Greenbrier the first time we went, but we had our second time there today and I LOVED it. Ride the red trail counter-clockwise. There's one killer climb at the beginning that we didn't even attempt, but the rest of the trail was great, even with a ton of leaves and a little damp. This is a trail with good drainage, by the way, so if it's been raining you can safely ride here without damaging hte trails. The only muddy spot was near the stream crossing at the top. The terrain is definitely rocky but bike-able, even for a noob.

Review Date
November 14, 2008

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by: Scott In MD ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Groove-able trail; lots of rocks but experienced riders can make it 4.5 miles with both feet on the pedals, and us old guys can still have a lot of fun with minimal walking. Not a technically challenging as nearby Gambrill trails, and not as crowded. The trail itself is not so scenic (...Sedona is scenic) but Greenbrier Park offers real Appalachian forest environs and there are great facillities near the scenic spring-fed mountain lake including picnic tables, a swimming area, and a snack-n-drink shop (open in Summer). Plenty of very safe parking inside the park for $3 or else park just north of the park on Greenbrier Road in an easilly accessible trail head for free. Out of towners could camp here and ride Patapsco (40 miles), Gambrill(11 miles) and Greenbrier; plus get yer spin on at C&O Canal trail (20 miles) for a really cool long weekend. Pretty good drainage allows for no standing water the day after a soaking rain, but there is one cool stream crossing that is very close to Greenbrier Road trailhead in case you want to get some photos. Lots of leaves can hide grapefruit sized loose rocks in the fall. You can pick up a brochure on the South Mountain recreation area at the park entrance and also at the nearby Appalachian Trail trailhead that includes a good Greenbrier trail map on page 6. This is not a five-star trail ... this is a GREAT place to ride. You can get as technical as you want to be on the climbs or take the smooth hardpack gravel around the lake if you want to chill.

Recommended Route:
To get there: Maryland Route 40 from Frederick or Hagerstown to the park entrance (for $3) or you can turn east from Route 40 just northwest of the park (turn left if you are travelling from Frederick) onto Mt Lena road, then south (left) onto Greenbrier Road and you will shortly see a trailhead. The park entrance is easy to find so don't worry about getting lost on your first trip; just have three buck in cash because the credit card machine has been busted all year.

Best Ride: From the Greenbrier Road trailhead go uphill due south on the "blue" Rock Oak Fire trail. Log your time on the way up. Then jam downhill on the eastern leg of the Big Red "red" trail along the lake. At the bottom, stop to finish the rest of your coffee then head back up the blue trail again, checking to see if you make it up any faster now that your are warmed up. Now head down the west leg of the Big Red trail ... this is technically more challenging than the east leg. At the bottom, stop at your car again and call your wife to tell her you are going for one more lap. Now make a counterclockwise lap on the paved road around the perimeter of the park then jam down Blue trail.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Gambrill (11 miles) is tough and rocky. I like Greenbrier better, but most people like Gambrill better. I guess they like walking.

Review Date
September 19, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: Paul Cherry ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
I stumbled upon this park while traveling out west. What luck. It's awesome. Most parts I found were within my skill level but a couple segments on the red trail humbled me as the incline was steep. I found doing the red trail counterclockwise much easier. You can do all the trails in 2 hours. This park has a nice campground, the facilities are clean, well kept, nice concessions, and the lake would be a great place to take the kids.

Review Date
June 16, 2008

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: jeffw-13 ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
This trail has been pretty well covered in the other reviews, I just wanted to add that you can avoid the admission fees by turning onto Mt Lena road which is less than a mile north of the main entrance to the park. Follow Mt Lena for roughly a mile then make a left onto Greenbrier road then watch for a small parking area on the left. This was put here by the park service to give bikes & hikers access to the trail system without having to go into the main park.

The trail off of the parking area puts you on the north end of the red trail.

Watch out for the stream crossing 100 yards in!

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Review Date
August 9, 2005

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a year

Reviewed by: notrelatedtoted ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Nice mix of climbing, descending, buff singletrack and some rocky patches. Good for the intermediate rider and a nice workout. It may not be the most scenic trail, but I had tons of fun.

The trails were in great shape when I was there, and I've heard that they drain very well (probably due to all the rocks). There are some sections that go right down the fall line where you can see some erosion. Unfortunately, those sections are also pretty steep so braking/skidding is kind of an issue. Overall, though, these trails are sweeeeet.

Recommended Route:
I did the red loop counter-clockwise, over to orange and then did the red clockwise but spent some time on the white trail, I think. From what I can tell, you can't go wrong. Trails are very well marked, maps at just about every fork. The trails are laid out in somewhat concentric circles, so its pretty difficult to get lost.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Shaeffer, Foutainhead.