Review Date
September 4, 2010

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a year

Reviewed by: mccartney7499 ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
It had been over 15 years since the last time I rode here. I have to say, the years have not been especially kind. These trails frustrate me because there is so much potential, but between the horses chewing up the trail (I understand that they pay to use the trails and the trails may not even be here if not for the horse riders but it's still frustrating) and the lack of real trail maintenance that potential gets lost in the translation. The weekend I went there the trails had been cut back in sections, which, in theory sounds like a good thing right? Wrong! Yeah you weren't getting bushwacked, but all the clippings were left just lying on the trail surface. I finished my ride with 3 punctures in my tire due to thorns that were lying across the trail, and quickly grew tired of stopping every couple hundred feet to pull a stick/twig/branch out of my spokes or derailleur. Not to say there wasn't some fun/fast/flowy sections of sublime singletrack. Not to mention some killer climbs and sweet descents. I'm just saying this trail network could be a destination for mountain bikers if they were given some love.

Recommended Route:
Get a map, go counterclockwise around the big loop, be sure not to miss the downhill descent on the blue trail on the north side of the park. Watch out for, and stop for the horses!

Other recommended trails in the same area:
South Park I think is the closest
Heard Quebec Run is good, but haven't been there yet
Best mountain biking in the Pittsburgh area is up in Apollo

Review Date
July 5, 2010

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: defenestratingchupacabra1 ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
The trails have been in a lot better condition this year(2010) than in years past. As a mountain biker I have tried to do as much maintenance as possible to help keep these trails good for MTBing as well as horses. There is very little flat riding and the climbs are certainly challenging compared to most trails in the Pittsburgh area. I have found that the descents are among the best XC descents in the area and usually worth the climb. Of course there are some horse tracks around the park and there are no getting around them, but there has been enough cycling action on them this year it has helped to smooth them out a good bit.

Recommended Route:
The trails are a big loop around the park, I have found it best to ride it in a counterclockwise direction so the ascents and the descents are worthy of each other. One of my favorite rides is to park at the stop sign at the T on the main road a couple miles into the park. Make a left at the stop sign and ride up the road a mile or so and enter the trail on the left. Long challenging ascent right off of the bat but a very long fast descent on the other side and ride it back to the entrance of the park for a short ride or keep going for a longer ride.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Bavington, South Park, Brady's Run, Hartwood Acres, Grand Vue ( Wheeling, WV)

Review Date
November 9, 2009

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: bslaug ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
From a cycling standpoint it is really a shame the condition these trails are in from the horse use because there is a ton of potential here. Nothing too challenging (that I saw) that would scare off any level of rider. If the horse riders are the ones who did most of the trail work then they should have rights to the trails. Not all of it is totally unridable. This could be a good destination with some work arounds. Mountain bikers shouldn't complain unless they are willing to put some work into it.
It is ironic that mt bikers are labeled bad for trails. You could have 100 bikes roll over a trail after a rain storm and all you would see are tire marks and MINOR ruts. Two horses (or one) on the same trail and it reqiures a week of maintenance.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Bavington, South Park

Review Date
November 22, 2004

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a year

Reviewed by: rob412 ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
I have ridden Mingo twice. Each time exploring opposite sides of the park. The trails here are severly rutted from heavy horse traffic and plagued with unavoidable mud holes. I think there is about eleven feet of flat trail at Mingo. You are either climbing up considerably steep sections or navigating the ruts on the downhills.

My two visits covered a good bit of the park but there was still a section that I didn't ride. I couldn't imagine the unridden section to be much different from the trails I rode. Regardless, I would probably not dedicate a third day to exploring this park. There are many other parks that offer a superior riding experience. Fairly low overall fun factor.

Recommended Route:
Park near the covered bridge and cross stream at the hiking trailhead. Climb up the hiking trail until it merges with the horse trails. Follow trail around the rim of park.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Coopers Rock
South Park
Bavington

Review Date
August 21, 2004

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: bacolmm ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
I haven't ridden everything at Mingo yet, but what I have ridden has been pretty beaten up by horses in places. I know these are horse trail, so there's no use in complaining about it, so I've been going to South Park instead (Even though is a 30 minute drive as opposed to 15 minutes to Mingo). I'll go back to Mingo next time we have a stretch of 5 or more days without rain. In my opinion, this is the worst place to ride after it rains. The horses beat up the soft areas until they are unrideable. I'm sure this place would be great during a really dry summer...

Other recommended trails in the same area:
South Park, Hartwood Acres, Bavington, Boyce Park. Get more info. here http://home.comcast.net/~s.farrar/