Place: Bear Creek Mountain Resort, Macungie, PA
Ridden: July 2014
Click on video below to watch
Bear Creek Mountain Resort (some of you may know it by the previous name of Doe Mountain) is a resort with a propensity for outdoor adventure located in Macungie, PA. Skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and frisbee golf all take place on the slopes around the resort. After working hard on the trails, various eateries, a pool, and a spa are available for post-activity recovery. To show their support to an active lifestyle, Bear Creek holds both an off-road and on-road triathlon, trail run, and many mountain bike races; including the up coming national championships.
The trails are open to mountain bikers and hikers; occasionally crossing paths with frisbee golf players. Dogs are allowed on the trails but not in the resort. Being that this is a ski resort, the trails pretty much go either up or down. At times the trails cross the open ski slopes, allowing for a beautiful view of the Lehigh Valley. Because of all the races that have been happening at Bear Creek, many new trails have been built. They criss-cross the mountain meeting up with older, pre-existing trails all over the place. Because of this, it is best to ride there with someone who knows the trails or take a trail map.
As for technical ability of the trails, they are typical East Coast style- rocky and technical. Full suspension bikes like the Giant Anthem and Lust are a good choice; their 27.5 inch wheels roll right over the rocks. Many man-made features have been built such as bridges, jumps, and drops; including the "rock drop" featured in the Pro-XC and Super-D courses. Additionally, trail features such as the "heckle pit" add to the difficulty of the course but make for great spectating points. Riders beware- due to the many sharps rocks flats can be numerous. Make sure your Stan's is fresh, use appropriate tires and carry what you need to fix a flat.
Overall, Bear Creek is a challenging but rewarding place to ride. It can be difficult to navigate there due to all the twisting and turning and random trails everywhere, but if one knows their way around they can put in many miles on the trails. How many miles total; I don't have a good answer for that. The outer loop- going only around the perimeter on what is considered the "older" part of the trail system is about 5 miles. But add in weaving around on all the new trails that are part of the Pro-XC, Super-D, and Junior XC courses there is probably another 5 miles of trails. No matter what trails are ridden there, be ready for rocks, climbing, lots of switch backs, and some awesome descents. After riding, the Trail's End Cafe has awesome food, so don't forget to re-fuel and re-hydrate there.
- words by Jess
- video by Joël
Side note: We know many of you enjoy seeing Clifford in these videos. Due to the heat and humidity of summer, Cliff is not out mountain biking as much. He still gets out on the trails, but his trail time is limited and dictated by the weather. We want to keep the pooch safe from heat exhaustion, so look for Cliff back on a more regular basis in fall when it cools down a bit.