hamanu23

I was wondering are there laws prohibiting biking on hiking trails? I hike a lot and some of the trail heads I have been out would be super fun on a mountain bike.

I don't remember seeing any bikes while hiking but I also don't remember ever seeing anything posted about no bikes. Lots of no motor vehicles...

rumrunn6

it's probably OK. here in Mass and also NH - they are big on signage and so it's pretty clear what trails do not allow bikes. if I see a trail without a no biking sign I would consider it fine unless some people started complaining. you might be cautious with your speed just in case

woodway

Well, the answer is - it depends.

In National Parks and Wilderness Areas, bikes are generally not allowed on trails.

In National Forests, some trails are open to bikes and some are not. Each Ranger District can tell you what trails are or are not open.

Same goes for State, County and Local trails, some are open, some are not.

Many private forests allow passive recreation on their property, but - you got it - it's on a case by case basis.

knobster

I hike a lot and see it posted at the trail head if it's allowed or not. Personally, I'd rather not see mountain bikers on the trails I hike. They do some serious damage to the trails.

Curious, why do people that live outside the PNW post in these forums?

rumrunn6

was in the flume gorge white mtn national park with my kids yesterday and they had a separate paved trail for bikes.

re: why am I posting in this thread ... cuz it came up as one of the interesting new posts today. I hope you don't have a problem with that. I've posted stuff about the east coast and its interesting to here from fellow bikers around the country and yes, the world ...

hamanu23

I agree I wouldn't want to see a mountain bike barreling at me when I am hiking either but there is a specific trail outside of sweet home on the way to Sisters called Rooster Rock trail.(there are like 5 rooster rocks in Oregon FYI) and it isn't that often hiked because it is redonk difficult. I was thinking it might be cool to go bam up it on a weekday for some hill training and fun views.

knobster

Doesn't bother me, was just curious.

knobster

My hiking group was going to do a trip last weekend to North Sister, but because of the fire, we decided to do Goat Rocks instead. I've nearly been run down by mountain bikers before so I have a dislike for them because of this. For safety, I'd rather have separate trails.

Seattle Forrest

Because this is such an alluringly cool place, and everybody wants to be here.

Bubba Zanetti

+1
WA rulz!!

Ira B

We have some really nice dual use trails here on Whidbey that are open to horses, joggers and bikes but nothing motorized.
Only down side is that with the horses around you kind a got to watch what you ride through.

Here's one of my favorites.....

woodway

And this is total BS. Mountain Biking when done properly causes little trail damage. Horses, yes they churn the hell out of trails. Motos, yes they tear the hell out of trails. But if you ride a Mountain Bike properly (no skidding and don't ride the trails when they are really muddy) it is a very low impact form of recreation. I've seen very popular hiker-only recreation trails that are more seriously damaged than many trails where bikes are allowed. Don't want to turn this into a hiker-biker confrontation thread, but this statement is just not true.

octopuswithafez

Uh oh, is Mike Vandeman still alive?

https://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/

Oh nevermind, I guess he is:

https://www.cyclelicio.us/2010/mike-v...deadly-weapon/

Ira B

Gad zooks!
Now that there is just plain old bat poop crazy.

knobster

Actually, it very well is true. I said this because I've seen it. Many, many times. I'm not pulling this out of my ass, I've seen the damage knobby tires do to trails. The problem I think is riding when the trail is wet. The other problem is how many of the people out on trails know how to NOT damage the trails? Not many. So, from my experience (and I have a lot) is that your statement isn't true and total BS. Mountain bikes damage trails. So does hiking boot and everything else. Using the trail at the proper time helps limit the damage.

Ira B

Using the non-motorized trails detailed in the attachment in post #11 which are shared with horses, hikers and joggers all year round and in all weather the causes of impact and damage is very easy to determine.
It rains here a lot and that when trails are soft it easily triples the damage, regardless of the user type.
The most damage per use is obviously caused by horses. They beat the trail up more and **cough,cough** "add" a little extra gift to the issue.
Mt. bikers would be second, although especially aggressive riders can do as much damage than the typical horse.
Hikers and joggers third but it is a mixed bag. IMHO they tend to do more off trail damage and leave a heck of a lot more litter.
Just my own observations, no axe to grind.

woodway

Like I said, I don't want to hijack this into a hike vs. bike thread, but I take exception to your original statement of:

"They do some serious damage to the trails."

I have put in over 450 hours of volunteer trail work in the past 12 months. Some on Mountain Bike only trails, and some on shared use trails. I've built new trail, and reparied existing trail. What I have seen, is that Mountain Biking, when done properly causes no more damage to trails than hiking.

If it's trail damage that you are worried about, and you agree that both hiking and mountain biking cause trail damage, then you should be advocating for *all* users to be kicked of fthe trails, not just mountain bikers. Why single out one set of trail users?

knobster

I actually don't think I said anything about being worried about it. Just that it damages it. So does everything else, including wildlife. I don't advocate not using the trails, even by mountain bikers. My only objection is the danger that a mountain biker presents to hikers when they aren't expecting it. That's all. If I'm going to go hike a trail, the first thing I do is read the signs at the trail head. If it says mountain bikers are allowed, I keep a wary eye out for them. If it says they aren't allowed, then I let my guard down some and I don't expect them to be there. As long as we all adhere to the rules of the trails, I don't care who uses them.

Edit: Damage or no damage, I'm hiking here... It's not like I'm walking on the sidewalk. I don't care if they aren't perfect paths and I don't hike when it's muddy so I have no issues with it one way or another. But I have seen damage that mountain bikers do to trails. Anyone that says that a knobby tire doesn't do damage to soft dirt is either blind or an idiot.

Ira B

I'll post this here because it is kind of on topic.

Went for a quickie ride today to test a key fob vid cam.
quality is kind of lame but these things are only about 20 bucks.
Not very user friendly. You can see at the end of the vid I thought it was turned off when I stuck it in my pocket. Left unedited for another forum use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8c48EXgWV8

Point is that these are my favorite trails. They get a lot of use from hikers, runners, Mt. Bikers and plenty of horses.
It also rains here a lot and the trails get used rain or shine.
You can see in the video that the trails are really not too much the worse for it. Impact is slightly visible but really minimal.
Impact surely varies in different areas but here it is pretty much a non issue.
Didn't have any whack jobs chasing me with a saw either.