North Bay, ON, Canada MTB trails at Three Towers (continued) Currently Three Towers is the only trail system sanctioned and maintained by the NBMBA. Hopefully Laurentian and Northshore Trail systems will be added in the future.
Sorry I do not have pics of Rock and Roll and other west side trails in this blog post..Just too many photos to put in one post. So this post is ALL about East Trails. Next Week the remainder of West Trails will be featured.
When you see the Hydro sign do not be confused by this. It is so that no motor vehicles enter beyond the gate. Bicycles are the exception. This sign appears to the right of the hand made Bear sign. Beyond those signs you can see the mtb sign. Then ride a very rocky double track for approx. 10 metres to entrance sign for Sweet Creek.
This super helpful sign is found on the Rock and Roll trail that starts at the main parking lot at the base of the three towers the trail system is named after. Approximately halfway through Rock and Roll you will see this sign. At the entrance to Fern Gully which takes you to the road, Tower Drive (Note* you drove this road to get to the main parking lot). When you drove up to the main parking area you passed a small gravel parking area in front of a red gate. That is where the entrance to the East Trails is located. If you ride from Fern Gully to the road it is more interesting than just riding down the road (there are also some exit trails from the West Trails to the same road that are not much further up the road, so if you ride here often there are options for variety).
This hand made sign was a little alarming! BEARS! Yikes! Glad I ride with bear bell attached to my seat post! I also had bear spray in my backpack along with first aid kit and extra water and a sealed snack for energy. I usually ride with an extra top, socks, flashlight and matches in waterproof bag. It is important when you do not know the place you are riding to be prepared if you get lost!! I cannot stress this enough! Some trail systems do not have any signage and trailforks can only be accessed if you have internet! So glad I had those with me!..Anyway, I rode past this Bear warning sign because that is what the sign on the gate showed I should do. It wasn't long and I found this sign and map for sweet creek trail. The following pics are of that trail that descends into a valley then crosses a creek and rides up the next side.
It sure was sweet! Fast and fun! Then plenty of work to climb out of the valley but it was good for my thighs to feel the burn. The pic of me above I thought was cool with the camera capturing the rays of sunshine! it was a lovely 20 degree celsius day! I took this pic just before riding Slalomander. What a FUN DH trail! Wowza! Fast and full of features and Blue tech and flowy fast machine made berms! It was very exciting to ride this one! Made the thigh burn worth every second. I had the biggest smile when I completed Slalomander! Great work NBMBA! Your trail building skills are very evident! I wish I had time to climb back up to ride or walk (LOL) the black DH trail that was beside this Blue rated trail.
After the super fun DH trail Slalomander I came to a birch forest and the riding got really easy for a while as I winded through trees then entered a pinery with very very sandy trails that were also easy climbing trails. The last pic in this section is of the exit from the black DH trail I pressume as it is clear you are Not to enter there. Signage was a bit frustrating on the East trails, I wish there had been more signage for the ends of trails and another of the map of entire East side at end of Slalomander would have been helpful.
After coming out of the pinery the signage got evenmore vague and sparse. I am glad I had time to stop and figure out where I was. I had taken a close up photo of the East trail map so I could refer to it instead of trailforks if internet was spotty. Internet however was not a problem except when in valleys. At least one of those three towers must be a cell tower. Reception was better than any other trail system I have ever ridden.
Of the East Trails I rode: Sweet Creek + Stairway to Shreddin' + Slalomander +Tic Tac Toe + Creekside Glide + Climbus Resinosa
Trails I did not ride (ran out of time and energy): Black rated DH trail; East Bound and Down and Blue rated; Pleistocene Playground
I cannot wait to go back!! There was flagging through the forest on the East side so there are more fun trails being built!
I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with the VP of their MTB club while I was searching for the next MTB trail system found on trail forks. NBMBA's Travis was very enthusiastic about what they are working on and very informative about all the trails in North Bay! He told me there are plans to expand and keep expanding the trails at three towers. Great! They also hope to get all the private land owners they are currently in talks with to agree to allow all three trail systems to connect to each other by single track! Wow! Sure hope that happens! That would be amazing! If they accomplish that they will likely become a racing destination. I am all for sports tourism!
In conclusion: I really hope to get back to North Bay to ride again before the season is over for 2024. Great work NBMBA!! Thank you to ALL your volunteers and all the workers and levels of government who contribute to these amazing trails and the future of cycling sports! Let's keep promoting active lifestyles!
