SI07 Wolfe’s Pond Park MTB

Description

Teaser (Staten Island MTB Ride)

This park, at 302 acres one of the city’s largest on Staten Island, has enough stuff for more than a day’s worth of activities for the entire family. Besides the mountain bike trails, there are walking trails, a beach, a playground, a war monument, a roller hockey rink, basketball courts, tennis courts, grills for barbecuing, picnic tables, a beach on the Atlantic, a forest, and freshwater ponds.

The Info You Need (Staten Island MTB Ride)

This is one of three officially-sanctioned MTB trails in NYC. We cover all three in this book. Of the three, this seems the least used. While the trails on the ocean side of Hylan Boulevard are well-tended and seem to have signs of regular use, at least by pedestrians, the trails in the North Forest, on the bay side of Hylan, rarely encounter a knobby tire. There are four miles of trails in all,:most are considered “beginner,” some are “intermediate,” and one is d “expert.” That written, a mountain bike without suspension should be able to handle everything these trails have to offer.

The intermediate trails seem a bit narrower and have steeper pitches both up and down, but these pitches are short, so even if you have to get off your bike, it will only be for a short time, and nothing is long enough that you’ll really pick up speed. To us, these trails are excellent for skills-building, and as just about everyone can improve their riding skills, we say take the time to learn how to ride everything.

Riding around the trails on the south side of Hylan is fairly easy and straightforward, though you do have to encounter typical MTB obstacles like roots, rocks, steep drops, and fallen trees. The trickiest obstacle seems to be of the moving kind. People walking on the same trails you’re riding. We’re all for sharing trails, we don’t see it as a problem, just wanted to alert you.

In Conclusion (Staten Island MTB Ride)

As we mention earlier, this is a place where you can stay all day. The City gets a rap as not having much “nature” within its borders. Hopefully, you know by now thisis false. There is an amazing diversity of natural habitats and wild creatures. This park is oneof the many you should be checking out the nature inside it. The pond of the title is a freshwater pond that is mere feet from the Atlantic. Across Hylan, you will find Acme Pond, not a possession of Wile E. Coyote, home to diverse wildlife, including toads, painted turtles, snapping turtles, and red backed salamanders. The flora around the pond is similarly diverse, with white oaks, pin oaks, hickory trees, sour and sweet gum trees, red maples, and more, and the fauna living in it includes downy woodpeckers, green herons, and flickers.

Details

Borough(s): Staten Island

Distance: 6 miles (2.8 for GPX route)

Elevation: 319′ (for GPX ride) (seems high)

Terrain: Flat. There are a few short hills, but the rest of the terrain changes are small dips. Most of the ride is on trails, which are a little rocky and rooty, but should be fine for novice mountain bikers.

Ride Rating: @@

Notes: One of the three official MTB trail systems in NYC.  Probably can do much of it on a knobby-tired cyclocross bike or hybrid, probably a BMX bike, though a mountainbike would be easier.  If you want to ride on the beach, a fat bike might be necessary.

Includes: A PDF to print out or put on your phone.  A GPX file to go on your phone or a GPS-enabled bike computer. And a trail map.

If you need a tutorial, here’s where you find that info.  https://jralong.com/wheretobikenyc/2020/06/18/download-a-ride/

LInks to: SI08, SI09, SI10