North Bethlehem Mountain Biking: A Dry Town

Mud Season

Here it is April 7^th, 2019. I’m gingerly walking on the sinking rocks surrounded by mud, water percolating out of the ground with each step. It’s my driveway. There’s still a foot of snow in the yard and a couple feet in the woods, except on southern exposures. Smatterings of wet snow patches are still around from the four inches of wet snow just two days ago. Oh, and it’s 36F degrees, overcast, and my left foot is definitely wet. Benson, my hometown.

We, Jsmurf and I, want to go mountain biking. Actually, Jsmurf wants to go mountain biking, but her parameters are: dry trails, sunshine and warm. Sounds like what we could find in North Carolina but we’ll have to settle for something closer; say within an hour and change. 

We decide on North Bethlehem Town Park in the capital district just outside Albany. As we head south into the Mohawk valley we watch the temperature climb into the high forties and the snow disappear. By the time we pull into the parking area it’s eleven o’clock and the sun is shining and it’s 65F degrees. 

The parking lot is mostly full with mountain bikers. There is one kid at the playground and two on the basketball court. Everyone else is there to ride. That also includes our friends from Northville; Dylan, Shannon and their two kids Lyra and B.

The Thomaries

North Bethlehem Town Park

The park is 22.3 acres and has an established hiking trail and about five miles of purpose built mountain bike trails packed in tight. While mostly flat, the trails flow well and there are just enough hills and drops to keep it interesting.

Scattered throughout are features: skinnies of varying width, some pump track features, jumps and a teeter-toter. All the features have an easy bypass around them.

Dylan and Shannon spotting B.

And it's dry! The dirt is a sandy loam mixture that is well packed in from frequent riding. It was almost down right dusty. Low areas that tend to hold water have been bridged or hardened with stone.

Jsmurf on a bridge.

Lyra at the top of a climb.

We were on the trails with about a dozen other riders: a family of five, a few single parents with their kids and two fathers with their teenage sons. Families easily outnumbered the adult riders.

After three laps we headed back to the parking area. All the parking spots were filled and people were parking on the grassy areas. There was a local National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) team meeting going on and soon they headed out on the trails. It was a busy place.

Parks & Recreation

This week I made a call to Jason Gallo, the Parks and Recreation Administrator, to find out more about the trails in North Bethlehem town park. He told me that like anything in government it takes time. From a core group of mountain bikers who attended public meetings to eventually volunteering to build and maintain the trails took a few years. He stressed that people interested should attend meetings and get an early start on the process.
Parking can be an issue and the playground is close to the trailhead. He advises to slow down around the playground and be aware of kids darting out into the field. Even with the trail system in the middle of a residential area the community response has been positive overall and it sounded as though more trails are planned for the future.