Tour of Pine Hill park: Go clockwise for an extra workout; go counter-clockwise for fun

By Shelley Lutz, Pine Hill Partnership board member

Pine Hill Park in Rutland City is one of the original trail networks in Central Vermont and is a must-stop on any mountain biker’s itinerary. The wooded park is 275 acres with 18 miles of mostly singletrack trails dotted with seven unique bridges.

If you are an aerobic machine, ride the park clockwise (maps available near the entrance on 2 Oak Street Extension in Rutland). Otherwise, for a calmer climbing experience, ride the park counterclockwise on the following suggested route.

All mountain bikes head up Escalator to access the trail system. From Escalator, hit Svelte Tiger to continue your climb into the park. Go left on Sisyphus, then right on Watkins Wood Road to get lungs and legs warmed up. Or head right up Svelte all the way to Droopy Muffin (intersection 22). Ride Droopy Muffin to intersect Underdog at intersection 26A. This side of Underdog is still a little rough, but once you are over the Centrifuge Bridge, the trail has been recently rebuilt. Head to Rocky Pond to view what used to be a picnic area and swimming area back in the mid-1950s.

From Rocky Pond, head to Shimmer to check out the Arch Bridge. Climb to the Overlook, then ride Overlook (the trail) to experience the 100-foot-long Suspension Bridge. At intersection 30, go right on PA4J — another recently refurbished trail. It rolls great in both directions but slightly downhill from Intersection 30 to 28. From here, pick any trail as they are mostly downhill back to the parking lot. But don’t miss Milk Run and Maximum Capacity on your way out. Exit Strategy to the parking lot continues the flowy fun.

If you are looking for features … Furlough has a couple of nice features, newly built in 2024: a huge rock face with a nice roller over (named Nugget) and a wooden ramp feature with a great roll off.

Other challenging trails with features include Broken Handlebar North, Halfpipe and Rosey’s Rollover. These trails all have features built into the terrain.

For old-school challenge, Stegosaurus is full of rocky, rooty chunkiness.

Pine Hill Park’s trails are built and maintained by volunteers, so please consider leaving a donation in Tinman at the front entrance. No cash? Locator maps have QR codes that you can scan and make donations.