The Woods

Dogs No Dogs

E-Bikes Allowed

Features Drops/Jumps

The Woods is the main intermediate/blue rated trail on the east side of the Northstar bike-park, which offers more natural 'adventure' style terrain compared to the man-made feature-rich trails on the west side of the mountain which are accessed from the Tahoe Zephyr Express lift - Livewire, Gypsy, Coaster, Boondocks etc.

Rated as blue/intermediate on the official park map, do note there are places where the natural terrain is rough and rocky and potentially more challenging than a traditional 'blue' rated trail - although generally the trail is wide enough for you to have a choice of lines over the more rocky parts, and none of the drops are particularly severe. If you're a more novice rider (or it's your first time riding this trail) I'd suggest a slower sighting lap initially to gauge the severity of some obstacles, although as with it's sister blue trail Coaster on the opposite side of the park, all the features can be rolled or bypassed if desired, and none are overly technical*.

*The one exception perhaps is the skinny boardwalk feature section (which does have a bypass, although that is a rocky descent in itself) - note that the boardwalk exit is quite steep into a right hand turn - you can roll it easily, but for a novice it can appear quite intimidating at first.

The Woods starts to the left of the Vista Express lift exit, with a series of small whoop style jumps, before switching back and descending through the forest. At various points along it's length it does intersect with other trails including River Styx and Tryumph, and also skirts around the edge of the Pinwheels Drop Zone (which is a clearing with a series of progressively higher man-made features) where it's fun to watch those attempting the drops and/or have a go yourself!

For the most part the route of The Woods trail is well signposted at the various junctions, and note that further down it also offers access to a number of alternative trails either directly, or via the Tryumph fire-road which traverses the park. For example, one suggestion would be to take the left fork 'EZ' route option where The Woods trail splits, which in turn leads to Pho Dog for an alternative return to the base of the Vista Express lift.

The Woods ultimately exits close to the bottom of the Vista Express lift station (for another lap!), although my personal favourite is to join The Woods together with Deerpath for an entertaining top-to-bottom run of the whole mountain here at Northstar.