Nature's Roller Coaster

Schaeffer Farm, located about 25 minutes south of Frederick in Gaithersburg Maryland is a great place to ride for beginners and experts alike. The Frederick area has countless miles of trails but most are rocky and have a great deal of climbing. These features, while attractive to more experienced riders can be discouraging to those just beginning. We often recommend a visit to Schaeffer Farm to those just getting into mountain biking or to anyone who is looking for a good time. Riding Schaeffer Farm is as easy, or as hard as you want it to be and because of this you'll see everyone from mountain bike racers to kids on the trails. The rolling terrain and great trail layout are reminiscent of riding a roller coaster. Expect to find a little bit of everything, roots, small rocks, smooth single track, log stacks, log stunts and a couple of small climbs that will get your blood pumping. Another great thing about Schaeffer is that almost all of the log stacks are optional, you can try to go over them if you like, or, you can just ride around them. It's a great place to develop and practice bike handling skills. Schaeffer Farm is a heavily used trail system and it is very sensitive to rain and freeze/thaw cycles in the winter. After periods of heavy rain the trail system may be closed and during the winter it is often closed due to soft soil conditions. Before riding Schaeffer please call the trail closure information line 301-924-1998. Additional information including directions can be found here. http://thebicycleescape.com/wheretoride.html The video above is from a number of weeks back when a few of us got together for a ride. Not the best footage but it'll give you an idea of the terrain.