Trail System Review - Spier Falls - Moreau State Park, South Glens Falls NY

Spier Falls
https://www.trailforks.com/region/spier-falls-18772/

Spier Falls is one of the hardest places I have ridden. It is a massive amount of climbing on steep technical terrain that just kicks my ass hard! Spier is a large area with a ton of awesome riding and a bit of not so good riding too. It's a combination of amazing single track, some double track, some crazy gnarly descents, tough punchy climbs, grinding climbs, and more, much more. The most popular starting point is from the parking lot at the corner where the road first meets the river. There is an informational both and a boat lunch. The trails are maintained by a small group of locals and new trails have been added in recent years. Spier also includes the Lake Bonita area as well. The info on TrailForks has cleaned up and is very accurate. One of the difficulties is that the trails are all marked with typical colored trail markers and it can be tough to sort out. The trails are broken down into sections to help make navigation a little easier. Over time I can image that trails may be named and signed if the area grows in popularity but with its difficult nature I would imagine this will largely remain a locals area. That said, if you are looking for a tough day on the bike Spier is your destination.
My usual ride consist of heading up from the boat launch to get onto Wyn Tunnel.  So thats Cottage Park Section 1 which is a stiff warm up to WR CP connector and up to the upper lot. The beginning of Wyn Tunnel is a little hard to find, you head out of the parking lot looking for a right hand up on to the woods. Wyn Tunnel is a really cool trail but don't miss the right hand turn up the hill. The ride down is really really good, the ride up is sadistic and has one hell of technical section that involves riding up a steep section with roots and off camber wet rock and making a sharp left, its really cool. From Wyn Tunnel your into the grind climb of Green Dot.  This will bring you to the top where you have several options and a lot of good riding ahead of you.  Ultimately your going to want to come down either Western Ridge Section 9 or Cottage Park DH. Both are incredible, Western Ridge Sec 9 is a sick technical killer with big hits, huge rocks, sketchy cliffs, and some of the scariest riding. Keep your speed up, cross your fingers, bring clean underwear and enjoy the ride. It wouldn't be strange to wear a full face and dh kit on this run. This thing is a Beast but it is tamable and once you work out the lines it can be ridden quite fast. The other option is taking the Cottage Park DH trail which is an absolute blast down it like a bullet and don't cook your brakes! You will drop 600 feet in matter of a couple of minutes if keep it pinned. Its not a buffed out trail and will require some good focus through some of the chunky sections. This is one of those runs that puts a smile on your face and is hard to get rid of for long after you have packed up and headed out for a beer.
The top section of Spier has good technical sections, cool rock features and short punchy climbs that is can seem comparable in some ways to riding at Daniels Rd. Spier can be a cool all day ride where you bust your hump up, spend some time riding cool trails and then taking a sick ride down. There are several parking spots to start from allowing you to have very different rides. A little shuttling is possible between the upper lot and the boat launch but its of limited value. Parking at the far end of Spier Rd (Corinth lot) and leaving a car at the boat launch is a good day that makes the climb a more all day affair rather than a huge up at once. This will also give you the good downs which is really for me 90% of why I ride Spier. The hardest part of the ride can be choosing which trail to throw myself down. The cool part is you can't make a bad choice.

Spier Falls

I always hate riding at Spier Falls until its almost over.  Climbing, climbing and more climbing and it's not just climbing, its difficult climbing, technical, steep and unforgiving. Granted I do not like climbing, I am weaker than the average rider and I ride a bike thats on the heavier side and is not good for climbing.  So why do I ride at Spier? The last 10 minutes when all the pain has ended and its time to point the bike down one of the two amazing DH runs. Cottage Park DH is a double track hiking trail that can be blasted down. Hitting speeds of 25+ mph on a non built, non groomed trail can be very exhilarating and dangerous. Over the past few years the trail has more or less been abandoned due to large trees that have fallen and are covering the trail. Hopefully someday myself or someone will get this cleaned up and running better than ever.  Western Ridge DH Sec 9 is a gnarly, gnarly downhill run that has some very difficult sections and a spot of two that a fall could result in some severe injuries. This trail also has some fast sections that will test your metal.