Mono Tract is a wood lot north of Orangeville with about 21 km of trail, half of that is flowy loops for mountain biking. A rectangular lot of hardwood trees and planted pines that packed plenty of fun to crank on with my son this spring.
I remember receiving emails suggesting I check it out but always thought they meant Mono Cliffs Provincial Park right beside it. There are a few short trails in there you can ride but the best ones are for hikers only. So I did not think much of it.
Well, I got interested to see what all the buzz was about when I notice it was a winter fatbike destination. Hmmm?
Mono Tract is a little know (even to me) woodlot on a lonely dirt road. A surprisingly enjoyable ride for beginners and veterans alike.
There are old doubletrack dirt roads that cut across this tract, which will get you straight back to your car whenever you want to hurry back (cause you were out playing too long in the woods, lol). Within this grid are singletrack loops designed with mountain biking in mind, not just boring straight hiking trails.
Plenty of thought and work has been put into making these loops. I even saw new fancy laser cut metal signs on the trails. I am not sure which club or who to thank but we loved the ride.
From the trailhead, a few metres in is the first trail on the north side. An easy going twisty but not gnarly run gets you warmed up. This is the Central Park North 3 km Beginner loop that goes to the far end and loops back.
As mentioned there are signs but it still is confusing as there are no maps posted. But isn’t that part of the fun of mountain biking, riding around half lost, discovering and enjoying the lay of the land as you piece the route together.
So on we boogied onto Maple Ridge an Intermediate trail that again did a large loop and returned to a central point. It felt like there were four main loops in here, with a few other side trails.
None of the riding is really taxing, the hills are short, not steep, and the track is nice and flowy. The trail base is a smooth sandy mix that likely fairs well after it rains. We encounter a few stones but I suspect closer to the escarpment it will get rocky.
You can open up on these loops, and hit the berms and rollers with opportunities to grab some air. Scattered about are sturdy wooden jumps for some serious tricks if you opt to take them on.
Though mind your speed, stay alert as there were sudden log hops and a few hairpin turns that will need braking or there will be some breaking! One had a blind gap that riders need to scout first.
The only land feature we saw in this non-descript tract of greenery was a beaten up old VW Beetle on the appropriately named Euro Trash loop.
Beyond this woodlot, there are trails that link you 2 km east to the cliffs of the provincial park. We did not have time to get to the lookout but shall definitely return for more.
I should add that for our June ride it was dry and very low on the bug count. Always a good thing. Then we did Orangeville for some grub and cold drinks after.
This new ride review is not yet published in my book. But 55 other great MTB destinations are with better topo maps and tons of riding tips. Available as an eBook or paperback.
