Palgrave Mountain Biking: Riding the Roller Coaster of Caledon

Just north of the better-known Albion Hills Conservation Park lies the Palgrave Forest and Wildlife Area. While the name brings to mind a quiet and serene woodland full of birders and their binoculars, it is anything but.

Palgrave mountain biking rides like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, twists and turns, and little of anything else.

Let’s take a closer look at Palgrave’s mountain bike trails and why they offer some of the most gruelling yet rewarding mountain biking in Southern Ontario!

Palgrave Mountain Biking: Four Standout Features

Any local legend can tell you with sharp detail what makes their riding area special. And while I’m certainly not a local legend of Palgrave, I have ridden the system a lot, during which time I’ve noticed a few standout features that keep me coming back for more!

The Unforgivingness of the Trails

I’m not always game to push myself, but when I am, Palgrave is at the top of my list. It’s an unforgiving ride, but with that comes the chance to challenge yourself, push harder, and feel a greater sense of accomplishment once you’ve finished your lap.

The Downhill Flow

Next up is the downhill flow!

It really is something to celebrate, especially considering Palgrave is entirely free to ride and has been 100% hand cut by volunteers.

While the ups are gruelling, you’re more than rewarded for the grind with long, high-speed, and sustained downhill sections flowing through Palgrave’s forests.

To top it off, the trail builders have gone to great lengths to add various features to keep things interesting. There’s a little bit of everything, whether it’s a steep and chunky rock garden, jumps and drops, or waist-high berms ready to be railed.

Palgrave makes great use of its elevation, providing one of the best vertical-to-distance-ridden ratios around.

What’s that mean? The average vertical for every 1km ridden at Palgrave is ~17m or ~56ft. Comparatively, The Hydrocut, also known for its downhill flow sections, only offers ~13m or ~43ft of vertical for every 1km ridden.

Over a 20km ride, that’s an additional 260ft of descending. Not bad!

Add a little bit of flow to it all and some great features, and you have our second standout feature of Palgrave.

The Trail Material

I’ll keep this one short as it’s rather simple. 

Palgrave is quite sandy, and with that comes great drainage. It’s not so sandy that it’s challenging to ride, but it is sandy enough that following any precipitation, it’ll be one of the first places you can ride.

It handles the spring thaw better than most systems and sheds off summer thunderstorms like nothing.

So, if the weather is wet and you want to get out for a ride, consider Palgrave!

The Proximity to Albion Hills

A quick look at a map, and you’ll see Palgrave is a mere 2 km from Albion Hills.

As such, it’s very easy to link the two systems together, providing close to 40 km of some of Ontario’s best singletrack riding (Palgrave = ~15 km and Albion Hills = ~24 km).

Palgrave is a great trail system, but the ability to add another riding area, one that hosts Ontario Cups and the legendary 24 Hours of Summer Solstice, is a huge plus.

Outside of Durham Region or Simcoe County, this amount of high-quality and interconnected singletrack is hard to come by, and is certainly the cherry on top of Palgrave’s standout trails.

Side note – you can learn more about Albion Hills and how good its mountain biking is by reading my post, “Albion Hills: The Complete Ontario Mountain Bike Experience.” I also talk more about mountain biking in Durham Region and Simcoe County in my post, “Ontario Mountain Bike Vacation: Three Must Visit Locations,” which is a must read if you’re looking to plan a full-on mountain bike vacation in Ontario!

Riding the Palgrave Bike Trails: An Overview

Hopefully, Palgrave’s four standout features have convinced you to make the trip and check out their trails.

If so, here is a quick overview of how best to tackle mountain biking at Palgrave!

Where to Start Your Ride

When riding a new trail system with multiple entrances, my first thought is, where should I start my ride?

For Palgrave, there are three primary starting points/parking lots, one on Duffy’s Lane here, one on Finnerty Sideroad here, and one on Highway 50 here.

My preferred starting point is the Duffy’s Lane entrance. It is the closest entrance to Palgrave’s primary loop, meaning you get into the good stuff right away, and it is a bit quieter than the other two entrances.

Duffy’s Lane is also the road that connects Palgrave to Albion Hills, meaning it’s easier to go between the two systems if you park here.

All things considered though, Palgrave is a small area packed full of trails, meaning any of the three entrances provides a good starting point.

What Direction to Ride In

After sorting out where to start, the second question I always have is what direction to ride in (unless the system is one-way).

For Palgrave, I recommend riding in a counter-clockwise direction.

Although the trails are technically two-way, most of the system is designed to be ridden counter-clockwise, with most of the one-way features like jumps and drops built to be ridden in that direction.

Looking at Trailforks, this proves to be the preferred way for most, with 95%+ of riders riding the trails counter-clockwise.

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Trailforks

I highly recommend downloading Trailforks and using it during rides at new and unfamiliar trail systems. Even with great signage, which direction to go or trail to turn on next isn’t always clear. Having Trailforks, especially if you’re following a predefined route, that problem disappears, and you’ll quickly know where to go during your ride. If you don’t have Trailforks downloaded, you can find download links for here.

Strava

If you don’t know already, Strava is a fantastic app if you’re interested in tracking your rides. It not only lets you compare yourself to your previous rides, but it also lets you see how you stack up compared to others riding the same trails as you. For those of you that are competitive, this is a lot of fun. You can download Strava here.

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What Trails to Ride

Now, the fun part. What trails should you ride at Palgrave?

Well, the main loop I referred to earlier essentially rides as one long trail and is undoubtedly the highlight of Palgrave. Each of the four trails that make up the loop is an absolute must-ride, so let’s take a closer look at each.

Pally Section 1

At 2.5km, Pally Section 1 is a long one.

A quick look at the trail outline shows what you’re in for, and that’s Palgrave’s classic twists and turns.

This trail has a ton of variety, keeping you guessing at what’s coming next, with lots of high-speed sections followed by steep climbs or tight chicanes. It is a grind, though, with the considerable 30 metres of climbing getting you warmed in a matter of minutes.

Pally Section 2

Pally Section 2 starts with a steep and squeezing climb.

After that, it’s all downhill, letting you keep your flow as you bob and weave through the forest. There’s a beauty rock garden section mid-way through the trail, so be sure to keep your eyes out for that!

Otherwise, Pally Section 2 is perhaps the easiest and flattest of the four main trails, providing a nice breather before you get into the next section.

Pally Section 3

Yeah, the names aren’t that original (no Party Atmosphere or RollerFlowster here).

Luckily, the trails are, and Pally Section 3 is no exception. It’s another excellent mix of tiring climbs followed by rewarding downhill sections.

A lot of work has been put into this trail over the past several years, resulting in better jumps, more drops, and beefer berms. This comes together nicely, providing the best and most consistent flow within the main loop.

By the way, Party Atmosphere and RollerFlowster are two of my favourite trails in the Don, which you can read more about in my post, “Don Valley Mountain Bike Trails: The Ultimate Guide to Toronto’s One-of-a-Kind Mountain Bike Trails.”

Pally Section 4

And, as you may have guessed, the fourth section of the main loop is none other than Pally Section 4. 

This trail makes great use of a large mound within the forest, traversing back and forth across the gradient, dipping and diving up and down as you do so.

Anyone who has ridden this type of hillside trail knows how much fun it can be, with lots of off-camber sections and plenty of side hits to have fun on.

At the end of this section, you are back to where you started at Pally Section 1, which concludes the main loop!

That said, I would like to highlight two other trails worth riding.

Pally Section 8

Pally Section 8 is short but packed full of fun. The last half is all downhill and an absolute blast if you open up the brakes and let the bike run. No twists or turns, just straight-line speed. It’s also become quite eroded, making for some fun trench-like riding, full of exposed roots, rocks, and sandy sidewalls.

Take a right at the bottom and head back to the top to session it a few times.

Section 9: The Last Resort

I’m still not entirely sold on this trail.

The trail building feels forced in some areas and unnecessarily awkward. That said, it is certainly unique and brings you through some pretty interesting parts of the forest consisting of old homesteads and leftover stone foundations.

It’s also a slog, with 48 metres of climbing, most abrupt and steep. But, all things considered, it’s a memorable trail you must ride if you’re visiting Palgrave. Who knows, maybe you’ll love it!

What Facilities to Expect

There isn’t much for facilities at Palgrave other than the parking lots and some map boards at the entrances.

There also aren’t any trail markers, so having Trailforks on your phone is a good idea and will keep you going in the right direction.

My Final Thoughts on Palgrave Mountain Biking

Palgrave is an incredibly engaging system, making the most of the small area and the associated terrain it is confined to.

Due to great trail building, Palgrave arguably offers a more rewarding ride than far larger systems, with the combination of steep and sustained gradients plus flowing and feature-packed downhills providing a perfect environment to test both your climbing prowess and descending courage.

Not only does Palgrave stand up on its own, but it also pairs beautifully with Albion Hills just to the south, providing all the more reason to make a visit if you’re ever in the area!

– Garrett

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