Comments on: Santos

By: Bdub26

Bdub26 — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 23:09:38 +0000

Road it a couple times this year and once in 2019 on visits into Florida. Cool place. Well marked. They make the best of the flat ground they have. You are going to peddle the whole time, but you are not going to climb so its not bad. Loads of twists and turns. the Vortex is not for beginners. Flat out on it and you will be airborne. Very fun. It was a bit wet and pretty dangerous the first time, but dry the next.

By: bikeit420

bikeit420 — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 17:37:27 +0000

There’s something for everyone here. Diamonds and jumps, wood berms for all levels. Parking lot has an awesome skills area. Pretty well marked. A map would be helpful Everything from beginner to double diamonds here. Name a feature, you might find it here. Miles and miles of awesome XC trails too. Not to be missed.

By: Eric Foltz

Eric Foltz — Wed, 27 May 2020 19:59:25 +0000

Good for the East Coast. Little to no elevation gain.

By: Paul Loeffelholz

Paul Loeffelholz — Sat, 11 Jan 2020 07:46:36 +0000

Area dry

By: curriston766

curriston766 — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 14:38:08 +0000

Great trail system. Flow trails, pump track, tons of XC trails, a free ride area with dirt jumps, some pro level features at places. Will definitely be back to keep exploring

By: malva

malva — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 03:52:15 +0000

Love this trail. It’s well maintained/marked and easy to navigate. Has multiple options for a wide range of skills. Don’t expect climbing like in other parts of the states. The advanced trails are the ones with the most elevation change.

By: Rockin Ron

Rockin Ron — Thu, 09 May 2019 15:01:42 +0000

First time here trails were in great shape,
very fun

By: Rockin Ron

Rockin Ron — Wed, 08 May 2019 11:34:32 +0000

Finally got to ride here it was a great place I recommend it

By: typingfool

typingfool — Thu, 02 May 2019 18:11:30 +0000

So many different types of trails here. Lots of options for everyone! Miles and miles of flow through beautiful woods!

By: AlisonO

AlisonO — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 01:48:10 +0000

Rode 20 miles in two days, March 2019. Weekend traffic was heavy and the trails would benefit from one-way restrictions to prevent head-on crashes. Otherwise, trails are flat, fast, and pretty easy.

By: 007pandas

007pandas — Sat, 09 Mar 2019 14:32:28 +0000

Great Florida single track with narrow trails and plenty of track options for every type of rider level.

By: VECON Sports

VECON Sports — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 20:57:16 +0000

Mountain biking in Florida, isn’t what most people might imagine. There is a lot of good stuff to ride. Santos Mountian bike trails are rated the #1 place to ride in Florida. I’d say Alafia is giving them a good run for their money, but to be fair – there’s SO much to ride in Ocala, that we haven’t even touched half of it. We rode the vortex a few years back and have been looking forward to a return visit during a cooler month. We hope you enjoy this review, and hope this and the last few rides we did will inspire you to go out and check out what florida has to offer!

By: Matthotchkiss

Matthotchkiss — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 20:09:48 +0000

Huge network of trails. Well maintained and marked. Only did a few sections. I’ll be back often to ride em all

By: mlombar17

mlombar17 — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 20:34:12 +0000

Hands down the best FL has to offer! Flow trails, tech, jump lines, drops of all sizes, XC mileage, skinnys and wood features, this system really does have it all. Next to impossible to do it all in a single day, great camping facilities with a pump track and skills area adjacent. I LOVE SANTOS!

By: OffTheWall

OffTheWall — Sat, 08 Sep 2018 02:57:29 +0000

‘????????

By: lilac&greywolf

lilac&greywolf — Fri, 13 Jul 2018 17:43:02 +0000

Beautiful park with lots of shade. My husband and I are in our 50’s and we easily rode the yellow and blue trails. We were a little confused at first because most of the trails go in both directions but we rode on a Thursday and there was no traffic. Twister is almost 3 miles long with a couple of pretty steep mounds. Briar patch has a lot of ups and downs, nice flow and a little boardwalk bridge. If you ride early in the morning watch out for spider webs! And giant spiders!! We loved this park.

By: sailinggquest

sailinggquest — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 17:48:23 +0000

Something for everyone. Easy to very technical. Rode both sides, maybe 20 some miles. Mostly flat and fast to very technical with shear drops. Lots of options, lots of trails. Do it. Do it now!

By: cybersunshine

cybersunshine — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 18:58:57 +0000

Really nice trail with a wide variety of terrain.

By: Donato Cip

Donato Cip — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 04:23:24 +0000

Going to be moving down to orlando for a couple of months. I downhill and trail ride back home. What gear should I bring, ex: full face?, neck brace?, or just usual trail gear?

By: Lapin8r

Lapin8r — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 15:44:20 +0000

I’m a beginner and I had a blast!!! Nothing was overly technical. I loved the openness of the trail. Being from north Georgia it was nice to not worry so much about dodging trees.
We rode the Nayls north and south trials starting at the Shangri-La trailhead and it was great!! Nice flowing flattish system. We are already planning our return trip.

By: Garland4ashes

Garland4ashes — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 17:45:18 +0000

First time at the Santos and Vortex trails. Loved them. There are plenty of beginner/intermediate trails to try. Only ventured out onto one advanced trail – Sinkhole and loved it too. Great trails

By: mtbrJosh

mtbrJosh — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 03:17:17 +0000

Great trail. Tight and technical. Makes use of every inch of the land.

By: Tom Merriott

Tom Merriott — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 02:12:01 +0000

Loved this place!! It was recommended to me by club riders and I am very glad a made the trip from Pensacola. I really want to do a guys ride so I can ride ALL of vortex as it was my favorite trail. I loved the technical AND fun Vortex as well as trails like Sinkhole, and Ant hill!! I also enjoyed the fast and fun blue trails like Bunny, Dr Ruth, and Twister. I will be BACK!!!

By: Coleslaw180

Coleslaw180 — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 17:47:46 +0000

Rode Santos last year in May and I loved it. One of my favorite trails I have ever ridden. I put intermediate but it has some really smooth, straight paths and some really hard black diamonds. So the difficulty ranges. An overall great trail.

By: Aron213

Aron213 — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 20:30:27 +0000

IMO the best trail riding area in Florida, has something for everyone.

By: lostboy45b

lostboy45b — Sun, 17 Dec 2017 12:20:28 +0000

Good ride yesterday with my brother until he went flying over the handle bars, then it became a fantastic ride for me. I shouldn’t have laughed because 5 min later I did the same thing. Great time had by both of us. We rode Sink Hole and the track was in very good shape. No issues what so ever, the wrecks were our fault.

By: Kenny Argueta

Kenny Argueta — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 17:33:45 +0000

Awesome! Can ride out there for hours. A mixture of intermediate and definitely some advanced.

By: haloblue

haloblue — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 22:42:54 +0000

In reply to VECON Sports. Ridged

By: Florida Shredder

Florida Shredder — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 06:22:33 +0000

Awesome Trails, Amazing Singletrack. Extremely Well Marked And You Could Put Lots of Miles In. Not Everything in the Santos Loop Is Thrilling, But The Vortex Section Is The Reason I Give It 5 Stars. If Its Within Your Skill Level, Go And Do It! The Sheer Drops And Jumps Definitely Will Give You A Run For Your Money!

By: awakenedlotus108

awakenedlotus108 — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 13:47:44 +0000

This is one of my favorite places on earth. The trails are very well marked. There is an amazing free-ride area. Do be cautious of trail intersections at certain points because the hiking and horse riding trails intersect at certain points. There is something for everyone out here from families to professionals.

By: Aaron Chamberlain

Aaron Chamberlain — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 20:41:59 +0000

I rode these trails as part of the Huracan 300 bikepacking race. They were super fun. No climbs, just great pedally flow. Since we were bikepacking, I didn’t get the chance to check out the freeride area. But I’ll be back! It was worth the trip down from Atlanta.

By: Bob R

Bob R — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 13:59:47 +0000

Went for the first to me and had to rent my brother a bike which was a really nice Giant HT 27.5… He had never ridden single track b4 so we only went as high as the blue trails. They were a lot of fun n but I would not call them intermediate. Maybe the middle for that park but still on the easy side. I saw some of the red trails and I really wanted to jump on them but I did not want to have to carry my brother out as he is 6’7″ 315 lbs. great weather and everyone we met were really nice people. The rental was only 30 bucks and it was a 2016 bike in really good shape.

By: Pedaleamtb

Pedaleamtb — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 15:56:23 +0000

From Trailhead to tricycle and back to Sangri-la . Like it.

By: lalokita

lalokita — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 06:09:44 +0000

Amazing trail system! VERY well marked & easy to navigate. There are segments of these trails for every level rider. Flowy sections, dirt jumps, a great skills area at the Santos trailhead, lots of manmade features & burms, etc. There are also tons of cut offs and bail outs throughout. Absolutely blown away by these trails! Def will be making a trip down to Ocala for this trail system again!

By: axxman

axxman — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 03:43:53 +0000

Trails are perfect right now. this is the best time of year, not too hot and the bugs are gone.

By: outlander

outlander — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 00:54:03 +0000

Rode mostly yellow and blue trails. All were well maintained and well marked. My 9 year old son on a 20″ mountain bike had a blast on an 11 mile ride. Fast and flowy trails with just the right amount of technical for a fun ride.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 04 Sep 2016 20:23:55 +0000

RVing in Apopka for September, looking for riders going to Santos. Will pay for expensive. Female. Rvinthesprings@yahoo.com

By: Michael Darpino

Michael Darpino — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 15:14:18 +0000

Beautiful horse country of Ocala,Fl. Slight rolling hills combination of evergreen woods with pine needles and florida thick lush palmettos and oaks. The riding is super fun and flowy. Theres also the option for more extreme jumps at the vortex.

By: Cameron Cutting

Cameron Cutting — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 22:12:32 +0000

Awesome trail by Ocala Florida, something for everyone with a great campground and a great bike shop across the street.

This was the first place I road. I ended up stumbling into Santos when I didn’t have a place to stay the night, woke up the next morning and wore myself out on the beginner trails.

Tons of technical ridgelines, the free ride area is incredible with huge burms and long balance beans, and has a great pump track and section of table tops, gaps, and drops.

Something for everyone, but only the seriously experienced will enjoy every bit of it.

By: VECON Sports

VECON Sports — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 19:37:23 +0000

Hardtail or Dually? (if you’re used to riding Dually?)

By: mikey474

mikey474 — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 01:00:28 +0000

Sure is great having this much to ride practically in your back yard. I never get sick of riding here.

By: tylerthehuman

tylerthehuman — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 03:47:11 +0000

Lots of great options for all riders. The Vortex is wonderful with dirt and wood ramps. The rest of the intermediate trails are great for a fun ride.

By: jR SnIPe

jR SnIPe — Tue, 31 May 2016 04:28:21 +0000

Based upon other reviews that we have read on here… Unfortunately my brother and I think Santos is a little overrated.

Not to be completely negative allow me to clarify… This is a very well maintained trail system and offering plenty of really unique things that most riders don’t see often. Things such as dirt jumps for bmx guys, pump tracks, crazy senders (drops) that no one but pro’s have any business doing.

The single track is packed nice with some loose sandy spots. The wood features are a lot of fun… And yes the pictures do them justice. They are mostly located on the advanced trails. If you are in the mood for cross country style trails, stick to the blue trails near the trailhead. The Vortex section offers you the most challenging of the single track, aside from the 2 section on the opposite side of the road that divides the trails. There are some great short downhill sections but mostly are followed immediately by tough climbs. The Vortex single track offers you about 5miles or so of technical track I believe. The jumps are fun and the technical sections are challenging. (Rock Gardens)

The reason why my bro and i think that santos is a little overrated as far as the single track is concerned is the lack of flow of the trails. (I.e. Sections that offer you downhill or no pedaling get killed quickly with abrupt climbs or tight turns with no berms. The blue trails are beautiful but don’t really have much elevation change and have a bunch of loose sandy sections.
Santos as a whole offer you a complete MTB experience aside from downhill park and this is why we believe it has such a high rating.
The trails that we have back home (south of santos) have us spoiled with the flow I guess. I say this not to discredit the work that has been done there as we think that the builders have done a great job, but believe it’s a little overrated single track wise in our opinion.

If your in the area it’s defiantly worth a stop.

By: Benjumanji

Benjumanji — Thu, 19 May 2016 03:50:15 +0000

I live an hour and a half away and still drive out at least every couple weeks. It is a great trail system with trails from beginner to advanced. I personally enjoy the red trails (Vortex, John Brown, and several others), but also love how flowy the blue trails are. Pack a lot of food and water and make this visit an all day event. There are certainly enough trails for it.

By: Keiron Gillespie

Keiron Gillespie — Mon, 16 May 2016 18:49:14 +0000

Great well maintained trail system! Decent signage. A little something for everyone. The advanced trails are quite rocky and rooty. Good flow on the intermediates.

By: Hap Proctor

Hap Proctor — Wed, 11 May 2016 00:12:44 +0000

In reply to Mark Montgomery. Santos Bike Shop (www.santosbikeshop.com) and Greenway Bicycles (www.retrocitycycles.com) Easy access to the trails from either shop.

By: Mark Montgomery

Mark Montgomery — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 17:45:29 +0000

guys I’m heading your end of the pond in July. would like to try some trails, anywhere close to the trails to rent decent spec’d bikes?

By: Chain-Breaker

Chain-Breaker — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 23:32:49 +0000

Extensive MTB system. 80 miles of something-for-everyone. Well maintained by experienced trail crew. Ray Petro (of Ray’s indoor MTB park) winters at Santos and lends his unsurpassed expertise to make these trails the best in Florida. Lots of natural and wooden features, and plenty of other challenges. Even the yellow trails are fun when ridden at a faster pace. All trails are well marked. No fee to enter or ride.

By: Hap Proctor

Hap Proctor — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 21:01:43 +0000

In reply to PopPopEd. Yes... the main TH is practically across the street.

By: PopPopEd

PopPopEd — Sun, 17 Apr 2016 15:27:11 +0000

Isn’t Greenway Bicycles in Ocala a good address to map? Get you close to the trail head?