Level: Intermediate
Length: 10 mi (16.1 km)
Surface: Singletrack
Configuration: Network
Elevation: +1,541/1 ft
Total: 493 riders
Mountain Biking Schaeffer Farms
#7 of 99 mountain bike trails in Maryland
#553 in the world
Good ride. People of all skills levels can be found on this network of trails. The trails are maintained by MORE and Montgomery County National Park and Planning Commision.
First added by alvin.santoy on Jan 1, 2003. Last updated Oct 15, 2020. → add an update
Before you go
- Drinking water: no
- Lift service: no
- Night riding: unknown
- Pump track: no
- Restrooms: yes
- Fat bike grooming: unknown
- E-bikes allowed: unknown
- Fee required: no
This trail information is user-generated. Help improve this information by suggesting a correction.
Germantown recreation area off of RT 118. CLose to the intersection of 118 and clopper Road Directions from D.C. - 495 North to Baltimore, Route 270 North to exit 15B and follow for about 5 miles, right onto Richter Farm Road, take a left on 4-way stop on Schaeffer Road, stay on Schaeffer Rd. through circle, shortly after the road narrows look for the Senceca State Park Sign on left, trailhead is on left of the sign through the gate.
Rode the White and Yellow trails on Sunday, 8 March. Trails are in great shape and practically had the place to myself. Not too technical, not too easy. Perfect for me.
| ThankClosed
| ThankSchaeffer Farms used to be THE place to ride in MoCo, but it's showing its age. The trails hold water in many places, so there can be lots of muddy slop even days after rainfall. Some trails are getting pretty badly eroded, so what used to be smooth, fast sections are now gnarly root gardens. Sections of trail through and around farm fields are badly overgrown by late summer. I find Seneca Ridge Trail and 10-Mile Creek Trail to offer a much nicer, flowier experience, mile-for-mile, thanks to their newness and more modern design (thanks, MORE!). What Schaeffer does offer that those other trails don't are 1) a large network of trails, allowing endless customization of your route, and 2) more technical skills challenges, including log ramps and whoops.
| ThankI really enjoyed this ride. There are some pretty overgrown spots though. I kinda wish I would've had some long sleeves on. Over all a great ride though
| ThankCheck out my GoPro video at DADventureTV. Might be forst footage of the new trail that is out there
| ThankCheck out my video of Schaeffer Farms on Youtube at DADventureTV
| ThankNice and frozen!!!
| ThankThe Schaeffer Farm trail system is well maintained and very fun. Nothing too technical here. There are some decent short, climbs that intermediate riders should be able to clean. Lots of twisty, rooted sections - up and down - to keep you honest. There is an expert(?) area with a series of whoops which is cool. What's really great about Schaeffer is that it connects to a host of other trails, i.e. Seneca Ridge, Seneca Greenway and Ten Mile Creek (via Hoyles Mill) allowing you to create an epic ride. In fact, the local IMBA chapter (MORE) has an annual epic ride weekend with rides up to 75 miles long.
| ThankIt's the Rosaryville of MoCo, just longer. Fun trail system. Well marked with maps at every intersection. All flowing single track with a few longer climbs and some fun downhills. Not many rocks but definitely some areas with roots that keep it interesting. Mostly in the woods but goes through some farm fields too. Some parts are super narrow and it is two-way so be careful and courteous.
If you go back out of parking lot the way you came and cross Schaeffer Rd and take Hoyles Trail it will take you to a little dirt mountain bike park- reminded me of homemade BMX dirt parks from the 80s. Small but fun for a change of pace for a half hour.
| ThankAwesome well ridden well marked trail system. Be aware of blind corners though as this is a bidirectional trail system. Also worth checking out the dirt jumps and pump track a short ride down the road. (South Germantown Pump Track)
| ThankDirections to the trail are wrong Google to find correct directions
| ThankTrail is fun and the MORE group does a great job maintaining the trail system!
| ThankGreat place with great flow and plenty of terrain. At the very least they need to put signs up reminding people to be alert of oncoming biker traffic as its a bi-directional trail system.
| ThankFirst, I love this trail. Riding up and down hill, flow stuff, over roots and logs, in and out and through corn and soybean fields is awesome. But they really should make this one-way (like Fountainhead). There are a lot of blind corners here and I almost had some bad encounters because of this. It would be great to be able to ride this fast and hard without worrying about someone coming at you from the other direction. Other than that, this is a ton of fun.
| ThankFirst, I have to say I loved this place. So many awesome trails. Being able to ride in the woods, up and down over roots and logs, and on the edge of corn/soybean fields and through them is amazing. But I really think they need to make this trail one-way (similar to the setup at Fountainhead). There are a ton of blind corners here and I had a few close calls here that could have been worse. It would make for a better riding experience if you didn't have to worry about encountering someone coming at you.
| ThankImba epic and well deserving of it. The trail is extremely well taken care of and the marking make it impossible to get lost, lots of opportunities to get back to the lot if you don't want to do the whole loop. There where a few trails I didn't ride and still managed a 12 mile ride.
| ThankI really think there are far batter trails in Maryland that are rated lower than Schaeffer Farms. This trail is a 2-3 star at best.
| ThankFun trail to ride but if you go try the Whoop Trail because it's pretty fun. It also has some technical spots too.
| ThankGood fun ride. Tree across the path if you take the yellow trail to the right out of the parking lot.
| ThankI'm always glad to get back here. Convenient and very well maintained. Once you get used to the connecting trails and where to find your preferred spots/loops, it's really got plenty of terrain to keep the intermediate-level riders (like me) happy - but can definitely see why the more experienced riders knock the lack of technical sections. I'd give it 5 stars except with all the map postings and possibilities for crowds it doesn't give the full, out-in- nature experience I look for.
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