Mountain Biking the UWF Trails in Pensacola

Quick ride/review of the MTB trails at UWF in Pensacola Florida! When you think of Florida, you probably think about beaches, oranges, Disney world and bath salts, but what about Mountain Biking? While not the premier destination for shredding, you wouldn’t be completely out of place on a mountain bike. Abby and I were in Pensacola Florida all last week for our friend’s wedding because I used to live there and I actually do have a couple friends. We had some time Friday morning to hit up the trails near UWF; my old school. Since this wasn’t a bike trip time was somewhat limited, so I only explored the “games loop”, but there is also a main loop. All together you have 20 miles of singletrack. Now if I could just get under this gate. This seems to be a perfect place for beginners to get comfortable. Nothing too technical showed up, no major elevation changes, and clearly marked paths make for a great time. The trail was mostly hard packed with plenty of roots to bump jump, and had some pretty rad sand pits to ride through which gave me a bit of a challenge. Thanks to the two locals whose names I didn’t get for giving me the run down on the place. They told me of the clay pit which is an area of some pretty gnarly man made jumps. I didn’t really hit any so I wouldn’t have to go to wedding in a body cast. For me there was plenty of flowy singletracks, a couple fun features, tons of switchbacks, and even this rowdy downhill that caught me off guard. From pictures I’ve seen of the main loop there appears to be more features and even a wall ride, but that will have to be for another trip. I had a blast in my short time at the UWF trails and have to give them mad props for labeling it all so well. I never once felt lost or like I took a wrong turn. I also appreciate the work that’s been put into these trails. For being such a flat, low elevation area they made it as interesting as possible, especially with the jump section. I have another wedding to attend next June, so I will definitely hit the main loop and do a follow up then. Have you ridden the UWF trails, and if so, what did you think? I will have 3 total videos from Florida, so make sure you subscribe to see where else we rode. Stay tuned next week for when I visit my Alma Mater and hit all my old skate spots.