Northshore Trail

This is Mecca, the trail people think of when they talk about north Texas. Most folks just call it Lake Grapevine, but there are two other nice trails on Grapevine Lake. Still, this is the only trail some local riders have ever seen. This place has just about everything. The eastern area, from the dam to Little Pete’s, is sandy and loose in most places. There are a few easy sections along the lake where you might think the riding is easy. There are some climbs, and there’s even a mile or so of pavement you have to use, which created the popular conception that this is the easy end. Only short stretches of the “easy side” could in a pinch be considered beginner level. Parts of the “easy side” are butt-crunchers; not as extreme as you can find here, but enough to make most people breathe hard. And some cry like a little girl. Waaah. The western parts, from Little Pete’s over to Twin Coves Park, are pretty darn serious. Soft sand, ankle-deep and powdery, mixed in with rock gardens of exposed sandstone. And then there are the technical spots. I don’t care who you are or where you’re from, this is technical like it oughtta be. Short, steep climbs that will challenge you to find the line. I promise you, I have ridden every piece of the Northshore at one time or another in my life, but seldom all in the same day. It is that kind of trail—always new and always a piece of work. This place changes every year. There are sections that used to be extremely difficult but have become rideable. There are sections I used to be able to ace that are now so tough it often takes me three or four tries to get it right. And even then the result may or may not be reproducible. You need short explosive outbursts of ability and control to come away bragging. Of course, those same bursts of brilliance sometimes convince the bike to slam you to the ground and leave part of your knee or elbow there for posterity. Not a good place for testing your new pedals. But a great place to learn a new bik