After our time in Lamoille Canyon we are now by Ely, Nevada up in the high desert at around 7500′. We have never been here either so we’re excited to explore.
Our first ride was around the Ward Mountain trails. This trail system weaves in and around beautiful forests and hillsides. Juniper and Pinyon Pine are the predominant vegetation though on the higher slopes we came across plenty of diversity. Oh, and sagebrush! I learned sagebrush is the Nevada state flower.
We tried incorporating some trails from the South Ward Rec Area but it doesn’t seem like those get much use. However, there is a disc golf course over there if that interests you. The short Birkebeiner trail was well ridden in, but nothing else. The original Bristlecone Birkebeiner cross country ski race in Ely, Nevada ran from 1983-1993. hey brought this cross-country skiing event back to the community in 2014, but it was canceled due to lack of snow and now it’s a running race.
The loop we did was mostly rolling beginner level trails without any technical sections but it is at altitude so that is an added challenge. We crossed back over to the other side of the trail system and rode a loop that was technically the same but more popular with lots of tire tracks and more climbing. Fun quick ride right from camp.
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