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Top 10 Single Tracks
in the World, Part 1

By Adam Marsal

Do you wish to experience something on a mountain bike that you can’t experience anywhere else? Set off for these places! You can expect magical hills, fairy tale-like woods and a lot of adventure.

Between Lorna and Tyax Lakes

tyax
(Photo: tyaxair.com)

There are numerous bike trails in British Columbia, where you can meet bears. They often wander around the bike park in Whistler. If you would like to see more of the wildlife, you can take a hydroplane to Lake Lorna in the middle of the Chilcotin region. It takes two days travelling on trails to get to a civilized area by Lake Tyax. You can normally meet only horses on the trails. It is recommended to put food your in the trees since the bears are hungry.

From Carosselo to Livigno

livigno
(Photo: livigno.eu)

A cableway will take you to the top of the hill Carosello at the height of almost 3000m, from where you will go downhill back to the tourist centre. The downhill ride takes three hours. It is a perfect single trail leading into serpent-like curves down to the valley. What makes this trail really unique is the opportunity to make a stop halfway at the Alpine dairy hut, Alpe Fedeira, which offers the best of local meals of Valtellino valley. If you want to do more riding, you can try one of the best European bike parks, Mottolino, which is situated on the opposite hillside.

Hacklberg Trail

richie schley in saalbach-hinterglemm
(Photo: freeride.bike-circus.at)

It sounds like a magical formula, but you should remember these words. Take the cableway from Saalbach to Mt. Schattberg. From the top you will continue by bike across Westgipfel down to Hinterglemm. One of the most beautiful bike trails in Austria is 600m higher than the starting point, it is 6 km long and goes across Alpine slopes lined with cows. At the same time it is not difficult even for inexperienced riders.

Finale Ligure

FINALE_LIGURE
(Photo: finalefreeride.net)

There are more places on the planet, where you can reach the sea, but you would not find many places, where you have such a high elevation difference, countless trails with banked curves and namely wonderful views. The best trails are those that lead to the former Romanesque and Byzantine port, Varigotti.

Below Mt. Smrk

pod_smrkem
(Photo: singltrekpodsmrkem.cz)

There is a unique project of mountain bike trails in the Ore mountains located on the border of the Czech Republic and Poland, under the magnificent Smrk mountain. The co-designer of the project was a top world-renowned Welsh trail designer Dafyss Davis.  The single trail below Smrk consists of paths measuring more than 80 kilometres altogether and there are four levels of difficulty to choose from.

This is just a beginning! If you want to learn more about the most outstanding single tracks in Europe, America and Asia, read Part 2 of this article!