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Killington/ Whiteface / Plattekill ?

1K views 24 replies 19 participants last post by  downhill mike 
#1 ·
A friend and I are planning a 2 day trip for early July to one of the above. Would like recommendations on which one we should go to. I would say we are intermediate riders. 2- 4 foot maximum drops/jumps. We are more interested in gravity induced riding on single track. Some technical-type DH trails would be cool too. We may also like to mix a little xc riding in. We're not looking for huge drops/jumps or crazy man-made stuff.

Each resort is in the 4 to 5 hour drive for us from rochester, ny; so that isn't an issue. We prefer to do a mid-week trip. Also, some nightlife would be cool. I know lake placid and killington have it in winter, but what about summer? Looks like Plattekill is in middle of nowhere so I'm guessing there won't be any there.

Thanks in advance
 
#4 ·
I haven't ridden the other two but I go to Killington a few times a summer and it sounds like just what you're looking for. It doesn't have much in the way of freeride but you can find smaller stuff, and everything else is lift accessed singletrack (and fireroads which are fun to bomb once in a while). For bike repairs etc, there is the bike shop in the lodge, as well as True Wheels bike shop just down the road, both are great. The Killington access road has lots of restaurants/bars etc that are open throughout the summer. I would reccomend the Back Behind Saloon, it's a little bit of a drive from the access road but the food is always something to look forward to (both in quality, and quantity haha). If you choose Killy you'll definitely have a great time.
 
#5 ·
Drive the extra distance and hit Diablo. Whiteface is fun but my guess is you'll stay on the lower part. Haven't spent much time at Killington in the summer but the few times I drove by it didn't look to be a hopping area for summer? Lake Placid would have much more going on. If you went to Diablo you could ride and then take a short drive to NYC for the ultimate night life. I've taken XC people on fr/dh bikes to Whiteface and Diablo all of which had more fun at Diablo.
 
#6 ·
W-Face is STEEP! If you like that kind of DH, then hit it for sure! Fun as hell, and DH Mike is an awesome guy too. He'll show you around and stuff. The Mtn is nice and quiet. You'll run into some tourist up top that'll ask you if you're really going to ride down the mtn. You'll be the center of attention at the top. Everyone is friendly too. If you're camping, there's the coolest campground I've ever been to in Wilmington. It's a KOA if you want to look it up. It's only 5 minutes from the mtn. They have anything and everything from showers (cleaner than your home) and washers/dryers for your gear too!
This info is from Hcor.net via DH Mike
Lake Placid/Whiteface mountain K.O.A.
77 Fox Farm rd.
Wilmington, N.Y. 12977
1-800-562-0368
1-518-946-7878
koacamground.com.

Here's a story I wrote a couple years ago. Aceman

http://hcor.net/postt23114.html&sid=80ce39791cf6fe7c3f9be452b83f8fa8
 
#7 ·
I've ridden all and still my fav is Highland in NH but they only work from Thursday to Sunday. From the other three I prefer Platty, but as you say, it is in the middle of nowhere.
If your trip needs to be on midweek I agree with MBX5 and just go to Diablo.
 
#8 ·
For lift served singletrack like you are describing, not gnarly FR stuff, Killington is the winner in the Northeast IMO. I take groups there 2x a year. There is a LOT of singletrack to be ridden, much of it really fun twisty techy descending, without needing DH gear (DC forks, Fullface helmets, pads etc.) Plus lots of pedalable (?) swoopy stuff.
 
#9 ·
I have some friends that are pro DH'ers and they tell me that Plattekill is pure DH gnarl while Whiteface is similar but not as gnarly. Killington does sound like your best bet out of the 3. Diablo and Highland would be good choices as well. Not so much for the nightlife unless you're willing to drive.

You might also consider Kingdom Trails. It is mostly an XC spot but it does have some sick downhill trails w/unbelievable flow. They are offering a shuttle service this year and they're supposed to have a new trail opening that will hook into an existing trail making for a crazy long DH run. Me and the buds go there at least a few times a year and are never disappointed.
 
#12 ·
neverwalk said:
For lift served singletrack like you are describing, not gnarly FR stuff, Killington is the winner in the Northeast IMO. I take groups there 2x a year. There is a LOT of singletrack to be ridden, much of it really fun twisty techy descending, without needing DH gear (DC forks, Fullface helmets, pads etc.) Plus lots of pedalable (?) swoopy stuff.
Perhaps this year you should bring your groups to Highland at least once just to try it out, there's been a misconception that the riding there is too gnarly and just for hardcorers, but the guys have been busy building a ton of trails, from beginner to intermediate to advanced to expert...you name it.
Besides the great riding, the whole atmosphere is excellent, just happy smiling faces and the crew is the best in NE.
The last time I went to Killy there was a very annoying jerk loading the bikes, complaining loudly about having to work on the weekend and that did it for me. I haven't gone since then.
 
#13 ·
Splaterkill is pretty hard core downhill. If you are ridding a allmountian bike, you will be at its limit. One of the good things about the kill is it is a great big pile of shail, when you pack it in, things give. Ride Diablo and you will see why this is a good thing...night life? only is you want to have sex with bears.....;)

Diablo is a great big pile of car size rocks covered with 3 inchs of dirt, once the dirt is gone, all you got is rocks. I have never broken so many bike and body parts as I have at Diablo. The have been cutting XC trails but I have not been on the them and they do not let you climb the hill, lift only......not much of a night life there.

Killington is great. I have spent several one week vaca's up there, They have trails for all kinds of riding. They have some bad a$$ dh trails on the right side of the hill, they have some great trails that are great for just cooking down the hill from the lift that can be done with a XC or AM bike....and they have some really fun XC cources below the lodge that will cook you legs and lungs. The Grand motel at the base is not to bad ether and you can get packages that include lift service. About half of the restrents that are open in the winter are open in the summer and all of those have happy hour:thumbsup: ....If you want a club, you are better served driving down to rutland, a good seen there....

White face Is Steep, drag your rear brake with you butt on the rear tire steep on the upper part of the hill, splatakill is this steep areas but WF has much more of it....I was only up there once but I can tell you this, you have 2 kinds of hotels...flea bags and $$$...Don't get me wrong, the $$$ are nice but over 3 bills a night hurts for a poor guy like me.....I do not know about the XC riding though.... have fun....
 
#14 ·
I've ridden at plattekill and whiteface. Without knowing your exact skill level it's tough to make a recommendation. Whiteface has two sections to their mountain, a top half and a bottom half. The top half I would say is for advanced riders. Again, everybody has their own skill scale, but I would say I'm on the border between intermediate and advanced riding and the top half of whiteface pushed me all the way out to my absolute limits as a rider. The bottom half, on the other hand was fun, but very easy, I'd probably put that at the more difficult end of the beginner spectrum. My friend and I were sort of in between the two difficulty levels but I think by the 2nd half of this season we'll be able to ride the top half comfortably.

Plattekill has a wider range of difficulty in their trails, in my opinion. There's a lot of good singletrack at platty, the terrain is completely different though, lots of loose shale and sandy dirt while whiteface has sort of loamy soil and on average, not as many rocks. Plattekill is in a lot of places as steep as the upper half of whiteface.

As far as the experience goes, both places are pretty awesome. Both have friendly, down to earth crew working there. Downhill Mike at Whiteface is the nicest guy you'll ever meet, and has been putting a lot of work into developing every aspect of the mountain bike program there. That being said, Plattekill is an older more established MTB destination and therefore has a more extensive trail network.

Since it's tough to figure out what your actual skill level is, I would have to recommend Platty right now since there will definitely be a trail there that will be fun for you. If you find most of the trails at Platty to be rideable/easy, definitely check out whiteface for your next trip.
 
#15 ·
Thanks everyone. You guys are helpful. Sounds like all the places have their pros and cons. I see Plattekill is only opened on weekends, so that takes them off the list.

For what it's worth, I ride a Haro X6 comp, my friend will actually be renting a bike there as he currently owns a hardtail.

Found out Diablo is only 5 hours from us. We checked out all the websites and Diablo actually looks most appealing to us. Looks like they even have some trails that kind of look like a bmx track. I raced bmx in my teens so that looks appealing. Diablo also looks like they have a good mix of skill level trails.

We are planning on going mid-week July 7& 8. Will Diablo be busy ? Crazy busy? or pretty quiet?

Anyone know of any cheap (but clean) hotels within say 30 minutes of Diablo? I guess we're not too concerned with nightlife afterall. We'll bring a cooler full of beers and just chill out at night if need be.

Thanks again everyone.
 
#16 · (Edited)
dragbike said:
Thanks everyone. You guys are helpful. Sounds like all the places have their pros and cons. I see Plattekill is only opened on weekends, so that takes them off the list.

For what it's worth, I ride a Haro X6 comp, my friend will actually be renting a bike there as he currently owns a hardtail.

Found out Diablo is only 5 hours from us. We checked out all the websites and Diablo actually looks most appealing to us. Looks like they even have some trails that kind of look like a bmx track. I raced bmx in my teens so that looks appealing. Diablo also looks like they have a good mix of skill level trails.

We are planning on going mid-week July 7& 8. Will Diablo be busy ? Crazy busy? or pretty quiet?

Anyone know of any cheap (but clean) hotels within say 30 minutes of Diablo? I guess we're not too concerned with nightlife afterall. We'll bring a cooler full of beers and just chill out at night if need be.

Thanks again everyone.
Diablo is quiet during the week, so you shouldn't have to deal w/many people.. There's actually a hotel on the mountain(Appalachian Hotel, check diablo's website) that is very reasonable(make sure you mention you're going to be riding and they'll give you a discount, there might even be a lift ticket + hotel room deal) and pretty nice.. We got a hotel room for the US Open last year and it worked out great.

20% OFF..
http://www.mountaincreek.com/deals/lodging_deals/diablo_lodging.htm
 
#17 ·
Yeah the hotel location at diablo can't be beat. You'll literally be closer to the lift than the parking lot is. Never ridden there during the week but I hear it's not crowded at all, plus I believe the trails are open from 11-7 which is an hour longer than on the weekends.

As far as sheer variety of trails in terms of trail type and difficulty level, diablo is VERY diverse, more so than platty or whiteface. Now I'm jealous, I live an hour from diablo and I wish I could just spend two weekdays there, haha.
 
#18 ·
I race and ride all those hills. If you want the best DH in the East, go abit further into Bromont, QC. Blows all the other places away. such a trail network, buffed up trails and oldschool trails. Plattekill is only fun for one day, unless you push over to the other summit
 
#19 ·
why not all of them??? on seperate weeekends.....

we have Keystone and Sol Vista planed for 5 days this summer (12 hour drive)
Mammoth 3 weekend trips (4 hour drive)
Nothstar at least 2 weekends....7 hour drive
Canada 2 or 3 weeks and visit like 7 resorts including Whistler


get out there and ride different places....you get better faster
 
#20 ·
I thought this was obvious, but I'm assuming if they had the time to take off from school/work and the money to do that much traveling and lift-assisted riding, they wouldn't need to make this thread.

Your schedule sounds like something that very few adults with any real responsibilities could manage.
 
#21 ·
bighitboy said:
Plattekill is only fun for one day, unless you push over to the other summit
If they are only running 1 lift at a time that day, you can ride between them.

Ride the access road, and then hop on the trail around the "hill riser" to connect them. You don't HAVE to climb it, but can climb or push it if you really want to. The downward grade running off the side of the double does make it easier to head toward the triple than the other way though.
 
#22 ·
Amen to that Hesh. Yeah, I have a job, wife, coach soccer, kids who play sports like every night of the week in the summer. I'm lucky to get 2 days to myself. What Shiver.. suggests sounds like me when I was in my early 20's, but it was skiing back then that he me driving all over,

If he can do it though, more power to him!
 
#25 · (Edited)
DiRt DeViL said:
I'm planning on Whiteface for the 4th of July and still debating where to go on the 5th, Bromont, Killington or Platty?
We will have tons of new stuff built by then. We also plan on making sure our trails are marked better this year. We want you to be able to really explore the mountain and find all the old stuff and new stuff. Look forward to on mountain kiosks with large maps saying "You are here".

The fireworks over the lake are just awesome every night of that week. Lake Placid may be a small town but the fireworks and downhilling are world class.

Daytime in the Adirondacks:


Here's a couple of clips form the North East Shore:




Night time in the Adirondacks:


Local tip:
If you have a chance rent a canoe and float in the lake with a bunch of beers during the fireworks. Then paddle to a bar for more fun. I bet this little town of 2,000 in the winter swells to well over 30,000 on some summer weeks, and fourth of July is one of them.

Trail map with directions to the Gator Drop:


The Gator Drop:
 
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