Description

Even when the snows shut down the upper trails and stop the shuttles from running, Mt.

Ashland offers great mountain biking, even through the winter.

The lower trails on the mountain receive very little snow, and one of them—Jabberwocky—is a perennial favorite of locals and tourists alike.

This loop route begins from the town of Ashland in a parking lot in Lithia Park.

Note that mountain bikes aren't allowed on any of the trails in Lithia, so you'll have to climb the roads and weave through a few neighborhoods until you get onto the gated gravel road climb to the top.

Then, get ready to grind...

it's a tough 1,700 feet of vertical in just a few miles. Once at the top of Lizard, it's time for the smiles! Lizard starts things off properly with a high-quality machine built flow trail experience.

These are the biggest and best berms on Mt.

Ashland, so savor this excellent rip down to the top of Jabberwocky. Jabberwocky is the ultimate classic trail on Mt.

Ashland, providing something of an old school flow experience.

While the trail is smooth, fast, and flowy, with berms in most of the corners, this isn't a properly-designed machine built flow trail.

You'll still have to ride heads-up for the occasional awkward corner or section.

But aside from those few weird spots, this is a hootin' hollerin' romp down the mountain that most any mountain biker is guaranteed to love! One caveat: this ride has been assigned a "moderate" FATMAP difficulty rating due to the smooth trail tread found throughout.

However, some lower intermediate riders may be intimidated by some of the steep grades found on Jabberwocky.

While most of the steep sections are descents, they do require full commitment to drop in and maintain your momentum up the next hill and around the subsequent corner.

Add braking bumps to the mix from the high amount of traffic that Jab sees, and some riders might not be having a fun time.

...but most will!