The Easiest Way To Discover the Best Cycle Trails Near You

Your bike is ready and it’s the perfect day for a ride, let me show you the easiest way to discover the best cycle trails near you.

My need to find trails had started when I purchased both a new bike and ebike. I was ready to navigate and explore. 

To find the best biking I spent countless hours searching the internet and apps. To my surprise, It was hard to find cycle trails even with the apps that I had purchased.

After much deliberation, I ended up having the best success with Google maps.

Needless to say, Google’s technology is impressive and constantly improving.

I now solely rely on these maps to help discover new cycle trails, drive to the cycle trails and to save my favorite cycle locations.

Today I will show you how to use these maps to find the best cycle trails near you.

Enjoying the Florida Sunsets on an ebike ride

First you will want to access google maps.

You have two options:

1. google maps app downloaded on your phone

    2. Through the website maps.google.com on a desktop

I prefer to use a desktop website to plan a cycling trip and to use the app while biking and for storing favorite locations.

Follow us on Instagram for bike and ebike adventures. 

Stay safe on your rides, here are the best bike helmets. 

You don’t need a google login to access maps, but you will want to create a free account in order to

save the routes of your favorite rides. 

Check out the video of how to find the best bike trails near you. If you have any questions about finding bike trails using this technique, feel free to leave a comment in the video. 

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Discover Cycle Trails by reviews

In the google maps search website I typed in “cycle trails.” The top reviewed cycle trail with 76 reviews is the palm beach lake trail.

 

I wanted to know a little more about this trail so I clicked on the reviews. Once into the review section I was able to click on reviews that used the word “bike.”

This directed me to the helpful bike related reviews which also included nice photos of the trail.

I was able to find information about the trail head parking in the reviews as well.

I decided to check out this trail for my first ride!

Check out these photos from Palm Beach Lake Trail and surrounding areas. The sunset was incredible!

I highly recommend using lights during your rides. Front and back lights on your bike make you more visible to pedestrians and traffic.  Here are the lights we use. 

 

If you want to discover cycle trails with high ratings and reviews in other areas, simply zoom out your map.

 

After I had a great ride on the palm beach trail I was interested in finding another highly rated trail.

At first glance there didn’t seem to be many other great trails in the area, but once I zoomed out the map, I found the Delray Mountain Bike Trail.

To zoom on maps, use the plus or minus on the maps website or pinch the map with your fingers using the phone app.

Here’s a big jump at the Delray Mountain Bike Trail. The trail provided amazing nature views and plenty of challenging terrain.

 

In this type of bike course a helmet is required. I recommend wearing a helmet at all times. This is the helmet I typically use. 

 

If a cycle trail has a lot of reviews it’s most likely the easiest to discover.

It might also mean that this trail has a lot of cycle traffic.

If you’re interested in finding less populated areas to ride you can discover best cycle trails by using other map options.

Sometimes these bike trails can be full of hazards! If you get a flat tire and need to fix it, check out this blog.

 

 

Discover Best Cycle Trails with Menu

If a trail doesn’t have a lot of reviews it’s probably harder to find in the maps.

This could mean that riders haven’t wanted to provide feedback, or this is the undiscovered ride you’ve been searching for.

Make sure you have cycle trails typed into the search bar on your map.

Click on the Menu option (3 sideways lines near the map search bar)

Then click on Bicycling. This will provide you with a map of the trails in your area.

Google provides a key at the bottom of the map divided into:

 

Trails– These are colored BRIGHT GREEN and are usually a path, track or unpaved lane or road.
Dedicated Lanes– These are colored DARKER GREEN and are part of the road which is recommended for bikes
Bicycle Friendly Roads– These are SPOTTED GREEN and are roads or trails that bikes can travel on

In order to see the green colors you will need to click on the menu and change the view to Satellite. In Satellite view you will be able to better map out your ride.

Once I changed the view to Satellite, I was able to find a bight green trail called El Rio trail.

I noticed that this cycle trail only had 4 reviews. The trail distance according to the key of the map showed the trail to be approximately 6 miles.

Even though this ride wasn’t highly rated, I packed my bike on the back of my car and checked out the El Rio Trail.

This was a fantastic paved cycle trail that started at an athletic park at one end and finished near a college campus at the other.

 

I was able to avoid riding with cars, with the exception of a few street crossings.

There weren’t many other people using this trail during my ride. Maybe because it was 95 degrees?

I try to always wear sun protection when the temp is in the 80’s and 90’s! 

Here’s the mask that I wear. 

 

By zooming out the map further I discovered a cycle trail in spotted green. According to the map, this trail seemed to go on for miles!

I found the entrance at a national wildlife refuge and hopped on the trail. I only saw one other person and three alligators in the 20 miles I travelled.

The trail seemed to continue on forever.

The trail was basically a dirt road that didn’t allow cars. .

Apparently there are over 40 miles of trails here!

I spotted several animals along the trail including this blue heron!  When cycling is such a remote area, it’s important to remember to bring water. Here’s the water pack I typically bring with me on longer rides. 

 

 

Best Bike Trails Saved

Once you’ve found a few great places to ride, you might want to start a list on google maps with your phone.

Record your parking spots, best cycle routes and best sights you see. You will need a google account to create lists.

Once logged into an account, touch the map with your finger at the area that you want to save.

This will drop a pin at your desired location.

 

Next, click label at the bottom of your phone screen.

 

 

Type in a name for the location. I labeled this location, parking.

Next, swipe up the bottom of the white menu and you will have an option to put this location in your new saved folder.

Now whenever you want to access the location of your best cycle trails you will have everything saved.

It also becomes easy to share your favorite trails and access points with your friends via text or email.

You can also use maps to find other points of interest along your ride or receive directions during your bike ride.

Now you’re equipped with the tools needed to easily discover cycle trails near you.

Navigate the cycle trails in your area by mapping out your future trips by using a desktop and the google maps website.

Explore cycle trails while using the maps app on your iphone.

The maps technology has been reliable for me which is why I recommend it.

If you have any questions about how to use maps to find the best cycle trails near you, please ask in the comments.

I’d love to hear about the best cycle trails you’ve discovered and what methods you used to find these trails!