7 Etiquette Tips for Mountain Biking on MORC Trails

When we’re on our mountain bike trails, we’re focused on navigating rocks, roots, and the occasional feature. But there’s something else we need to pay attention to: each other.

Each year, our MORC trails are used by roughly 80,000 riders. Some of us ride as a way to get fresh air while others are out chasing KOMs or hitting jumps. Many of us ride e-bikes. And given the Twin Cities’ healthy population of enthusiastic mountain bikers and fickle summer weather, it’s rare that we’re ever the lone rider on a trail.

This is where trail etiquette comes into play.

To make sure we’re all on the same page about how to treat each other and our beloved trails this dirt season, here are a few etiquette tips when riding any MORC singletrack.

1. Never ride closed or wet trails.

If you’ve volunteered with MORC, you know this: trails don’t maintain themselves. Our volunteers spend countless hours making sure the trails are safe, sustainable, and ready for you to ride.

When a trail is marked as closed, it typically means the trail is too wet (soft) to ride. Riding a trail when it’s wet creates ruts, which not only compromises its surface but also its ability to drain moisture in the future. In other words, it ruins the experience for others—not to mention our volunteers’ hard work.

Trails may also be marked as closed to give volunteers a chance to make repairs or because of a safety issue (e.g., downed trees).

Regardless, it’s important to check a trail’s status before you start your ride. You can get updated trail statuses via Trailbot (https://trailbot.com/) or the MORC website (https://www.morcmtb.org/conditions), which is populated by Trailbot. If a trail isn’t marked as closed but you notice that it’s wet or your tires are leaving ruts as you ride, immediately abort your ride and wait until the trail is dry.

2. If you need to stop, pull off the trail.

Keeping the trail clear can help to prevent another rider from colliding with you or being surprised by your presence and losing control.

If you need to stop while riding the singletrack, quickly move yourself and your bike completely off the trail once you do. This is critical on any part of the trail, but especially if you are near the exit of a corner or landing of a jump.

3. Trail users on foot always have the right of way.

Many of our MORC trails are open to other users such as hikers, runners, and snowshoers. Mountain bikers must always yield to these on-foot users, which means it’s important to stay vigilant and control your speed. We must also yield to trail users on any multi-use trails, such as paved bike paths and nordic ski trails, that we cross while on the singletrack.

If you wish to pass an on-foot user on the singletrack, be sure to politely call out your presence as soon as possible and request a pass. A simple “thank you, have a nice day!” can go a long way toward spreading goodwill on the trail.

4. If you need to pass another rider, politely ask for an opportunity—and be patient.

Likewise, if you come upon another rider and wish to pass, politely ask them to let you by when they find a safe place to let you pass. Then, patiently wait (back off their wheel) and give them space to slow down and stop.

No rider should ever feel like they need to bail at the moment someone asks for a pass, especially if they’re on a climb or descent. The rider being overtaken should wait to pull off the trail until they feel like they can safely do so; they should never be pressured in any way by the passing rider.

Riders on e-bikes should be especially mindful of passing analog riders on climbs.

If you’re on an e-bike and you come up behind a rider cranking up an ascent, consider backing off and waiting to request a safe pass once the rider has completed the climb. Bailing and then restarting on a climb can be tricky, and e-bikes have a much easier time making it to the top.

5. Don’t modify the trail.

As we mentioned, our MORC volunteers (and paid contractors) put tons of effort into building and maintaining our trails. And it’s not all manual labor—careful thought and consideration goes into how and where each feature is placed. Dumbing down or modifying features on your own not only impacts others’ experiences but it also can create unexpected hazards. It’s never OK.

If you want to have a hand in building new features, reach out to volunteer@morcmtb.org and we’ll help you connect with your local trail crew.

6. Respect wildlife.

Although our local wildlife tends to be of the tamer variety, the animals we encounter still deserve a healthy dose of respect. Never harass wildlife and always give any animal you see a wide berth whenever possible. We are guests in their home; let’s keep our presence as minimally disruptive as possible.

7. Remember, we’re all in this together.

We may be biased, but it’s hard to beat mountain biking. We’re fortunate we have so many awesome trails to ride within the Metro and more on the way.

Practicing good etiquette on the trails isn’t something we should do to be “Minnesota nice.” Respecting the work of our volunteers and contractors, other users, wildlife, and each other makes mountain biking in Minnesota more fun for all involved.

Let’s keep the good vibes rolling.