Kincaid vs. Bicentennial

I know I have yet to write a single trail description yet, but I thought I would go ahead and start the debate anyway. I've ridden in both parks, more so in Bicentennial than Kincaid. I haven't come close to riding all of the trails either park has to offer. In the case of both parks, there are a lot of trails to ride. Over the course of writing this blog, I expect that my opinions of these two parks will change.

With all that being said, my first impressions of each park are as follows:

Kincaid - Great if you're a skier.

This park is set up very well for the cross country skiers that frequent it during the winter. The trails are generally wide enough to allow room for the skate skiers, and then some. The trails are marked with directional arrows that allow the skiers to efficiently traverse the trails. This is not a park for mountain bikers. The trails are too wide to appeal to the single track fans. The Surfaces are too often grass, making pedaling difficult, especially with all of the steep grades in the park. One of the upsides to Kincaid is that the trails seem much less crowded in the summer (with people at least) than Bicentennial. It's also THE place to go in Anchorage if you want to see a moose. I've seen more in Kincaid and along the Coastal trail than I have anywhere else in town. Even with the upsides of Kincaid, as far as I'm concerned this park is better left for the skiers.

Bicentennial - The place to be for mountain bikers.





The best mountain bike trails in Anchorage (and maybe even in Alaska) are in Bicentennial. The surfaces are packed dirt and the trails tend be over rolling terrain, with less impossibly steep grades. There are lots of technical aspects to the trails, with roots, boulders, and fallen trees to navigate. There are sections of the park where the trails are too wide, too steep, and too vegetated for biking but the trails in between make it worth the trip. It's been my experience that Bicentennial has a more diverse user group than Kincaid (bikers, hikers, orienteering groups, joggers, equestrians, etc.)and the trails tend to be much more crowded (oh, and then there's the bears)... Despite the down sides when you consider the new sections of mountain bike trails constructed by the Single Track Advocates and the park's links to Fort Rich trails and Chugach Park trails, Bicentennial is definitely the place to be for mountain bikers in Anchorage.