Intermediate (More Difficult)

As of September 2018, this page of the NTX Trails Progression Guide is incomplete. Please check back often for updates.

Intermediate trails offer increased difficulty for those riders whose skills have progressed beyond the beginner level. Such trails are typically designated with signage bearing a blue square as shown on the chart above.

In general, blue trails are about one-third narrower than green trails at an average width of 24-inches. The trail surfaces remain mostly stable—meaning you won’t find a great deal of loose gravel, rock, or sand. Having said that, this doesn’t mean you won’t encounter some loose surfaces.

Intermediate trails will often also offer unavoidable obstacles much larger than those found on green trails—features such as roots, rocks, and drops that are up to 8-inches tall. The grade of uphills and downhills will also be greater on the average, increasing the difficulty and danger on those sections.

A trail rated blue for intermediate riders will not necessarily adhere to the standards laid out in the chart above. Many times, trail ratings are subjective, meaning that the person(s) who gave the trail its rating may be under- or overestimating the trail’s actual difficulty—especially for a new rider. On top of this, when you look up trails online on sites such as Trailforks or MTB Project, the rating shown may not be the official rating, but rather the editor’s personal estimation of the trail’s difficulty in relation to their own skills.

Another caveat is that the rating given is the average rating for the entire trail or trail segment.

This means that, in the instance of a blue trail, the majority of the trail may be intermediate-level but still contain short segments or technical trails features that are more difficult. Bypasses may be available for some of the more difficult TTFs, but there’s no guarantee.

Not sure what some of the words in this article mean? Be sure to check out our Glossary of MTB Terms and Slang.

The following is a list of blue, intermediate-level trails in North Texas.

Just because a location is listed here does not mean all of the trails at that particular location are intermediate-level—only that the location has at least one loop or segment that is rated blue.

Always do your own research, know your own skill level, and don’t ride beyond what your comfortable handling. Never be embarrassed to walk your bike until your skills increase. Do not ride closed or wet trails.