Are these the Toughest Trails in Florida? Santos Trails Ocala, FL

[@bobsalterorsouthwestsaltah4959]

Loved Anthill !! Broke the seat bolt to my Command post and had to ride back to the parking lot standing the whole time !!! Then I rode my fatbike back to the scene of the crime to find the lost brackets !!! Man that was a fun day !!! Loved Santos !!!!

[@johnnydoe66]

I am slowly understanding why trails that seem relatively easy, have a black/difficult rating. I love technical trails with exposure and rocky/rooty sections mixed in with a bit of xc/flow

[@greenbikemike4805]

Man I've been riding those for 25+ years . Awesome to see you on them

[@mikeyp3694]

My mom lives in Ocala....I live in the PNW....this is making me think I should be visiting her more often!

[@downhill_mtber126]

not worth it. gopro makes it look better. Ill leave my mtbs in colorado and take my hardtail to fl

[@vinncecil]

Love watching videos like this. See so many “other” lines that I normally don’t see or take. Awesome video. Santos is home for me.

[@tmwei396]

I gotta remember these trails for when I got back there later this year.

[@BigC760]

I love that the trails are 20 mins away by car its cool to live near floridas atleast one of best trail system

[@JeffLenoskyTrailBoss]

lucky!

[@BikeLifewithRob]

Definitely have to be on top of your gear game! That one corner with the pinch rocks is tough!

[@robertbergen1663]

The Vortex Trail is the hardest at Santos, it circles around the the big freeride area.

[@TazmanianDevil-y8z]

Both you and your lady ride well. I’ve been riding Santos since it was a dirt parking lot. Has always been fun.

[@tillybronte]

Just got a single speed and rode it for the first time at Santos- they are wonderful but the punchy climbs on the Black Diamond trails are even harder riding SS. The flow on the greens and blues here is incredibly fun so it is a great location if riding with less experienced riders.

[@millerman692]

I hope to ride my ss in a few months. I'll see if I agree.

[@mensuddevic8983]

She ie killing it...great work guys...I'm jealous.. I'm actually riding fat bike, super fun we have tons of snow up here in Canada and it's freezing

[@troup1998]

She sure was, leader of the pack!

[@hunterburgess2622]

Looks like some fun and tecky trails.. can't wait for you to come back through Roanoke Va

[@DrewJ79]

Nice riding! I stared riding Santos as a teenager in the 90's. We pulled up to the dirt circle and parked under an oak tree. The trails were great then too, I'm not sure when they actually started those trails but we used to ride all over that place on the older 800 series Treks and my Gary Fisher Marlin all rigid. I moved away at 20 and didn't come back to see Santos until 20years later. To see the bike shops, parking lot, and camp ground was crazy. I don't even recognize the trails we used to ride. That last big climb that you did looked exactly like the one we used to try and I never made it up all the way. But it was near a drop or roll out we called "the wall" it was a big dirt/clay wall that was super steep and scary I still haven't found it yet because I just don't recognize the place anymore. I recently bought a proper hardtail at 44years old and have been enjoying riding again, it makes me feel like I'm 20 again...LOL. I'm about 20 minutes from Grapefruit Trails in Palm Bay FL. You should check it out sometime if you haven't already its a great spot.

[@jeffhayes1855]

Nice ride. Just home from vacation in Florida- rode at Alifia because of your last video. Loved it. First time at non Iowa trails. Makes me appreciate Center Trails in Des Moines. Wish we had some of that well drained stuff of Florida though. Trails here get closed with any rain til they dry because our terrain is topsoil. It turns right to mud and builders want to keep it from rutting. Maybe someday the trail group here will build a trail - they could call it “the Brit” - that they keep open for wet riding. Thanks for sharing Florida. Riding there was a highlight of vacation. plus, at the trail, I saw my first live armadillo. (Yes I know, I need to join my local builders.)

[@JeffLenoskyTrailBoss]

Thanks for checking out the video Jeff. Glad you liked it!

[@crashhole83]

Excellent video. Next time you’re down by Alafia you should ride Balm. It’s less than 10 minutes away.

[@jitodiaz]

Bruh! for real I watched the whole video waiting for the freaking crocodile to show up...lol

[@aznguyen316]

Damn you guys are good. I went on John Brown and it destroyed me. I hiked my bike on so many parts of it. Y’all just killed it. Camera never catches how tricky these trails can be. If I watched this before going there I probably would’ve tried to be some KZbin hero. All those exposed rocks are wild for Florida. Great video yall legit bosses

[@robwasnj]

What a great video! This brings back memories, first time I pulled up to Santos I immediately looked at a map and thought no problem, I've ridden in the mountains, this is FL and jumped on the double blacks. I was quickly humbled, it was very different than the kind of riding I was used to with all the tight techy stuff and switchbacks I wound up doing some hike a bike for certain sections. I was out of my element and got worn out too. Over the years I've learned FL is not what you'd think just as you said, great place. Also check out the other end of the greenway, there's even a trail called "Tricycle" with a huge trike along it. I find the trails on that end of the park are far less used and give me a better feeling of immersion in nature. You may also see some wild hogs running around, we've seen them several times (along with the damage they can do as well).

[@britainashley2805]

Next time you’re in Florida try the vortex trail, there’s a whole other group of trails next to santos. I prefer parking on the vortex side because it’s more in between the two groups of trails. Nice vid too

[@JWO1965]

Magic mountain definitely the hardest climb, John Brown both directions totally different trail, and that one line on Rattlesnake comes up so quick I forget about cheater line….it was part of the cross florida barge canal….pillar for a bridge and history are behind the police station just around the corner

[@JeffLenoskyTrailBoss]

That's awesome, thanks for the info!

[@SecretSpots]

Looking forward to hitting this place and Alafia when I get down there to see family soon. By the way, that was me on the turq/yellow Polygon saying "hi" to you at Allaire the past several days. Me and two of my friends flew past you and Laura going down "Herbert's Drift" yesterday also and saw you again up at the top of the powerline. Hope to do a lap with you one day. 🤙

[@troup1998]

Awesome, can't wait to get out there.

[@ImRokhound21]

I hit Santos on Thursday great trails, I'm surprised you didn't show the Vortex area

[@JeffLenoskyTrailBoss]

I feel like I’ve done it so much I wanted to Show something different

[@davedelarosa319]

Thank you for that. Santos was my local system when I lived in Ocala right at the turn of the century and this was Santos to me. The Vortex didn't exist yet, and if I remember correctly that area was just know as "The Other Side". There used to be a huge wall that took either bravery or stupidity to roll, but nothing like what the Vortex has become. In the time I've been gone it's crazy to see what it's grown in to, but also somewhat sad to know it'll never be what I remember it as.

[@jimmansi9046]

Nice riding, you both are super strong riders, that looks like an awesome place to ride, stay safe!

[@tonyfernandez1957]

Great footage and a pretty lady, good job guys. Have you riden Graham Swamp yet?

[@JeffLenoskyTrailBoss]

I did last year. It was fun!

[@scottcowart2920]

Finally I find someone else that rides a REEB in Florida! Nice!!!!

[@Yoda-em5mt]

How could you not like your videos jeff ? trail grading is sooo enterpretive i go buy if trail boss says its tricky its hard ha ha .

[@JeffLenoskyTrailBoss]

Thank you!

[@eddieh3509]

Made me homesick, but we have some killer trails in the Raleigh area, so I guess I'll be ok lol. Before you deem those the toughest though, roll down to Croom in Brooksville.

[@ananthkutuva3748]

My local spot! Great video!!

[@FollowingtheCliffNotes]

Our camp site was to the right near the middle. Spent 3 days riding a bunch of stuff. My friends hate climbing. I love climbing and Santos has the best climbing for Florida.

[@eduluke2010]

Super awesome! What's the coolest XCO trail near Lake Nona area?

[@LanceT88]

So much unexpectedly good tech down there 🤘

[@ralphsammis7330]

Tight, technical

[@No_motor_angler]

Hey Jeff, love the vids!! I woulda liked to have participated in your recent skills class at Carter but couldnt get the time off work. A lil off topic, but where did you get that shirt from?

[@JeffLenoskyTrailBoss]

It's a Pearl Izumi pullover!

[@michaeltihon3485]

Don't be mad at me but I'm more impressed with her skills than yours on this one 😅 She seems so light and so powerful, it's just amazing how easy she passes the obstacles and how fluid her motion is. Great video !

[@chili0557]

Looking forward to riding this trail system! Where is the trail footage from the intro for this video? Thank you!

[@giorgoszamanis6654]

Hi Jeff! How do you manage not getting your pedals hit while pedaling up on such rough terrain? Is it only your great -by the way- technique or do you have shorter cranks or something ? I assume that the absence of rear shock helps as well.. Thanks in advance!

[@saltwaterscratcher]

Just did my first time mtb at alafia. I did a double black diamond and ate shit.

[@BigVanLittleAdventures]

I think I hit all those except majic mountain... That looked like a brutal climb.

Makes me wanna move to Ocala!

[@slprquattrooriginal]

This looks like an everyday trail in Wompatuck State Park (Hingham, MA). Come visit.

[@yetiman72]

how is the weather there in the middle of winter?

[@billyjoesmo8251]

I like the Flatwoods near Tampa most people think they're too tough to enjoy

[@Jeff-bw5xn]

I'm now at Santos. It's awesome. I'm afraid of John Brown

[@justmemtb]

I want to go to there!

[@tripppleDaddy]

Sick!

[@Fajah69]

So many little bugs that bite here omg!

[@ckorte83]

at Santos, red=black. most of the red signs are gone now, but they recently transitioned from red, blue, yellow ratings to black, blue, green ratings like everywhere else in FL.

[@systemsbroken]

That is due to the 'new leadership' ai OMBA who 'run' the trails. None of them are mountain bikers...can't ride 90% of the trails and have disillusioned most of the locals. Someday they will be gone and the trails will be better (safer) and not lose the many technical trails that they are hell bent on destroying.

[@8664antonio]

nice!

[@johnnnewmex]

I always find riding places where the trail changes directions so frequently that it becomes hard to keep speed...very annoying. But a lot of places are built like that to increase the overall trail mileage.

[@SiXiam]

Looks awesome. I would have crashed.

[@TheFartfish]

Food for algorithm ;-)

[@lowjack100]

who knew in Flawada

[@TheMBunk]

To Answer your question, yes and no. The fingers at Carter Road have wrecked me more than the trails at santos.

[@dbmagee21]

No. Alafaya and Carter road. Santos is not hard

[@downhill_mtber126]

leave it to Florida to call blue trails double blacks lol

[@Griffism]

Umm, no. Fun absolutely. Toughest, no.

[@fishingnut1969]

Toughest? No. Alafia Mtb trail.

[@JeffLenoskyTrailBoss]

Alafia is the funnest by far but they aren’t “tough”

[@fishingnut1969]

@@JeffLenoskyTrailBoss if you want tough you need to leave the state. The black and double black demons in FL are Blues in NC and Jarrod's. I have yet to find a (tough Trail) so to speak. Hope to run into you sometime on the trails.

[@sgold1132]

Agreed, Alafia is the most technical and demanding