Emma Long Motorcycle Park

Emma Long Motorcycle Park is a hilly block of singletrack on the north edge of Emma Long Metropolitan Park in west Austin, and it is one of the few places inside a Texas city where you can legally ride a dirt bike on trail. Volunteers built the trails for trail and trials riding in the early 1970s, and the terrain has not gotten any easier since. The Main Loop is one-way and climbs and drops through cedar and oak over dozens of limestone ledges, some of them stacked into rock staircases with drops of a foot or two back to back. The City of Austin recommends it for experienced intermediate and advanced riders only, and the local riders' group is blunter: it is not for beginners, and several lines are blind from the top, so ride it first with someone who knows it. Some maps and apps list it as Emma Long Motocross Park, but there is no motocross track here, only trail.

Two-way shortcuts and bypasses let you trim or extend the Main Loop, and small signs mark which sections run one way. Newer riders have a separate Practice Loop south of the parking lot, just under a mile long. Mountain bikes share every trail, so expect them on the loop.

Getting there

The motorcycle area has its own entrance and parking lot on Oak Shores Drive, separate from the main park entrance on City Park Road. From RR 2222, take City Park Road south, stay right at the fork, and turn left on Oak Shores Drive; the lot is about a mile in on the left. The trailhead area has a kiosk with the trail map, a restroom, picnic tables, and a shelter. Start from the east end of the lot and ride the Main Loop counterclockwise.

Fees, permits, and rules

This is a public venue, so every dirt bike needs a Texas OHV decal. It costs $16 and runs from September 1 to August 31. Texas has no reciprocity with other states, so out-of-state riders need one too. Parking and riding at the Oak Shores lot are free.

The trails sit inside the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, which protects habitat for the endangered golden-cheeked warbler. Stay on the marked trail and walk anything you can't ride rather than going around it. The city closes and restores any section it finds is damaging the habitat, and several old trails in the north end have already been closed this way.

When to ride

The park is open year-round from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., with no night riding. Wet limestone gets slick, so give the trail a day to dry out after heavy rain.