Shade Mountain

Shade Mountain is the Off-Highway Motorcycle (OHM) trail system inside Bald Eagle State Forest, and it is built for riders who like their singletrack rough. Riders describe enduro-style trail with rocky sections, steep climbs, and sharp off-camber turns, and it is generally pitched at advanced riders. The trails are purple-blazed, and they are open to both licensed and unlicensed (non-street-legal) motorcycles, which makes it one of the few places in the region where an off-road-only bike can ride state forest trail legally.

Legal riding is limited to a defined set of trails. Motorcycles are allowed only on trails blazed purple or shown in red on the Shade Mountain Off-Highway Motorcycle Trail System Map, and every other trail on Shade Mountain is closed to all motorcycles. Expect to share the trail with hikers, horseback riders, and mountain bikers, and remember that motorcycles yield. When you meet horses, get off the trail, shut off the bike, and take off your helmet until they are well past.

Do not confuse this with the rest of Bald Eagle State Forest. The forest also has a separate Dual Sport Motorcycle Trail System south of Penns Creek, which is for licensed motorcycles only, and an East Kettle ATV trail. This page covers the Shade Mountain OHM system only.

Getting there

The state forest says the system is reached from a trailhead off Route 235. OpenStreetMap shows an unnamed gravel lot beside the Diamond Trail in Spring Township, Snyder County, close to the purple-blazed OHM trails, and the coordinates on this page point to it. Confirm the exact trailhead before you haul. The Bald Eagle State Forest district office hands out the official trail map and can be reached at 570-922-3344.

Fees, permits, and rules

No source we found lists a trail fee. Only licensed motorcycles may ride Shade Mountain Road. Unlicensed bikes may cross that road at a 90-degree angle to connect trails on either side of it, but may not ride along it. Check with the district office about any Pennsylvania registration your bike needs before you go.

When to ride

The system is open to motorcycles only from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend through the last full weekend in September, conditions permitting. A rider forum post quotes an older rule that also allowed a winter season after antlerless deer season through April 1, but the current state forest page mentions only the summer window, so treat the summer window as the rule. Call before you haul, since conditions can close trails.