# First trip to KT



## buellski (Aug 11, 2014)

My 10yo son and I finally made it to Kingdom Trails for the first time ever this past Saturday. What an incredible trail system! We can't wait to go back! I had heard all the rave reviews about the place, but I was curious if it would live up to it all. It exceeded my expectations and then some.

We rolled into town around 10 and headed into the welcome center to get our passes. We asked for some tips on what trails to ride, and the super, nice young woman behind the counter mapped out an amazing ride for us. She asked us what type of riding we liked and how long we wanted to ride. We said we preferred single track and would like to ride for about 3 hours. I don't know if it was luck or her skill, but she mapped out an incredible loop that took almost exactly 3 hours. We started pedaling around 10:15 and were back in town around 1:30.

We started up East Darling Hill Rd., and that was the only time my son complained about anything the entire day. It was a bit of a slog, especially for my son, but we made it up. More on this later. After that, we spent the first part of the ride on the west side of Darling Hill Rd. working our way from north to south. Our favorite trails on that leg were Harp and West Branch. After we climbed the switchbacks at the end of West Branch, we stopped at the Market Cafe for a snack and rest. That was another highlight; being able to stop in the middle of the woods to buy a snack and drink. My son loved all the little features he could practice on after he finished his snack.

After our break, we crossed Darling Hill Rd. and began to work our way back north. After some more great riding, we ended up at the top of Kitchel. As I said earlier, we started our ride up East Darling Hill Rd. The woman at the welcome center had warned us about the ride up the hill and said we could actually drive up and park at the The Inn at Mountain View Farm. However, she said, if we did ride up, we could end our ride on Kitchel. Well, Kitchel made the slog up East Darling Hill worth it. The berms and table tops down Kitchel had my son and I catching bugs in our teeth from the permanent grins on our faces. After a few fist bumps and excited chatter about how much fun Kitchel was, my son said, "That ride up the hill when we started wasn't so bad, was it?" We cruised back into town, ate our lunch at the car, then headed over to the pump track for a while to finish up our riding.

I can't tell you how many miles we rode, but it was, by far, my son's longest ride. We were both pretty beat by the end of the day, but we couldn't stop talking about how much fun we had and how we couldn't wait to go back. It's a pretty easy day trip for us, and I can certainly see a membership in the works for next year.


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## dlague (Aug 11, 2014)

Sounds like a fun time.  We have been wanting to head over there for three years now but once sports start up in school - it seems impossible.  Maybe this year.


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## WoodCore (Aug 11, 2014)

Love Kitchel!!


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## snoseek (Aug 11, 2014)

Heading up tomorrow for a few days of riding. Glad you loved it. I get a good sampling of US riding in the spring/fall driving to and from Tahoe. Kingdom ranks up there with any of the other major destinations IMO.


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## dlague (Aug 11, 2014)

Showed this thread to my wife and she wants to go!


.......


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## buellski (Aug 12, 2014)

dlague said:


> Sounds like a fun time.  We have been wanting to head over there for three years now but once sports start up in school - it seems impossible.  Maybe this year.





dlague said:


> Showed this thread to my wife and she wants to go!



Make it happen! My only regret now is we didn't get up there sooner this year. School and soccer are starting soon for us, and it will be tough to squeeze in another day or two. But we'll make it happen.



WoodCore said:


> Love Kitchel!!



My son was bummed we couldn't just push our bikes back up and do it again :grin:


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