NEWS

Mountain Bikers Switch Gears to Build Bloodroot Trail at South Mountain Preserve

Valley Mountain Bikers (VMB) volunteered 120+ hours last year to help Wildlands expand visitor access to the upper north side of South Mountain Preserve.

Their shared time and talent now mean nearly two new miles of trail for hikers and mountain bikers to explore – introducing the 1.6-mile Bloodroot Trail.

The farthest reach of the upper north side of South Mountain has long been inaccessible via trail connections, and Wildlands’ legacy partnership with VMB matched user interest – and muscle – to help open this area for visitors.

Blazing the way

The idea for the new 1.6-mile Bloodroot Trail started taking shape in mapping software early last year. Wildlands’ preserve management team and VMB started working on the ground that summer, putting the finishing touches on the trail before year-end.

VMB members Louis Mazzante, Mike Venturini, Steve Miller, and Jared Neff enjoyed giving their time to make the trail a reality, sharing 120+ hours combined.

The trail invites visitors to access the upper north side of the nature preserve. This mountaintop area was a natural fit for a trail addition because of its gentle terrain and quiet surroundings.

Bloodroot takes advantage of the preserve’s elevation, starting its loop at 920 ft and going as low as 770 ft, with an elevation gain/loss of about 150 ft.

Trail maps on the South Mountain Preserve page have been updated to reflect the new trail.

“The mission of Wildlands is a long-term view and it’s great to be able to support efforts to preserve the outdoors and have as many people take advantage of that as possible,” said Venturini. “We are very lucky to have such easy access to open spaces in a semi-urban environment.”

A quiet mountain retreat

“I love the quietness of mind and the freedom being in nature and trail building gives me,” says Miller, who started volunteering with Wildlands in 2009 as way to give back and get involved in his community.

Under the cover of oaks and tulip poplars, South Mountain’s new Bloodroot Trail gives community members one more path to take to watch birds or catch their breath – with no cars in sight.

“Building Bloodroot offered a chance to get to a more remote area of the preserve.  So the feeling of being far away from the hustle of everyday life is for sure the best feature of the trail,” says Venturini.

The Bloodroot Trail treats visitors to an understory of ferns, the soundtrack of songbirds, and glacial boulders around its twists and turns.

President of Valley Mountain Bikers, Mazzante, says, “What a great new addition to the South Mountain Preserve!”

What exactly is bloodroot?

The new 1.6-mile trail is named for the native wildflower bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. It is a white and yellow flower that blooms around April and its leaves extend further into mid-summer, longer than the foliage of most other spring ephemerals.

Its name comes from the red sap that oozes from the plant’s root when it is damaged. Bloodroot thrives in moist environments like the woodlands of South Mountain Preserve.

The trail itself is blazed with dark green trail markers that feature an in-bloom image of the bloodroot flower.


A statement by Steve Miller, a volunteer from Valley Mountain Bikers and local nature photographer.


Inspired to volunteer, too?

The Valley Mountain Bikers volunteers look forward to returning the new trail to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Please keep our them in mind when you next visit, or better still, join in the volunteer effort to help take care of our nature preserves.

Trails are one way we put your donation dollars to work, and volunteers get out here and get hands on to physically build the trails. You can make a lasting difference in the Lehigh Valley with these upcoming volunteer opportunities:

Share the trails (we’re all friends out here)!

Wildlands’ Emmaus-based South Mountain nature preserve is a big part of where our land protection story began in 1973. Today, thanks in huge part to our giving community, it offers 400+ acres of open space for mountain bikers, hikers, trail runners, birders, fungi hunters, dog walkers, and more to enjoy.

Trails like the new Bloodroot, while built by mountain bikers, are out here for everyone. The multi-use trail follows the basic etiquette rule, wheels yield to heels. Downhill hikers yield to hikers going uphill.

“Nature has given me so much and I wanted others to have the same benefit that I have received. I love the idea that we are creating something bigger than ourselves that will be here long after we are gone so future generations can enjoy,” explains Miller.


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