File photo: Greg Heil

The summer riding season is upon us. Many of us will look at the calendar and begin planning trips to mountain bike destinations over the next few months. Often, rides planned at those places look like pilgrimages to a bike park or epic shuttles that truly feel like once-in-a-lifetime experiences. 

It also means spending significant amounts of money. But what if you didn’t have to? These epic rides, accessed via public transportation, cost less than $10 or, in several cases, are absolutely free.

File photo: Leah Barber

Park City, Utah

If you’ve ever been to Park City, you’ll know that the trail systems there are a bit of an entangled spiderweb. You’ll also know that it is a fairly expensive city to visit. Fortunately, the locals know about a hidden gem that can save quite a bit of money: Park City transit is free.

And while many of the locals use the bus simply to get around town, they also use it to shuttle some of Park City’s epic mountain bike rides. Two buses help riders gain quite a bit of elevation: the first shuttles to Deer Valley, about 400 feet above, and the second heads up to Silver Lake Resort, climbing over 1,000 feet above the city.

Now, you’ll still have to do a bit of climbing, but the bus certainly knocks out quite a bit of elevation at no charge. Depending on where you start, you can access Park City classics such as the Mid Mountain Trail, Bonanza Loop, or the 9K Trail. Have access to a trail map, because it is really a choose-your-own-adventure to make it back to town.

Missoula, Montana

We covered Missoula’s Marshall Mountain at the beginning of the year, updating readers on new trails popping up at the popular system. Marshall currently boasts roughly eight miles of singletrack, with quite a bit of it leaning heavily into the descending category. Trails like Marshall Arts, Bjorn Again, and Headwall are all proper rough-and-rowdy descents that draw locals and visitors to Marshall. 

And more trails are planned.

On Saturdays and Sundays in Missoula, getting to Marshall Mountain is completely free. Shuttles pulling a 16-bike-carrier trailer leave the downtown transit center and head up the mountain from 8a to 5p on the weekends. Shuttles run at the top of the hour, and the last shuttle back to Missoula leaves Marshall Mountain at 4:30p. The Mountain Line shuttle service runs through October.

Photo: Travis Reill. Wanoga is one of the stops on the Transit to Trails shuttle.

Bend, Oregon

Beginning June 17th and running into the fall, Bend starts running its Transit to Trails shuttle. A shuttle ticket costs $10 for a round trip (if a return trip is needed), and the trailer has room for 20 bikes. The drive follows the Cascade Highway up to Mt. Bachelor, making several stops at popular trailheads along the way, including the new downhill trails at Wanoga Trailhead.

Many take advantage of the cheap shuttle to ride one of Bend’s epic routes back into town. The most popular route begins at Dutchman Trailhead and connects Flagline to Southfork, dropping 2,000 feet in a handful of miles. From there, the trails begin to get a bit easier, ending the day on mellow green trails that roll you close to your favorite post-ride beer spot.

This descent is only possible after August 15th, as Flagline is closed to manage the elk population earlier in the summer. However, you can take other trails down from Dutchman and connect over to South Fork, but it will be a bit more of a traverse.

Photo: Timberline

Mt. Hood, Oregon

Staying in Oregon, an epic ride you might have heard of is Mt. Hood’s Timberline to Town (T2T). The route drops over 4,000 feet over 17 miles of intermediate singletrack back down to the tiny town of Rhododendron. Many will make the adventure to ride T2T on its own, or squeeze it to the end of the day at Timberline Bike Park.

A typical T2T adventure begins in Rhododendron, where the Mt. Hood Express shuttle, with bike trailer in tow, picks up passengers. A whopping $2 gets you a ride up to Timberline Lodge, where the journey starts. That price lands you a one-way trip, but if you think you can squeeze in multiple T2T laps, $5 gets you shuttle access for the whole day.

File photo: Big Mountain Enduro

Big Sky, Montana

The Skyline Bus runs from the small town of Big Sky, Montana, up to the Big Sky Bike Park during the summer months. The shuttle carries 17 bikes and, for the summer months, is absolutely free, taking riders to the base of Big Sky to ride the Mountain to Meadow trail. 

From the base of the park, the Mountain to Meadow Climb ascends nearly 500 feet in a mile and a half. After the initial climb, the Mountain to Meadow trail descends over 1,500 feet back down. The intermediate trail runs four and a half miles long, with optional black and double-black features near the end. A connector road drops another 200 feet before returning to the town of Big Sky.

Riders can add even more descending by connecting Mountain to Meadow with one of the bike park trails, something locals commonly do at the end of the day.

File photo: Matt Miller

Crested Butte, Colorado

A free shuttle in Crested Butte will gain you roughly 500 feet of free elevation on your way to the Upper Loop trail. The Mountain Express bus is free and has multiple stops to board in Crested Butte. From there, it is a quick trip up to the Wood Creek stop and Hunter Hill Road. A short ride down the road will connect you to the black-rated Upper Loop trail. 

After a quick climb, Upper Loop drops nearly 400 feet in roughly one mile. Typically, riders cut off at Tony’s trail, near the end of Upper Loop, to pedal back to town. Those wanting a bigger adventure can pedal on to Bridges and then Upper Upper.

File photo: Jeff Barber

Telluride, Colorado

If you thought a free shuttle bus was awesome, how about a free gondola ride?! The Telluride Gondola is free to use and climbs to an elevation of over 10,000 feet. That said, we will note that the Telluride Bike Park closed its summer operations due to a ski patrol strike. But the Gondola still provides access to many of the area’s high-altitude XC trails.

Surely there are more, so which ones did we miss? Let us know, and we’ll continue to update you on free/cheap shuttles!