Mountain Biking Torrance Barrens in Muskoka

My first real taste of mountain biking was when my friend Greg and I rented bikes in Saint Arnaud, New Zealand, rode along switchbacks on the side of a mountain, and broke our chains riding through rocky creeks (or maybe that was just me). Even though my ride ended earlier than I expected, we were both hooked. How could we not be? Mountain Biking is basically an advanced form of hiking. On a bike you can cover more terrain than walking, generate a solid cardio workout, and experience landscapes in a completely different way. So, a few months after we returned from New Zealand, we both bought bikes (Trek Marlin 5s), which started our quest to find the best biking trails in Ontario, Canada. And, if any place in Ontario was going to have good biking trails, it was going to be Muskoka.

Now, I don't think either of us were expecting to find any trails around Ontario that emulated the feeling of riding through New Zealand's mountains, fields and creeks, so, when Greg invited me to ride at the Torrance Barrens Conservation Reserve in Muskoka, Canada, I wasn't anticipating much. I don't want to discredit Ontario at all here, because the Muskoka region is one of the most beautiful areas in Canada, as it's landscape is covered with hundreds of small, clean lakes, large pine trees and Canadian shield granite cliffs. What we found, though, was not only a trail that was as visually satisfying as the trail we rode in New Zealand, but also, dare I say it, better.

The Torrance Barrens Conservation Reserve is located on Southwood Road in Gravenhurst, Ontario. The road seems to run straight through a forest for miles before, essentially out of nowhere, a wooden sign for Torrance Barrens pops up. There's a very small parking lot adjacent to the sign. The trail head is located at the end of the parking lot.

Trail Forks has a good trail guide on their website of the Torrance Barrens loop. 

Once you roll down the trail from the parking lot for about a minute, you'll run into a lake, which is surrounded by reeds, granite hills and tall trees. At this point you'll naturally stop, pull out your iPhone and start snapping pictures. Once you've completed that, the actual mountain biking trail through the Muskoka terrain starts just to the right, and that's where the real fun begins.

As soon as Greg and I started riding down the trail, we were met with wooden bridges, long rides along the top of granite hills overlooking the lake, and small drops off of rock cliffs. The trail continued on like this for the next hour and a half, however the lakes started to grow more wild and reed-covered, the granite hills and rocks became more prominent, and we even detoured through the forest a couple of times. There were a few puddles along the way as well, so expect to get slightly wet.

Since the majority of the trail runs along granite rock, white spray paint markings on the ground guide you through the trail, making it super easy not to get lost. At one point along the way, you do reach the roadway. You may be confused at this point and feel that you need to ride down the road back to the parking lot. Just know that, if you cross the street, the trail continues for another 10 minutes or so and eventually brings you back to the lot.

So, if you're into mountain biking and want to experience a trail that is both challenging and visually stunning, Torrance Barrens could be for you. If you hate mountain biking and this article seemed like a complete waste of time for you, be advised that Torrance Barrens is also a designated Dark-Sky Preserve, meaning it's one of the best places near Toronto to see the stars, so it's still a cool place to check out regardless. Either way, hop off your dock the next time you're in Muskoka, trek out to Torrance Barrens, and experience the epic biking yourself.