The South Mountain Preserve, managed by the Wildlands Conservancy, has more than 400 acres of forested hillside between Emmaus and Allentown. The 13-plus miles of multi-use trails are generally steep and rocky with some stream crossings. It’s primarily strong intermediate to advanced terrain that requires strong legs, a good heart, and some tech skills (or a willingness to embrace frequent hike-a-bikes if you don’t).

Once you make the big push to the top of South Mountain the terrain offers more variety: flowing singletrack through ferns, fast descents, techy puzzles and one of the Lehigh Valley’s newest trails, the green/blue-rated Blood Route, which was completed in 2025 by volunteers from Willands ConThis network of multi-use trails was designed, constructed and is maintained by the Valley Mountain Bikers.

The trail layout gives you a ton of options–most trails ride equally well either direction, though you have to like the taste of bile in your mouth you’re going to climb upper Trout Run. But the descents… SME as we call it has some of the longest sustained descents in the area, close to 10 minutes for those sitting atop Strava leaderboards, nearly twice that for the rest of us.