Mountain Bike Tours

For information, availability and/or to make reservations please call 254.897.2960.

Where in the world can you ride your mountain bike to within 5 feet of a 2,000 lb. black rhino, have your picture taken with a wolf hiding in the bushes and see your kids stalked by cheetahs, safely?

Fossil Rim's Ride the Rim Mountain Bike Tours, that's where. Plus, what a great way to get in shape, get out of the city, and get close to your family and friends. It's a blast and everyone should do it. And everyone CAN do it.

There are several tour options for whatever your skill level. No matter what tour you come on, you'll be able to ride your bike into the Intensive Management Area (IMA)and see all the animals and learn about them from knowledgeable guides who have been riding here for years.

We've been guiding these tours through our IMA since 1994 and have had over 1,000 people get up close and personal with cheetahs, rhinos and wolves. Our guests have learned about these species and the conservation work that Fossil Rim does to preserve them. Have you joined us yet?

Price: $35 per person per person

 

Tour Options

Family Tour

OK gang, this is for that leisurely tour with the kids. Or, that leisurely tour without the kids. We'll take you to the rhinos, cheetahs, and wolves without making you work too hard along the way. Start out with a little pavement (there is one big hill, but it's early in the tour and you can do it). Then we'll turn off the road and pedal through a nice grassy pasture for about 2 miles until we come to Hamstring Hill. Don't be frightened by this, we're already at the top. We'll leave our bikes here and walk down into the valley to see all the animals. After about an hour in the animal area, we'll hike back out and ride our bikes back to the cars. This tour is perfect for children 6 years and older, or for the younger kids who are in trailers or bike seats. Plus, it's a great tour for you if you enjoy the outdoors and animals, but aren't a really experienced off road bicyclist. And, you can join us with a true mountain bike, or a hybrid, since there isn't any technical rocky stuff. Wear your helmet and get ready to see some of the most beautiful country in Texas.

Moonlight Tour

You'll be blown away by riding at night and seeing animals in the twilight. We'll begin this tour early enough to enjoy a sunset from the top of Hamstring Hill. From here we'll hike into the Intensive Management Area to see the animals just as darkness falls on Fossil Rim. After we've seen all the animals (and maybe even heard some howling by the wolves or the wild coyotes) we hike back up Hamstring Hill and ride our bikes – under the moonlight – back to our cars. This tour is also perfect for everybody. Kids, older folks, Hammerdogs and novices will all love this ride.

Beginner's Tour

Despite the name, we've found that this still isn't exactly easy. Yes, you'll ride some pavement, and yes, you'll ride through some grassy pastures. But you'll also get to experience some rocky singletrack that will keep you on your toes. This tour requires a true mountain bike (one with shocks is even better). If you've ever ridden Dinosaur Valley State Park, Cleburne State Park, virtually anywhere in Austin, or Johnson Branch Unit or Isle Du Bois, you'll have seen some of this terrain. If you like riding around White Rock Lake, you might prefer the Moonlight Tour or Family Tour.

Experienced Tour

We're still working on a good name for this tour. We used to have three skill levels: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. We eliminated our advanced tours because they weren't very popular. I think the people who want to ride hard, don't want to stop to look at animals and take rests. So, now we have Beginner and Intermediate. That doesn't really work because Intermediate sounds like it's in the middle of something, and it's not. So, with that all said here's what you have in store. On the Experienced Tour all 12 miles is off road. You'll start out with a nice grassy pasture, followed by a pretty intense rocky, ledgy downhill. Then wander through a creek bottom and climb out via Shelley's Demise. Pedal through some more pasture (or hammer through if you'd prefer) then hit pavement for about 100 feet. Back into the woods for The Grind – a nice, long, rocky, nasty, descent into the animal area. Ride around and look at (and talk about, and photograph) rhinos, cheetahs, and wolves for a bit, then climb Hamstring Hill (just for fun, cause we're just gonna turn around and come back down). Then we'll ride out on the Bridle Trail which regains our 300 feet of elevation in five small and somewhat painful climbs. Then we're back in the pastures to the descent of Shelley's Demise where we'll crank up our speed and get it to about 25 miles an hour to the base of The Switchback. This challenge hill will score you a Ride the Rim baseball cap if you can climb it without getting off your bike or putting a foot down. I know this might sound intense. It is.

Testimonials

There is plenty of expert-level gnarly stuff, in addition to wide open spaces, giving you a choice between a flower-smelling tour and a full-throttle hammer.
– Bike magazine, May 1996

We all survived! Had a great time, learned a lot and look forward to a return trip.
– S.H. 2001

Just wanted to let you know what a wonderful time we had on the mountain bike tour at Fossil Rim. Adam and the guides did a great job! The ride was well organized and accommodated riders of various levels, without the feeling of being rushed or holding others back. The information provided on the animals was most educational. I can hardly wait to tell my friends of the most enjoyable day.
– By e-mail March 2000

Just wanted to thank the crew for a super time this weekend on the Ride the Rim Tour!!! It was certainly an enjoyable and educational ride.
– T. & R. K. March 2000

I have ridden Fossil Rim and thoroughly recommend it. They look after you really well, listen to what you want and you get to see the animals which is great fun.
– S.B. as a recommendation to Adventureteam members

I might also add that I never imagined obtaining the scrapes and bruises that I did could be as much fun as it was I will highly recommend your center and tour program to friends and wish you a continued success with your program.
– S.W. Dallas

Sign Up

All you have to do now is sign up. You can do that in a couple of ways, call 254.897.2960 or e-mail RideTheRim@fossilrim.org to sign up or if you still have questions about the ride.