Local Rides and Clubs
Find Local Rides with Happy Valley Ride with GPS
Open Now! CentreBike is pleased to announce our Happy Valley Rides site. Thanks to a grant from the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and Centre County, we’re happy to offer a number of rides (Over 150!!) that will help you explore “Happy Valley” and more. Whether you ride a road, mountain, gravel, commuter or touring bike, we have a ride for you, many provided by our local clubs. Several rides start at Beaver Stadium on Penn State’s campus, and you can use the free RideWithGPS (RWGPS) app on your Android or IOS phone for turn-by-turn directions and offline maps.
Ride with Local Bike Clubs
There are a multitude of fairly regular rides in the area of which you can take advantage. Note that that meeting times, days of the week, and paces are subject to change! Visit group websites for details about their clubs, how they ride and what to expect. We suggest you follow them on social or sign up to receive their emails to keep up on ride details and cancellations. We'll do our best to include their ride schedule on our calendar, as well.
Tuesdays
ROTHROCK REGULATORS
For beginners to seasoned MTB riders. Follow on social for weekly start locations.
Tuesdays
STATE COLLEGE CYCLING
Road rides grouped by level welcoming beginner to seasoned cyclists.
Wednesdays
HAPPY VALLEY WOMEN'S CYCLING
Beginner friendly gravel and MTB ladies rides June through August.
Thursdays
NITTANY MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSN
MTB Rides in Rothrock State Forest. Follow on social for weekly updates.
Thursdays
PENNS VALLEY PEDALS & PINTS
17-22 mile group road rides starting/ending in Millheim followed by beer and food truck.
Harvest Fields Community Trails
Skills Park
NMBA opened Central PA's first public skills park in October 2022. The park is designed to help cyclists of all levels build skills and confidence, offering instruction, progressive challenges, and a stepping stone to more technical trails—all while fostering community and inclusive outdoor recreation.
Community Trails
A unique-to-the-region mountain biking experience. HFCT is the first complete system of “flow” trails in the Centre Region and is accessible to beginners while being fun for all riders. Harvest Fields has become a destination for families and beginners to develop mountain biking skills while providing new experiences for more experienced riders.
Tips for Riding in Centre County
If you like to ride a bicycle, Centre County is an outstanding place to live and/or visit. Whether it’s rolling backcountry roads, steep mountain climbs, technical single-track, or in-town bicycle paths that you seek, the greater State College area delivers. While the information contained in these routes should ensure a successful ride, some prior familiarity with the Centre County area roads and trails will definitely help. You may wish to pick up the excellent Purple Lizard maps. An great and free map of the area can also be obtained from the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau. Finally, if you are lucky, you might be able to scare up a copy of Bike Rides From Beaver Stadium or Mountain Bike Madness in Central Pennsylvania, two excellent (but currently out of print) books by Scott Adams (no, not the Dilbert Guy). Some of the Bike Rides from Beaver Stadium are available on our Happy Valley Ride with GPS site.
A few words of wisdom about road riding in the Centre County area:
- While most of the roads in the area are well paved, some lack an adequate shoulder. Please exercise caution on these stretches!
- Be advised that some automobile traffic often travels faster than the posted speed limit. In our Happy Valley Ride with GPS maps, particularly tricky sections have been marked. Note, however, that your tolerance, or lack thereof, of traffic may differ from the author’s.
- This is rural Pennsylvania. You will run into the occasional and most likely unleashed dog which will invariably give pursuit. Generally, a stern (and loud!) ‘NO’ or ‘STOP’ will do the trick. If not, a squirt of water between the eyes (the dog’s, not yours) is an excellent plan B. Those of you with poor aim and requiring a plan C should work on your sprinting.
- Note that State College has a short, but very definite ‘rush hour’ in the evening. Roads that see, on average, light traffic may be heavily used from 4-6pm. These include, but are not limited to, Whitehall Road, Fox Hollow Road, etc.
- Many rides take you far, far away from civilization. Mechanical trouble at the apogee of your ride would be a serious drag. Please consider carrying, at the bare minimum, a patch kit, tire lever, spare tube, and pump. You may also wish to carry an adjustable wrench, a few allen keys, and a chain tool. While on the topic of what to carry, be sure to carry adequate water and food. Food stops are noted in our Ride with GPS maps and in the cue sheets, but an extra banana or bagel never hurt anyone.
- Wave and say hello to the folks that you pass in the countryside. They are the ones who drive (and therefore pass cyclists) on the backroads. A little courtesy will hopefully be returned in kind.
- Always, always, always wave with all five fingers. You are an ambassador for the rest of us. Angry words and gestures only serve to make people more irate, and they’ll take it out on the next cyclist.