Monster Mountain MX Park

Monster Mountain MX Park in Tallassee, Alabama is one of the most respected motocross facilities in the Southeast, built by AMA Hall of Fame rider and three-time AMA 125cc National Champion Mark Barnett. The 1.35-mile main track with its signature Stairway to Heaven jump carries more than 80 feet of elevation change, rare in this part of the country, and it is the feature that shows up in every photo of the place. Motocross Action Magazine put it on a 2014 cover and called it one of its new favorite tracks in the world, Yamaha picked it for the YZ250F media launch, and riders from across the US, Canada and South America keep calling it motocross heaven.

Seven tracks and trails run across the property: the main motocross track, a supercross track with rhythm sections and SX obstacles, a sand GP track, a mini bike track for the 50 to 85cc crowd, a pit bike track, a vintage GP course for pre-1985 bikes and 5.5 miles of GNCC-style trails. A household with riders at every level can ride different disciplines at the same time without fighting for track time.

It is a destination, not a day trip. The campground has 30 and 50 amp RV hookups with power and water, booked online, plus men's and women's shower houses, nice bathrooms, playgrounds for the kids, full concessions and a riders lounge with a big-screen TV to cool off between motos. Race weekends run Thursday or Friday arrival, Friday practice and a two-moto Saturday-Sunday format with site laps at 8 AM and the riders meeting on the PA and 88.9 FM, with gate wristbands around $30 for early arrival, $25 Saturday and $15 Sunday, $20 primitive camping, $15 pit vehicle passes and MyLaps transponders required. The fall calendar stacks the youth-only Mini Monsters Championship, the Sweet Home Alabama MX Series, the Yamaha Blu Cru Invitational and the AMA Alabama State Championship.

The Monster Mountain MX Training Academy makes it a school as much as a track. Head coach Kendall Mason raced professional motocross and supercross from 2010 to 2014 and trained under Matt Walker and Kenny Bartram, Nick Inman brings six years as a pro in the US and Canada, and Kurt Shroyer, a 250 A racer and Marine, handles rider development, with group sessions Monday through Thursday, private lessons and weekend MX camps booked through the Monster Mountain app. Ride days are posted on Facebook and Instagram, and the tracks stay closed when they are too wet. The park sits east of Montgomery near Lake Martin: Montgomery is 30 minutes, Auburn 40, Birmingham 90 and Atlanta about two and a half hours.