Back 40 MX

Back 40 MX in Norridgewock, Maine, formerly Valley Motorsports Park, calls itself "the fastest and friendliest track in Maine." That is a marketing claim, but the property's actual layout backs up the fast part, and the operating culture supports the friendly part. Both are unusual enough in the same property that the combination is worth noting. The track is a 1-mile natural-terrain motocross loop with 300 to 400 feet of elevation. Those elevation numbers do real work. Most regional motocross tracks offer modest grade changes that produce shallow rolls and tabletops. 300-plus feet of vertical means the layout has genuine downhill straights, real climbing sections, and the kind of natural-terrain variety that flatter Midwest and Northeast tracks cannot deliver. The Maine hill country in central Somerset County provides the terrain, and the Back 40 layout uses it rather than fighting it. The fast claim comes from the layout's length and terrain. A 1-mile loop with substantial elevation produces lap times and pace demands above the regional average. The friendliness claim comes from the operating culture. The property hosts Moto-X schools and a weekly championship race series, and the community programming reflects a family-focused operating model that distinguishes Back 40 from properties that lean toward pure pro-am racing. The Moto-X schools serve riders learning the craft. Schools are different from open practice. They include structured instruction, drills, and the kind of coaching feedback that most regional facilities do not provide. A property that runs schools on its own dirt is signaling commitment to rider development beyond the casual practice stop, and Back 40's school programming pulls visiting families from across northern New England. The weekly championship race series gives serious local racers a consistent competitive calendar. Weekly racing builds rider-track relationships across full seasons and produces the kind of multi-generational community that defines the best regional facilities. The schedule runs Tuesday and Thursday practice from noon to dusk. The midweek window suits working riders. Pricing is $10 adults, $5 kids 10 and under, free under 3, with a $20 practice donation structure. The pricing transparency and the family-friendly rate structure reflect the broader operating culture. The Norridgewock location is in Somerset County in central Maine, about 90 minutes north of Portland and an hour west of Bangor. The position pulls riders from across central and southern Maine. (207) 431-6373 for the current schedule. Two Maine facilities have made it into this directory's broader coverage: Hemond's MX with its 660-acre scale, and Back 40 with its 1-mile elevation-heavy layout. Together they cover most of central Maine's serious motocross access.