Unadilla MX

Unadilla MX in New Berlin, New York, known to everyone in the sport simply as "Dilla", is one of the most legendary motocross venues in the world and a non-negotiable bucket-list ride for every serious American motocross racer. Founded on a former dairy farm in 1969 and still family-owned and operated by the Robinson family (founder Ward Robinson, now second-generation Greg and Jill Robinson), the 55-acre venue in upstate New York's rolling Chenango County farmland has earned its reputation as the "Capital of American Motocross." Unadilla is among the oldest continuously operating professional motocross tracks in the country and one of a handful of U.S. facilities to host both AMA Pro Motocross and FIM World Championship racing. The name itself is an Iroquois word meaning "place of meeting," which is exactly what Dilla has been for racers for more than five decades.

The track's racing pedigree is rare. Unadilla hosted the Trans-AMA series from 1970 through 1978 and the 250cc USGP from 1978 to 1992, drawing the European factory teams to American soil for the kind of international racing that built the modern American motocross scene. In 1987 it became the first track in the United States to host the prestigious Motocross des Nations, and that race remains one of the most famous MXdN events ever, where Team USA's Bob Hannah, Rick Johnson, and Jeff Ward beat the world in front of a packed Chenango County crowd. The property continues to host the AMA Pro Motocross Championship every August, and the late-summer round consistently produces the kind of dramatic racing the venue has delivered for generations.

The natural terrain layout is what makes Unadilla special. This is a European-style, natural-terrain track that uses the rolling hills and valleys of upstate New York for massive elevation changes and high-speed sections, with nothing manufactured about it. The Gravity Cavity is a huge natural dip and climb where spectators pack the hillside into a natural amphitheater. The Skyshot is the legendary launch where riders fly over 150 feet in length and 30 feet into the air. The Wall is a steep vertical obstacle that tests momentum and technical skill. The dirt is loamy New York topsoil that gets sticky in the rain and hard-packs when the sun is out, and the track grows ruts the deeper into the day you ride. The hill straight off the start gate is steeper than it looks on TV, and the rhythm sections will humble you.

Unadilla offers extensive on-site camping with RV hookups, full concessions, and real restrooms with showers, basically the full Pro National experience even on regular practice days. The amateur and practice track lets you ride the same Pro layout most weekends throughout the season, which is rare among Pro National venues that lock the main track between events. The calendar runs deep beyond the National too: amateur racing, regional series, and the MX Rewind Vintage MX Weekend, the largest vintage motocross event of its kind in the U.S., where the pro track is rewound to be vintage-friendly for a full weekend of old-school racing.

Located in central New York between Binghamton and Utica off State Highway 8, Unadilla is easy day-trip access from New York City (3.5 hours south), Albany (2 hours east), Boston (4.5 hours east), or anywhere in the Northeast. The Pro National weekend specifically pulls riders from the entire eastern U.S. and Eastern Canada.

For anyone searching for motocross tracks in New York, MX tracks in the Northeast, or the historic venue that anchored American motocross's coming-of-age in the 1970s, Unadilla MX is the answer with the longest pedigree. If you only ride one Pro National track in your life, make it Unadilla. This is American motocross history.

Event weekends from May through August come with real infrastructure: on-site showers (including a handicap unit), flush toilets at both the front and back of the property, water for barrel and holding-tank fills, food vendors that start with breakfast, and Pro Track bleacher seating in several spots to lift the sightlines. Announcements broadcast on 90.5 FM so you never miss a gate call from the pits.