Day 2 of my trip to North Bay, ON. So, on day 1: I explored Three Towers MTB Trails and Duchesnay Falls, and Waterfront Park. Now on day 2: Northshore MTB Trails and Laurentian MTB Trails and a visit to a local bike shop (Wheelhouse) owned and operated by Steph.
My 1st stop of the day after breakfast was to a local bike shop in downtown North Bay. Wheelhouse owner Steph was a very interesting guy to talk with. We chatted for about an hour. Steph has a great deal of bike repair knowledge and experience! If you find a need for a bike mechanic or parts Wheelhouse is the place to go! (No, I was not paid to advertise for Wheelhouse. I have not received any incentive to do so except the friendly and courteous and knowledgeable customer service I received when in the store.) We discussed many types of bikes and components and even trails. He told me about Laurentian MTB trails which I had not found on trail forks. He said it was close by so I should try that 1st. Then I mentioned Northshore MTB Trails and he gave me a description of where that trail head is located. I followed the Trail forks address and it kept leading me to a private home address, so I called Steph for clarification then went exploring for this trail head. While searching I met (by chance) Travis the VP of the NBMBA. As you can imagine, he was a fountain of information on the trails in North Bay! I am so glad I met him and he had a few minutes to spare to talk with me or I may never have found the entrance to the Northshore MTB Trail head. It is not very visible from the road as you can see from the pics below. Just past civic#1469 on the left side of the road is this trail head. DO Not go to the address on trail forks! It is someone's house! Not the trail head.
If my van wasn't parked in the only parking spot at the trail head you would drive right by this and never see it. There is no civic# sign either. Directly across the road is roadside/cliffside parking that is a bit dangerous when you witness the speed people are driving past on this paved road. Pic below: (note you park where all those leaves are.It is just wide enough for your car not to be sideswiped if the door is closed, beware if it is open!)
Below is what the trail head looks like from the road as you drive by on Northshore Rd.
Below are pics of the signage at trail head for Northshore MTB Trails, North Bay, ON, Canada.
Impossible to see these wooden signs from the road. Maybe they do not want visitors? If they do, they need to up their game with signs visible from the road.
Lovely trails when you get riding! A bit of a challenge right from the start though. This didn't bother me because they are very similar to what I am used to at Glebe and The West Side in Haliburton.
I do like the wood signs in the forest. I think they are appropriate but maybe the signs should have the wording in a bright colour? If you are riding along and do not want to stop it is hard to read the sign as you pass it.Also love the little board bridges over wet spots; those were fun.
I did not get very far into these trails because I spent so much time searching for them! It was 2pm by the time I found them. So I rode for about a half hour before I had to get back on the road to drive home. I needed to stop in Huntsville before dark to take pics of the newly built new entrance from Deerhurst Resort to the MTB trails there. I really look forward to returning to North Bay to ride the Northshore trails in the very near future! Northshore Extreme! LOL. Not quite the same as North Shore Vancouver but still loads of fun!
Looking forward to returning in the Winter months to explore the fat biking trails! Also noted: you will drive past the Nordic Ski Centre several k.m.s before you arrive at the Northshore MTB trailhead. It is worth taking a look at too! I did! I will defo be back!
Below are pics taken at the Laurentian Trails (These are not leaf blown! I did not ride anything but the green trail since I could not see what dangers lurk beneath the leaves. Will return in summer months sometime and ride the blue singletrack trails there.) Google maps leads you to a school parking lot (this is actually correct. Not a mistake.) Park closest to the road to give respectful distance to school traffic. After unloading my bike I walked it over to this sign. Thought it looked pretty straight forward but it wasn't. 
Unless you are a local you won't know where the trails start. Too many distractions. The alpine ski hill is right there so it looked like trails must start there and my assumption was made because of this sign below.
After looking around and down the ski hill to see where shredding begins..I found nothing and realized that the Shred sign might be for snow season. So fortunately there were a few elderly local fellas out for a stroll nearby so I asked. 
They then clarified where the walking/bike trails begin. honestly there should be a big arrow that says 'Trails this way' but there isn't. So the best I can advise is for you to look in the pic below for my bike leaning against the gate for ski hill and ride your bike past that to the small sign in the background. That is where the trails begin and end (They loop back).
Through the gate is the alpine ski hill with the lovely city views down the steep hill. But you will not find MTB trails there. On the left, opposite my bike is a great big building that is the ski lodge. I didn't see any point in taking the picture of the building but it is good to know it is there when trying to locate these trails.
This concludes my 24 hour impromtu trip to North Bay MTB trails! Be sure to follow smalltownnatural on facebook or instagram for photos not seen in these blogs. Too many pics to share all at once!