Review Date
February 21, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a year

Reviewed by: cmweldon ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
I think the rockiness of these purpose built trails is the great aspect of these. All too often you see mtb specfici trails that are just pure flow. Which, don't get me wrong, is nice but seems to take the 'mountain' out of mtbing. I like the fact you are riding through rock gardens, stairs and up and down mountains here. That is the beauty of Syllamo, that and there's lot of quality trails.

Go ride bad branch if rocks bother you, this system caters to those riders as well.

This is a great trail system, too bad that there aren't too many local riders to support a shop.

Review Date
January 2, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: yepitsme ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Niota, your hunch is wrong....the trail was built for biker and laid out by bikers. The Forest Service wouldn't have even had the idea for the trail if it wasn't for local bikers. Sorry you didn't like it, but your one of the few....

Review Date
December 30, 2007

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a year

Reviewed by: robriw3 ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Great effort by the Forest Service to provide a bike system in this area. Aweseome place as the trail base is mostly packed stone / rock which dries out quickly. Stop at the Forest Service visitor center before entering Mountain View for a free useful topographic color coded map of the trails.
The Good:
Green, Orange, Yellow, and some Red with awesome views, some quick sections, and rocky places to pick through inbetween - great flow. All trails well marked with signage. Lots of fun with challenge leaves you smiling.
The Bad:
Blue and a little Orange.
I don't mind hard, but this blue trail sucks. There is a great stairstep to decend, a couple fast sections, and a nice ridgetop ride, but overall it's just a loose rocky path better suited to hiking. It is rideable, but does not flow. 18 large downed tree crossings made for some hike a bike. The lack of fun sucks the life out of you.
More likely to see trucks with gun racks than cars with bike racks. I would wear something with hunters orange year round. Rocks can be slick when wet.
The Other:
Newbies can ride up Green Mountain Road which is a nicely graded gravel road. Blanchard Springs Caverns are a cool place to visit and explore and camp. You can stay and eat at Jack's Fishing Resort which is right at Green Mountain Road. Buffalo River nearby also for lazy canoeing and rocky scenery.

Recommended Route:
All but Blue (Scrappy Mountain Loop)

Review Date
October 28, 2007

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: NiotaMTB ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Rode about 30 miles of this trail this weekend - Jacks, White River Bluff and parts of Bald Scrappy and Scrappy Mountain. Never made it onto Bad Branch which is listed as a beginner level trail. Just a hunch - and someone please correct me if I am wrong - but it seems like these are hiking trails that somebody thought would bring in extra revenue for the area by allowing bikes as they just don't have the feel of true MTB trails. On a bike they are rather technical and physically demanding without a lot of reward for the hard work. Not to say that is a bad thing, but it just did not have much variety. We were there for two days on an absolutely beautiful fall weekend perfect for mountain biking and saw a total of two other people on bikes, and not one single car with bikes or even a rack. If you like technical riding this is a good place for you - lots of hike a bike and not much in the way of smooth fast singletrack. The trailheads are very nice with ample parking and pit toilets. Make sure you bring plenty of fluid, calories, tubes and tools with you - closest bike shop we could find was 50 miles away. A couple of very nice views - one on White River Bluff and the other on Jacks make for some great pic opps. Not recommended for beginners.
Cannot give a higher rating because of the lack of fun factor.

Recommended Route:
We went with suggested routes on the map from www.syllamo.com

Review Date
July 31, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: oo7above ,  Racer

Summary:
Scappy Mountain--12 miles which felt like 15-20... The Trail had it all and i would recommend anyone who wants a butt kicking to ride this trail! It was great... The only bad thing was ticks, 1 leach, and lots of spiders... The good thing--3 creek crossings to relax in! Bring plenty of fluid because this ride you will need it! 600+ foot vertical difference!!

White River Bluff--4.5 miles very pretty! This is a must ride trail if you want to enjoy the beauty of the Ozark Mountains/white river!

Next time i plan on riding the other 2-3 trails, i just ran out of time and days!... But i would recommend this to anyone, truely Epic!

Recommended Route:
We rode to the left on both trails..

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Lake Leatherwood.. Eureka Springs