Review Date
November 23, 2006

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 2 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: jason tattersall ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
i cant believe people even waste their time with this crap. great, part of the trail is ok single track, but gimme a break. what are you going to push a 45lbs downhill bike for an hour and a half for a 15 minute downhiil you have to get off and walk on a hardtail. i asked people what they thought and they liked it. we looked on the internet and it had good ratings. THEY NEED TO CHANGE! we rode the whole thing up to pilot rock, which i think they should change to pile of rock. you will destroy your derailer or wheels for a junk ride. turn around at the pilot rock turn unless you have pads and a downhill bike which you probley wont get there unless you push the hills. which we rode,the whole thing, but come on. i get a better work out throughing the ball for my dog. ya, i did it once, but never again. i ride 100 milers all the time. you people need to wake up and go ride more single track before you even coment on junk like this. the road riding around this area is far superb.

Recommended Route:
go to sun valley if you want to talk about single track. otherwise turn the mt.bike nc book into the library.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
the road

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Review Date
November 15, 2006

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: oldn0tded ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
We found this ride on the Mtbikewnc.com website. It's listed as one of the Best Rides. Supposedly the rides are listed in the order of difficulty and this is one notch down from the Black Mountain ride. This is truly a gut-buster. It starts from a parking area off of FR 1206 and goes uphill for 6.9 miles and 2000 ft. The climb varies but is almost completely on the side of a hill. Sometimes the trail is just a ledge and sometimes there is plenty of room. Sometimes the rocks and technical areas make it hike-a-bike, and sometimes the trail is just breathtaking. The rhododendron tunnels are something to behold. The trail gets very steep in some sections and there were times I wish my bike had come with backpack straps instead of pedals.

After the nearly 7 miles of climbing comes the reward. The downhill is fast and technical. There are several switchbacks which we lost count of early. Some are very tight, but ridable. There are a few that are very tight and have rocks the size of tennis balls all over them making riding them a real test of your committment and skill. There are some rocky sections on the downhill that made us dismount and carry, but I'm sure someone out there could ride most it, well the downhill part anyway.

At the end of the downhill is a 4+ mile ride back to the parking area off of FR 1206. The last mile or so is a pretty good aerobic workout. Overall, it's a great ride, providing you're ok with the hike-a-biking involved. Oh yeah, we screwed up by not taking a camera......I guess we'll have to go back and do it again. Probably have to keep doin' it till we get it right.

Recommended Route:
We rode the ride as described in the website. The Laurel Mountain trail starts off of FR 1206 at Yellow gap. Go 6.9 miles on the LM trail and pick up the Laurel Mountain Connector Trail. You will pick up the Pilot Rock trail at the top of the mountain and start the 2+ mile downhill part of the ride. At the end of Pilot Rock trail, cross a log bridge and then left on FR 1206 back to the parking area.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Picklesimer Fields, Dupont State Forest

Review Date
June 13, 2005

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: garyrainwater ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
a must ride for the area. definitely alot of technical areas. steep rocky climbs. numerous rocky climbing turns on the descent. do this one in the morning and then find another trail to finish the day off in the afternoon.

Recommended Route:
be sure to ride the steep section while going downhill. would be very difficult to ride uphill. was able to clean all but a couple of areas going down. Go through the gate where the road is closed and get on the trailhead about 1/4 mile. At the end of the trail be ready for a long climb back to the parking lot after riding the dirt road downhill for a while.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
slick rock

Review Date
June 13, 2005

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: garyrainwater ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
a must ride for the area. definitely alot of technical areas. steep rocky climbs. numerous rocky climbing turns on the descent. do this one in the morning and then find another trail to finish the day off in the afternoon.

Recommended Route:
be sure to ride the steep section while going downhill. would be very difficult to ride uphill. was able to clean all but a couple of areas going down.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
slick rock

Review Date
January 11, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once