Review Date
January 4, 2008

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: Slyp Dawg ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
nice, flowing singletrack, usually very smooth but if you look you can find some bumpy stuff also. quite a few steep slopes to test descents on, or if you are the mild hucker type to get some air off of. quite a few log crossings (I have noticed a log triangle pile that would make a good ramp for a bmx or slopestyle bike to get a few feet of air off of, if anyone is interested), a creek crossing or two, and a LOT of areas where the trees come within inches of the handlebars! not a particularly grueling ride by any stretch of the imagination, but there is enough technical stuff to keep you on your toes, lest you end up in the trees, which is not conducive to your brake line fittings staying in 1, unbroken piece, or dense underbrush, which will slow you down so unbelievably fast. the last time I was there, there was only one fallen tree blocking the trail, and that was near the picknick shelters near the 2nd parkinglot on the left, and only blocked the trail section from coming into the tarmac. given some time, a chainsaw, and a few willing workers, that could be cleared in about an hour. there are some sections of the trail that are not conducive to running a bar width much over 26 inches, due to the trees being so close together. also, on the part of the perimiter trail that runs near the fence, be careful when you get to the section that is lined by dense brush on one side and the fence itself on the other. hitting that section at full clip in the big ring is not behavior conducive to staying upright on your bike. the fence will grab your grips, and the brush on the other side of the trail probably won't feel too good to land in either

Recommended Route:
run the perimiter trail starting at the 1st parking lot, then go onto the paved routes to find some other trails that may not be accessable by the perimiter trail. all in all it's a fun ride, great for honing your technical riding skills, testing the cornering grip of your tires, and just riding.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
the James River loop of trails (buttermilk, northbank, bell isle, stuff in that area)

Review Date
May 15, 2005

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 2 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: leiden ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
This is basically a small suburban park serving the surrounding neighborhoods. It's great as an everyday workout trail for me because I ride there from my house in about 10 minutes. The trail's are generally flat and twisty with a few reasonable log crossings. I agree with previous reviewers that if you have to drive anyway, go to Pocohantas, Poor Farm or the Buttermilk. The trails were cut by locals and many thanks to them for a great daily workout trail.

Recommended Route:
There's a perimeter trail, which is about 3.5 miles total. A good place to start is across the main access road from the first parking lot. There is a trailhead with a sign warning not to disturb the trails. Kinda keep to the left at the trail forks for the perimeter trail.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Pocohantas, Poor Farm, Buttermilk

Review Date
March 23, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: mtnbikedr ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Trails are mostly clean, fast, singletrack on inclines and declines (it is not flat, but no difficult climbs or hucking either). Some fun whoop-de-doos between the paved paths and near the swamp. You can ride or walk across a few creeks but the swamp area may be better ridden come July. The log crossings are mostly small and/or ramped.
Also, the only modification you make to the trail should be squashing dead leaves under your rolling tires - there are signs posted, "Any person who damages or disturbs any part of this park to build a bike trail or for any other reason is subject to criminal conviction and $100 fine."

Recommended Route:
Park the autobeast in the first lot you come to on the right. Ride back toward the entrance and find the trail leading uphill. Follow it around the perimeter as much as possible. You may come out to the paved path a couple times - open your eyes and explore and get back to the trail - you are mountain biking! I have been here only 3 times - at lunch, 1/2 hour each - and have mapped a circuit of about 10 km without the need to doubleback and less than 50 meters of pavement, but am still working on it. There are more trails I have not explored yet but look forrward to the fun. I'd rate it a 4, but will make it a 5 to help average out the reviewers who cannot see 5 feet past their wheel.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Poor Farm, Pow Hite, Pocahontas

Review Date
September 26, 2004

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 2 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: Butch ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
After reading the other reviews for these trails, I tend to agree. The park has a lot of singletrack trails, mostly for beginner to intermediate riders, but lacks that little extra TLC. If the trails had markers to direct riders where to go, along with a few more technical re-routes and log bumps, these trails would be one of the premier MTB spots in the area. Fortunately, I rode this trail immediately after a race (I'm guessing because of the markers along the route), which made for a great run with plenty of speed and good amount of action. Hopefully those that maintain these trails follow that idea to make Deep Run something special

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Poor Farm

Review Date
April 18, 2004

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 1 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 1 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 4 votes

Reviewed by: reh ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Snarl of short go nowhere do nothing trails. I have ridden this trail system once. It seems to me to be best for small children and old people. There is a network of asphalt trails and a bunch of short singletracks, the purpose of which, as best as I could ascertain, seemed to mainly be to provide access to the park to the surrounding neighborhoods. Maybe I missed the trails, but looked pretty hard.

Recommended Route:
none

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Poor farm, buttermilk, belle isle, pocahontas