buellski
New member
We just got back from some time in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and it is a mountain bike and craft brew mecca! On our first full day, we hit up Kolo Bike Park in Asheville. This is basically a bike park within the city limits and has some short, but fun single track, a top notch pump track, and some fun jump lines. We had some newbie riders with us so we felt this was a good place to get started. The pump track and jump lines are worth the price of admission. After spending a couple of hours there, we headed over to Wicked Weed Brewing for lunch. This was my favorite brewery of the trip and their Pernicious IPA was my favorite brew. Other breweries in the area we visited included Asheville Brewing, Brevard Brewing Company, Oskar Blues, and New Belgium.
Our next ride was in Dupont State Recreational Forest. This forest is over 10K acres with over a hundred miles of trails, most of which are open to mountain bikers. The trails we rode were amazing, but the ones we were on tended to be quite sanitized. After talking to some locals, we discovered much of this is due to the fact that the trails are open to all users including equestrians and hikers. Anyway, we had some good, sustained climbs and awesome downhills.
Of the trails we rode, our favorites were Jim Branch and Ridgeline. We barely scratched the surface of Dupont. This is a great place to go if you have non-riders as there is some great hiking as well. While my son and I rode, others hiked to see some of the many waterfalls in the forest. Dupont is near Brevard, NC which is also the gateway to Pisgah National Forest. Pisgah has a much more techy reputation, but we never made it there. One of many reasons why I want to go back.
Our final day of riding was spent at Bailey Mountain Bike Park. This is a new, mountain bike only park that will eventually have a dedicated lift as well as trail-side lodging. For now, though, it's only some amazing DH and jump trails, e-z ups for a base lodge, and an old army truck for a lift.
The trails here have a sustained pitch that I haven't encountered at Highland or Burke. From top to bottom, it's go, go, go, with very few places to rest. It was a lot of fun and definitely worth checking out if you are in the area. If you like beer and biking, WNC needs to be on your bucket list!
Our next ride was in Dupont State Recreational Forest. This forest is over 10K acres with over a hundred miles of trails, most of which are open to mountain bikers. The trails we rode were amazing, but the ones we were on tended to be quite sanitized. After talking to some locals, we discovered much of this is due to the fact that the trails are open to all users including equestrians and hikers. Anyway, we had some good, sustained climbs and awesome downhills.
Of the trails we rode, our favorites were Jim Branch and Ridgeline. We barely scratched the surface of Dupont. This is a great place to go if you have non-riders as there is some great hiking as well. While my son and I rode, others hiked to see some of the many waterfalls in the forest. Dupont is near Brevard, NC which is also the gateway to Pisgah National Forest. Pisgah has a much more techy reputation, but we never made it there. One of many reasons why I want to go back.
Our final day of riding was spent at Bailey Mountain Bike Park. This is a new, mountain bike only park that will eventually have a dedicated lift as well as trail-side lodging. For now, though, it's only some amazing DH and jump trails, e-z ups for a base lodge, and an old army truck for a lift.
The trails here have a sustained pitch that I haven't encountered at Highland or Burke. From top to bottom, it's go, go, go, with very few places to rest. It was a lot of fun and definitely worth checking out if you are in the area. If you like beer and biking, WNC needs to be on your bucket list!
