Your source for Mountain Biking in the Triangle Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill	Our sponsors support this site, the mountain bike community at large, and you. Please support them.
Home General Trails Events Forums Passion Other Cycling

Lake Crabtree County Park

Current Trail Status

	Status	When Updated	Who Updated	More Info		Help keep this info accurate by clicking the red bicycle
	closed	03/12 7:55 am	hilltamer

Average ratings submitted by users                     Write a review   User submitted reviews

Category	Average Rating
Overall :	3.6 / 5.0   based on 34 votes
Technical :	1.7 / 5.0   based on 34 votes
Climbing :	1.4 / 5.0   based on 34 votes
Freeride :	2.1 / 5.0   based on 34 votes
Scenery/Wildlife :	2.9 / 5.0   based on 34 votes
Flow :	4.1 / 5.0   based on 23 votes

Description
Location: Just south of the RDU airport, off Aviation Parkway.
Miles: about 8
Skill Level: Beginner
Contact: Park office (919)460-3390 (call to see if trails are open)

Map
Park Hours and Fees
Directions
Rules of the Trail
Pump Track

Lake Crabtree County Park singletrack is by far the most popular place for beginner riders in the Triangle. Its central location is also great for relieving weekday stress if you work in RTP. The wooded trails connect to Umstead State Park and Cary's Black Creek Greenway.

Since it's so popular, plan on passing lots of other riders when the weather's good. Please be courteous and cautious with the riders you meet here. It is a great place to learn to ride and don't expect to come here and hammer people out of your way. Stopping to help out beginner riders does a world of good for our sport. There are six loops, some connectors, and the Lake Trail.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Crabtree trails are closed when they are muddy. Call ahead to see if they are open. Please respect the rules of the trail and don't ride on closed sections.

Directions
Go towards RDU airport on I-40 and exit onto Aviation Parkway going south. Crabtree County Park entrance is on the left. You may park in the first gravel parking lot or at the boat ramp parking area. One of the main trail entrances is across the road from the first gravel parking lot. Another great way to access the trail is via Connector C.

Park Hours
8:00am to sunset, seven days a week. The park is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

Rules of the Trail

1. All riders must wear a helmet.
2. Respect the rights of all other trail users and obey park rules and regulations. Bikers must always yield to walkers.
3. Plan Ahead.
4. Ride only on officially marked trails.
5. Keep your bike under control.
6. Do not disturb or alarm wildlife.
7. Pets must be kept on a leash at all times.
8. Leave no trace (don't litter).
9. Set a good example and report violators/hazards.
10. Allow time to finish outings before the park closes.
11. Park management has requested that group rides park at the boat ramp parking area. This leaves ample parking for the users of the open play lot.

Pump Track

Thanks to the wonderful staff of Lake Crabtree Park and volunteers, the first public pump track in the triangle area has been built. The pump track is located near the "old field rows" label on the map near the intersection of Connector A and Loop 1. A pump track is a series of rollers and berms. Its intended to teach one to learn how to pump their bike over ups and downs on a trail, which when mastered, a person will be able to accelerate their bike with out pedaling. The pump track is not really intended to be jumped, which defeats the purpose of the track. Rules/Guidelines The building of the pump track involved uncounted hours of planning, negotiations, and construction labor. Please follow these guidelines to help preserve the pump track in a good condition. no skidding no pedaling no braking helmets required lower your seat body position should be more upright as you approach the roller push down as you come over the roller easier on a hard tail but can also be done on a full suspension bike Note that if feels awkward at first. But once you get use to it, it's a lot of fun and a really good workout. Pedaling and braking destroys the rollers and berms. Especially when you "catch" a roller by pedaling over it.

This trail is not open for night riding except under organized night ride events coordinated with cycling clubs and park staff. Stay tuned to this site for upcoming night rides.

Rules, guidelines, and definitions for our TriangleMTB.com trail reviews

• The trail reviews should be reviews based on first hand knowledge. If you have never ridden the trail, then ride it before reviewing it.
• Obviously, the ratings and reviews should be just that, not big discussions, stuff for sale, or chit chat.
• Ratings should be made relative to the other trails in the greater triangle area of North Carolina (listed on our review page). For example, the "Technical" difficulty rating should be relative to the most technical trail listed on our review page.
• There should be no references to other reviews in your review (eg. you should not argue or state disagreement with other reviews).
• No profanity or vulgar words or context.
• Keep in mind, these reviews are opinions only. One mans pleasure is another mans pain. Take the reviews with a grain of salt.
• Please report inappropriate reviews using the link that appears beneath the rating summary of each review.

You must be logged into our forum to submit a trail review.

Lake Crabtree Park trail has been reviewed 34 times by our trianglemtb.com guests.

Reviewed by: Ekim Reviewed on: 02/19/2010 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	Crabtree is always a fun place to hit during the week for a quick ride, especially with the wife. Not a technical trail, but the flow is great and I never find myself being bored. I try to avoid this trail on the weekends as it is very busy and you end up spending a lot of time stopping and waiting. It is'nt as bad if you go early in the morning on the weekends. Definitely recommend this trail to anyone getting into the sport of MTB'ng or for those that just want to get out and hammer some fast miles.
Reviewed by: Adrian Reviewed on: 11/06/2009 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	Crabtree is my favorite right now. Although I have only rode Beaver Dam, Crabtree and the dirty greenway of Umstead. The pump track will kick your butt if you but some time in to it. The jump section is nice but I might be missing the flow. It just didn't allow for enough initial pickup speed, but that might be just me. I love Crabtree because it is near my work and the trails just seem fun. 4 hours of work and BS meetings... then 1 hour of cruising around... 5 hours of work and meetings afterwards. Great way to break up the day.
Reviewed by: Triggin Reviewed on: 11/02/2009 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	one of the best "flow" trails in the area. its not a difficult trail compared to others in the area, but this trail has excellent flow and is good trail for kids, beginners and people like me who just want to go have some fun on a bike! enjoy!
Reviewed by: JohnDistai Reviewed on: 08/16/2009 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	Crabtree is a great trail for beginners and intermediates. It is well maintained, and easily accessible from the RTP area. There are a few obstacles on the trails, but overall the trails flow very well. My only complaint is that there are a lot of rooty sections which reduce the flow, and it tends to get crowded on the weekends. Experienced riders may get bored with Crabtree, but there are some skills areas which may increase interest. Overall, I am very glad that the local government made an effort to provide a trail system with easy access and challenges for most skill levels.
Reviewed by: tfstorres Reviewed on: 07/31/2009 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	No detailed review given.
Reviewed by: chexem Reviewed on: 07/29/2009 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	No detailed review given.
Reviewed by: BeHoppy Reviewed on: 07/28/2009 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	Crabtree is an excellent trail and we're lucky to have it in our neck of the woods. It's fun for all, and my kids cut their teeth on it. The features such as the Pump Track and Jump Line are warranted and super fun. HOWEVER...the JUMP LINE still needs some work. I rode it a few months ago and left with the feeling something was not right. Then I rode last month in Oregon on Whoops Trail which has a "jump line" that is over a mile long. I returned to Crabtree yesterday with my son and realized what the problem(s) is/are: (1) the big jumps to the left are way too long for the amount of speed the short lead up will allow you. The Jump Line either needs a longer approach, or an elevated staging area to gain more speed, or someone needs to cut off about 12-18 inches from the length of the table top. Everyone I talked to seems to agree...including the kid who endo-ed because he came up short and bounced his back wheel up over his head. You're going for a smooth landing on the other side of the table and the current Line just doesn't allow you to pick up enough speed to do so. (2) The other issue is that we may want to flatten out and extend the angle of the landing ramps. Again, you're going for a smooth landing. The Jump Lines current landing ramps cause you to hit with your back wheel and then slam down a second later with the front. What you want is the whole bike hitting the landing pad in a smooth motion. The overall length of the current pads are only about half a bike length and they should be about 1.5 bike lengths. Don't get me wrong...the Jump Line is great and this area needs more of this, but we have to get it right.
Reviewed by: yeti575 Reviewed on: 07/15/2009 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	Great little ride for a quick afternoon outing. Flows nicely, not to rooty, nice little climbs.
Reviewed by: Like2ride Reviewed on: 07/12/2009 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	This is a fun place to ride; great for beginners. My wife just began riding June 09 and was able to complete the entire loop (6 miles). It is not technical at all; there are a lot of smooth flowing sections and some roots, certainly not hardcore riding at all, but fun! For those looking for a little challenge, the park has a pump track, dirt jumping track, one entry level skills section and one advanced skills section. There is also what they call a entry level rock garden, but it is to small to be called a rock garden. Its more like 6 foot of rock in the trail that you can go around if you like. Fun place to ride, would make a great place for endurance training if you do 2+ laps.
Reviewed by: quisk Reviewed on: 06/23/2009 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	LCCP is a well-maintained trail system with excellent flow and good marking & maps. Compared to other trails, it's an easy ride (although Loop #6 provides some more challenging terrain than the rest). The LCCP trails are mostly singletrack and do not have any significant (long, steep) hills - even so, the terrain is interesting and pretty challenging, especially for beginners, mainly due to tree roots. I began MTB'ing at LCCP and learned good skills over the past few years riding there, but as my speed has increased, I've had more and more problems with oncoming riders that either don't know or don't care about the basic rules of 'right of way'. It seems LCCP is attracting more and more inconsiderate riders, ones that seem to think they own the center of the trail, no matter if going up or down hill, etc. The riding experience would be considerably more enjoyable if everyone was considerate enough to just moved over to the right when an oncoming rider needs to pass. Of course, there are some narrower sections of trail that (supposedly) require the downhill rider to stop to yield right of way, but many riders just treat those situations like a game of Chicken. It's gotten to the point where I've essentially given up on LCCP and have moved onto other, less popular local trails. Another thing worth noting about LCCP is that hikers walk on the same trails as bikers ride on, and hikers have right of way (which seems backwards to me, considering a hiker can far more easily move/step aside than a rider can). Most hikers are very generous by moving over to give room for riders to pass, but the occasional hiker will hold onto trail center, requiring the rider to stop, dismount, etc.

Show all reviews

"Our paths to off-road mastery reflect our personalities."
-Hank Barlow