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Lake Crabtree County Park

Current Trail Status

	Status	When Updated	Who Updated	More Info		Help keep this info accurate by clicking the red bicycle
	open	08/26 7:31 am	SphericalCow

Average ratings submitted by users                     Write a review   User submitted reviews

Category	Average Rating
Overall :	3.6 / 5.0   based on 36 votes
Technical :	1.7 / 5.0   based on 36 votes
Climbing :	1.4 / 5.0   based on 36 votes
Freeride :	2.1 / 5.0   based on 36 votes
Scenery/Wildlife :	2.9 / 5.0   based on 36 votes
Flow :	4.1 / 5.0   based on 25 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.

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Lake Crabtree Park trail has been reviewed 36 times by our trianglemtb.com guests.

Reviewed by: joshcamp Reviewed on: 04/07/2010 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	No detailed review given.
Reviewed by: BigginStampede Reviewed on: 03/22/2010 Overall: Technical: Climbing: Freeride: Scenery/Wildlife: Flow: Report inappropriate review	Finally got to ride Crabtree this weekend for the first time. This trail is a GREAT beginner trail. I consider myself a beginner and ran through this with no problem. I do like how fast the trail is. Easy uphills and nice downers. Nothing is too steep. Trail 5 is probably the most technical. A couple of fun obsticals. Other than that its just rooty really. I guess roots could be technical to some. Pump track is fun. Jump track knows me pretty well considering I left some skin out there. Kinda funny I am not 13 and weigh 100lbs anymore.
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.

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