Your source for Mountain Biking in the Triangle
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill
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Your source for Mountain Biking in the Triangle Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill |
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| Category | Average Rating |
| Overall : |  3.7 / 5.0 based on 63 votes |
| Technical : |  2.3 / 5.0 based on 63 votes |
| Climbing : |  1.9 / 5.0 based on 63 votes |
| Freeride : | 2.2 / 5.0 based on 63 votes |
| Scenery/Wildlife : |  3.8 / 5.0 based on 63 votes |
| Flow : | 3.9 / 5.0 based on 55 votes |
Description
Location: Southwestern Wake County
Miles: 8
Skill Level: beginner to intermediate
Contact: Park office (919) 387-4342
Map
Park Hours and Fees
Directions
Rules of the Trail
Like Lake Crabtree Park,
Harris Lake's mountain bike trails are close to a lake,
made up of several loops that connect to a main trail,
and are managed by Wake County Parks. The breeze coming
across the water can be quite refreshing on a hot summer
day! The major loops here are signed as
"beginner", "intermediate" and
"advanced", and can be enjoyed by all skill
levels. A few optional "double black diamond"
loops have been added near the advanced section. This
trail has something for everyone, from the "just got
my first off-road bike" beginner to the more
seasoned rider, and all obstacles have optional
ride-arounds so that beginners and veterans can enjoy the
trails together. In short, this is just a good set of
single-track trails. Currently there is approximately 8
miles of bicycling trails.
The park is located in a flatter part of Wake County
so there aren't as many long or steep hills as some other
trails, but rest assured, the available terrain has been
used wisely. There are several log crossings, a couple of
whoopdee-doo sections and a few small bridges on the
trail.
Harris Lake County Park also has full amenities such
as restrooms, picnic shelters, play areas, Frisbee golf,
fishing locations and canoe rentals.
Check the Events calendar for upcoming races and
trail workdays at Harris Lake County Park.
Park Hours and Fees
8:00 am to sunset, seven days a week. Hours
are posted at the gate, and on the phone answering
system. The park is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas
Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
Access to the park is free.
Directions
From Raleigh: Take 440 to US 1 South. Take US 1 12 miles
from beltline to exit 89. Take a left and go about 2
miles to the park entrance. Go to the back of the park
and turn left into the parking area. The trailhead is
labeled "Hog Run Trail".
From Durham/Ch. Hill: Take 751 past New
Hill and over US 1 (Note: road changes name a few times,
just keep on keepin' on). After
crossing over US 1 go
about 2 miles to the park entrance. Go to the back of the
park and turn left into the parking area. The trailhead
is labeled "Hog Run Trail".
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
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This trail is beautifully located next to Harris lake, which provides nice scenery for part of the ride. The outermost loop is fun and flowy at times but with some challenging sections. I did hop off my bike a couple of times but with some repetition the hard parts are manageable. Probably a bit harder than Brumley but not as difficult as New Light. I think the "advanced" section is still plenty accessible for non-advanced riders as it still has flow and flat surfaces. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Best trails really close to the triangle | ||||||||||||||||||
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One of the older county parks trails so trail surface is packed pretty well. The blue and yellow trails are good for beginners or warm up. The main trails across the road are long and have pretty good flow. You can easily by-pass some of the few really technical parts of the loop. Fun to see the lake on many parts of the loops. I ride it ok on a hard tail bike (front shocks only). I live in downtown Raleigh and it takes me about 25 minutes to drive out to trail but usually can combine with errand at Crossroads shopping center. | ||||||||||||||||||
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A very fun set of trails! The beginner and intermediate sections are great for new and occasional riders, and the advanced sections are pleasantly hilly and have a variety of bumpy and smooth terrain. The flow trail is also very fun! | ||||||||||||||||||
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Love riding these trails but would wish that PEOPLE would respect the Close/Open, main reason these trails are still close is due to some riders not respecting the trails condition, they're riding the trails when they are close and it causes the trails to dry out slower so if anybody sees some of these disrespectful riders, please make them aware that they are damaging the trails and are making us riders that do respect the trails not to be able to ride them. Pretty Sad!!!! |
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New to MTB. But long time rider, MX. I have ridden Crabtree several times and this is head and shoulders above Crabtree. I love the flow or pump track with the table tops and double jumps. They actually throw you up and you feel like you are actually catching air. Plenty of trails that can be ridden at good speed. The technical stuff is also challenging. Seems like everything your'e looking for in a MTB trail. Call before you haul. I failed to do so the other day and drove 45 mints to find closed trails. |
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Harris is a blast. The lines in the double black section are awesome, I could spend hours there on the rock drop, roots and fast descents. The flow track is good but if you get out of sync it’s tough to get back in rhythm. It’s pretty flat but the trails are smooth and really fast to keeping speed is easy. Skills area is fun with a couple of good jumps. | ||||||||||||||||||
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I wish these trails are a little closer to home (Cary) or I'd ride them more. This is like a little more advanced version of Lake Crabtree, which is my go-to trail since it's near home and work. The beginner+intermediate sections give a nice warm up. The advance sections just has longer hills and rootier sections, but nothing ultra-technical that anyone with intermediate skills can't ride. The double-black sections just has some high whoop-de-do's and longer down hills, but nothing too gnarly. All sections give a nice view of the lake. | ||||||||||||||||||
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awesome place to ride...i would definitely take a beginner there to learn has simple flow..only one down side is this place takes minimum of 5 days to reopen after more than a half inch of rain..if we ever go into a drought this is the place to ride! | ||||||||||||||||||
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This is the perfect trail when you don't feel like worrying about the perfect line and you just want to ride and enjoy going fast in the woods. There is little to no difficulty on most of the trails for anyone who has decent riding skills. You can add some difficulty if you want with several gaps and jumps but you can also just roll them and keep going. This park was very well constructed and major kuddos to TORC for making these trails as fun and rideable as they are. | ||||||||||||||||||
