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 : |  3.4 / 5.0 based on 30 votes |
| Technical : |  2.5 / 5.0 based on 30 votes |
| Climbing : | 3.3 / 5.0 based on 30 votes |
| Freeride : |  1.3 / 5.0 based on 30 votes |
| Scenery/Wildlife : |  3.0 / 5.0 based on 30 votes |
| Flow : | 2.7 / 5.0 based on 22 votes |
On December 5th 2004, the first legal
single track in Orange County opened. Thanks to DOMBO,
Little River Park had it's grand opening and well over
100 mountain bikers attended to show their support. Kudo's
to all the effort and hard work put into these trails by
the folks in DOMBO, Orange County and Durham County Parks
and Rec, as well as all the volunteers who pitched in.
Thanks!
About Little River
This 391-acre park was acquired and had been developed jointly
by the two neighboring counties. The park is a
cooperative venture among several partners, including
Durham County, Orange County, the Triangle Land
Conservancy, the Eno River Association, the Triangle
Community Foundation, the NC Division of Parks and
Recreation, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the NC
Recreation Trails Program, the NC Parks and Recreation
Trust Fund, the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, and
the Durham/Orange Mountain Bike Organization.
Park Hours
November - February 8 am - 5 pm
March and October 8 am - 6 pm
April and September 8 am - 7 pm
May - August 8 am - 8 pm
Closed: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years Day
Contact the Park staff to see if the trail is currently open due to conditions: 732-5505
Rules of the Trail
Blue markers indicate mountain bike
trails. Over seven miles of single track trails are newly
designed, built, and ready for use! Markers are found
only at intersections and hiking trail crossings, and
therefore signal areas where riders should minimize speed
and exhibit added caution. Extra care should also be
taken at trail-heads and around the parking lot, where
multiple users of the park come together, possibly
including horse riders. The mountain bike trails are
specially designed to prevent erosion and maintain stream
and river water quality. Bikers are asked to remain on
posted mountain bike trails at all times. Biking on the
gravel logging roads should be limited to emergency
situations only. The level of technical difficulty on
trails increases with distance from the trail-head. Since
use of the gravel roads is not meant for bikers, please
plan a route that permits a return path along the
mountain bike trails. Don�t forget that the park�s gates
lock at dusk! Bikers must be aware that hikers, while not
encouraged to use the bike trails, are allowed to explore
the trail system. However, biking trails are made for
bikers, and hikers are advised to yield to riders on the
mountain bike trails. Please report any problems
encountered along the trails to park staff.
Directions
301 Little River Park Way
Rougemont NC 27572
Rules, guidelines, and definitions for our TriangleMTB.com trail reviews
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I ride this often as it is one of my local trails that opens first after rain. It has a lot of pine straw fallen everywhere, I think that helps reduce the mud. The beginner and intermediate sections (which you must take to get to the advanced section) are pretty flat, but lots of rocks, roots and turns. The advanced sections has some climbs, but then the downhills mostly have tight turns so I can't keep my speed up to feel like I got the reward for the uphill. Same both directions. There are some ramps/jumps that are above my skill level. I do see advanced riders stay on that section of the trail to keep doing those. Currently there are trail builders operating heavy equipment at the Skills section in the middle of the beginner's trail, so I am hopeful that there is some interesting stuff coming soon. |
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Note: There are SKILLS areas which I don't ride on MTBs in the beginner and Advanced sections. If you are looking for a good 1 hr ride of XC single track to get a workout / exercise with a lot of climbing and a few, short downhill short-sections between narrow trees, roots and rocks, this is a good choice. If you are looking for long, machined trails with a lot of smooth and flowing berms and whoops, look to Harris or San Lee. This is the polar opposite of that. The ideal rider for these trails would be someone local to these trails looking for some exercise in a bit-sized amount. The climbs are punchy and there is some variety, but really just in switch backs and the close, narrow wooded environment. Someone who likes these trials would more than likely prefer Beaver Dam's longer loop, as Beaver Dam feels like an evolved version of these trails (XC) with more dynamic / longer climbs and double the workout. Good trails to get a ride in, but not if you are looking for Harris / Crabtree / SanLee. |
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Went out here with my 9 year old son. First two loops are good for kids or beginners, pretty flat without too many roots or rocks. The pine needles and leaves make for poor traction and keep you from maintaining a lot of speed and also hide smaller rocks and roots, otherwise this would be more fun. Would come back if I was in the area, but not worth the drive from Raleigh by itself. |
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Went to Little River for the first time today. It's a fun trail but the advanced section was pretty slippery because of all the leaves. It was still a good seven mile workout. I can't wait until the skills section opens up because that looks fun and I will go back much more when that does open. I saw a deer. A female deer... | ||||||||||||||||||
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Little River offered a challenging experience of single tracks for riders of all skills, but failed to WOW me as a rider. The Advanced portion of the course could be a good challenge for an intermediate rider looking to test their skills. There are some steep climbs that teaches one to shift their weight back to avoid spinning out the rear wheel. Most of the trail is has more flow then technical spots. Most of the trail is on pine needles. Those with wider handlebars will have an extra challenge between some narrow turns between the trees. The signage was excellent on the trail, and the skills portion of the track was a treat. The one complaint that kills the experience for me, is that a large portion of the technical track feels repetitive and as if you are not progressing to new trail. To many switch backs, and climbs that seem to similar to one another. |
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Went out in the dead of winter. Lots of pine needles. Hilly. | ||||||||||||||||||
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First time on a true singletrack and I really enjoyed it despite being a bit damp/slick from the previous day's rain.
I never felt like I was in over-my-head or had to walk over/around anything. The climbs weren't as bad as I expected after reading other reviews. Looking forward to going back! |
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Rode this trail yesterday for the first time on account of it being the only one in the Triangle area that wasn't closed due to recent rains. I really liked the trail and would agree with the other posts describing it as a hillier Crabtree/Harris without the crowds. I rode a Surly Krampus (long wheelbase 29+ hardtail) with a 750mm wide handlebar which made it tricky maneuvering through some sections at speed, seems to me that the ideal bike for this trail would be an old-school 26'er with narrow handlebars and a short wheelbase. The only real challenging technical feature is an optional skinny that sits below the main trail, I skipped it as it didn't look worth the hassle of climbing back up. The climbs are short but steep. Riding clockwise seems to give you longer but easier climbs, riding counterclockwise gives you shorter, steeper climbs. Most of the other riders seemed to be riding clockwise. I did a couple laps in each direction and think I preferred clockwise. It's kind of a bummer that this trail is so far from Raleigh but that distance is what keeps the crowds down and what allows it to be open when the Raleigh trails are closed. |
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No detailed review given. | ||||||||||||||||||
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MC Escher actually designed this trail so you can continually go up. None of the climbs are too much but by the same token the descent never materializes, or there is a hard turn up hill to a switch back when the hills just begging to be blasted down the other way. I actually like this place though because it doesn't draw too much of a crowd. But the downside to that is there are lots of pine needles which makes it a little slick. I heard a while back that they may add mileage here which would be a good thing. A bit more flow would be fun with technical mixed in strategically. |
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