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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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Fun trail! Lots of curves, switchbacks, etc. Climbs are rare, but you know when you get to one. Good times! |
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Haven't gone there yet but just wanted to let people know the park is actually in Rougemont and not Durham. Enjoy |
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Counter-clockwise on Advance Trail has more climbing and is more technical...Scout the uphill ladder for missing cross-members. I didn't and had a colossal ender If in doubt, go down not up. |
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I have been eyeballing this trail for years on Triangle MTB and finally rode it this past weekend. I had never heard much chatter about it and when I asked about it no one was really blown away with it.
I will say I had fun on it. I was challenged by the climbs and had a good time hitting the fast downhill sections. Technically, it is somewhere in the middle. It has more challenging hills than Crabtree but otherwise mostly easy to intermediate. The scenery was all thick forest but no beautiful lake views like Beaver, New Light or Hogg's Run. There are some really tight trail sections similar to Chapel Hill that require big dips in speed.
I rode this with a friend that is new to mountain biking but is in really good shape. It was a great compromise trail for us to ride together. There was nothing out there that freaked him out posed a serious crash risk.
I would recommend this to novice riders as a place to ride some real single track. You will have some fun and get a good workout. As a more seasoned mountain biker, I can see how some might think it is boring. This trail is about 30 minutes from Chapel Hill where I live and I probably would not go out there more than once a year or so for variety. |
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Not bad, in general about as easy as crabtree but with 1.5 mile of short steep hills added, I didn't find it very technical. While beaver dam's hills are not as steep they are longer and more numerous. I finished the entire trail system in about 50 mins. It was easy to find, very well labeled and not too crowded. |
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this trail, in my opinion, was not good for mountain biking, more like a good cross country running trail. |
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This is my favorite trail in the triangle area, I find it to be slightly more technical then Beaver Dam without all the log jumps. Of course there are more technical trails around but none in this area as fun to ride IMHO. |
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Fast and fun. A good workout after a few CCW laps. |
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Rode trails in both directions today. Rding the "red" loop counter-clockwise is a slow, technical, non-flowing course. Riding it clockwise made for a better, yet still challening, ride. |
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No detailed review given.
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Not the most technical trail in the area by any means, but it does flow very well, is fast, and fun. |
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The first portion is tight and twisty, but then opens up a bit with a few flowy undulations and a couple of notable climbs. There are also some well-posted advanced sections with optional bypasses. This trail is professionally built and dries out very quickly after a soaking. |
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No offense.. This trail's boring |
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3.4 / 5.0 based on 30 votes
2.5 / 5.0 based on 30 votes
1.3 / 5.0 based on 30 votes
3.0 / 5.0 based on 30 votes
