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Good technical trail. Kind of feels like you’re constantly switching back but they packed quite a few miles into a small area. Other than that, the trail is fun and fairly technical. The downhill course near the end is super fun. |
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great trail, great challenge, rockier than expected so took me by surprise, but very fun. |
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SanLee is definitely one of our best local trails! There’s a little something for everyone and the difficulty is really what you make of it via speed, line, etc. I wouldn’t bring a true beginner to SL, but for pretty much everyone else it’s a blast. I was worried it’d be lame while closed for all the “safety improvements”, but the newly revamped gravity section is top notch for sure! The scenery is fantastic, too. SL is a staple in my group’s rotation. Highly recommend checking it out. |
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Best trails that are an easy drive from the triangle |
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An absolute blast! The renovations done on the gravity park are stunning. There’s trails for all types of riders. The single track is definitely a workout but has some great sections as well. |
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The renovations done to the gravity section are stunning. If you thought the old gravity park was fun…this is a whole new level. Improved skill progression and variety of trail choices based on skill level. There’s really nothing else like this place unless you head to WNC. |
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Exactly what a down hill experience should be. Non stop fun. Plenty of down grade, table top jumps and wide berms. Then just enough climbing for a great workout.
Expert, intermediate and novice riders will all enjoy the trails.
My only recommendation is with regard to the mega jump section. The jump face is great. The landing is too short. I regularly over jumped it. And not at high speed. The landing lip is fine. The back side of the jump just needs a longer and lower grade slope. To make the entire section perfect, use the dirt from the jump in front of the berm for the back side of mega jump and allow expert riders to carry more speed into the berm. The exit table jump will probably need adjusting to be a little longer as well. I'd volunteer time and a mini ex to do the job!
Very nice park. Easy to find. I highly recommend to all skill levels. |
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Well maintained jumps, great progression for beginners or warming up before a trip to a lift access park. . I’ve been coming for a year and I rarely get tired of it. There’s 6 trails only a couple minutes long but for the area it’s expected. Pictures can be seen on their Facebook. Beats sketchy bandit jump trails. Only thing I’d suggest is to be safe, seen a few people get bucked or going OTB from carelessness
Haven’t spent much time on the single track or pump track but with the amount of people that go I’d assume it’s sweet. This is a review of only the gravity park section and in comparison to the other legal trails in the area and triangleMTB.. don’t go expecting a crankworx setup |
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singletrack portion of the park is pretty great; nice flowy downhills and some plunging whoops. There are some super rocky sections that would make the folks who love New Light say "Dang!". There is a spot at the bottom of a crazy downhill that looks like something out of Jurassic Park, so points for scenery. Hit the gravity park section after nine grueling 95-degree miles. Mistake. The gravity park is the reason I'll return. SO FUN! Berms and whoops and jumps and fast. Had a great time. |
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Great set of legit trails. Plenty of technical climbing and decending with a few flowy links to keep the smiles up. There's not a lot of bail out, so plan your risk accordingly. The trails are well marked 'DANGER DROP' and such so pay attention. Well worth your time. |
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No detailed review given.
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Overall, my new “local” favorite (sampled ~75% of T’MTB list plus a few bandits). Greatest volume of rock gardens and jump line content I know of. Seems very water-resistant (or maintained to appear so). While some of the features were not beginner friendly, they tended to be well marked alternate routes. Not so “naturally beautiful” as New Light, but that also means it is “unnaturally fun” and contrived to spend your elevation wisely and pack in extra mileage. I don’t understand how it scores low on “freeride” with so much hang time? It is pretty much one-way with one main loop, so unlike Crabtree, you can’t invent 100 different routes, and therefore you can also spend your time riding instead of planning/navigating 100 potential routes. I did miss one turn where the sign said “XC Race”, but generally I appreciated clear arrows for where you “should” go. Thank you trail builders! |
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the Single track is getting even better I really recommend if you looking for a nice place to ride San lee it is,you won’t be disappointed... |
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You won't find anything better than this in the area. well maintained, challenging, lots of different features. Not a trail for beginners. |
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Love this trail. Easily the best I've ridden in the area. And it keeps getting better. Not sure I'll ever ride the Gauntlet without dabbing at least once, Bouldergeist has introduced me to the creek below it on more than one occasion, and FreeFall is well named, but I love the challenges this trail presents. In between the technical stretches are some areas with really good flow. The Gravity Park is amazing as well. Not for beginners, but an ambitious intermediate can have a great time here. No huge climbs if you're into heaving up a lung, but to me that is a good thing. |
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Wow! Pics and videos online don't do justice to how technical this trail really is. Just wow - |
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San Lee is the best of the best in Central North Carolina. Don and the others who take care of this trail system should be incredibly proud of themselves. The singletrack has it all. Fast, flowy, slow and technical, rocky, climbing, downhill. Everything. And it is all well mapped and signed. The most technical sections have clearly marked bypasses. There is an entire gravity park section of downhill jumps and berms. A skill section. A bmx jump section. A pump track. Everything here is top notch and the trails in Raleigh should really take notice of how to do it right! |
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The ropes course needs a little update I nearly died on that trapeze. |
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I went to this trail for the first time on Sunday. With the rain, we had the trail was pretty moist. It made going over some of the roots dicey. Everyone almost crashed at least once. My only experience has been riding the trails around Raleigh and San Lee is about 5 times harder than Harris or Crabtree. You can never relax and you alway have to be on your toes. You don't want to crash on these trails because they are full of rocks and stumps. Some of the rocks are huge and be prepared for your pedals to scrape and hit at least a few times. I'm not an expert rider so I found the trial to be very technical is certain sections. Especially the gauntlet. Many of the switchbacks are very tight and you almost have not momentum to exit the turn. I've heard New Light is just as hard and amazingly somehow has more rocks. I can't say how much wildlife you'd see on this trail. We did come across a turtle and a copperhead. Here is a movie I took of our ride.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OotqNUMUERY |
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An awesome well kept trail. There's about 11 miles of singletrack that ends in a mini-gravity section with a couple little downhill style trails with tabletops and berms. The singletrack starts easier and gets more difficult the further into the trail you go. However, there are a few cut outs along the way where you can bail back to the trail head.
The only problem is that the forest is filled with spiders that build webs across the trails. You don't want to be the first person of the day to ride the trails, otherwise you're running into webs every 30 feet. I rode there first thing in the morning and must have pulled at least 20 spiders off me during the ride, one of which was a black widow. |
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A great trail system for experienced mountain bikers in the Triangle. IMO one the best options without driving to the mountains. There are plenty of technical sections (almost all can be bypassed). Lots of rock gardens, berms and jumps. Trial builder is constantly making improvements and does a good job posting trail status updates on the San Lee Park Mountain bike trail Facebook page. |
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No detailed review given.
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I really dig this place. As a MI native who move to the Raleigh area ~2 months ago I have to say this place is the bomb. I've been riding a lot and have put in miles at most of the places around here and I think this would be my #1 choice. Definitely a great ride. Lots of good technical terrain for sure with some real fun jumps & berms. |
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This is my home town trail so I'm a little biased. It has a great amount of variety and the trail boss has done a fantastic job over the last 2 years to really improve the overall features. I am by no means an expert rider but as an old BMXr I do enjoy the berm/jump components that have been built. I encourage those who haven't experienced San Lee to make the short drive from the Triangle and experience what we have to offer in Lee County. You won't be disappointed! |
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Rode this trail a few years ago and was like, Ehh its a trail. But in the last couple of years I am really impressed with the overall construction and rerouting to really make this a great flowing trail. be careful not to wreck in the rock gardens, a lot of poison ivy on the sides. Really looking forward to the 2nd mega jump line completion. I usually run the jump lines a couple of times before I continue on. mind you these are in line single track jumps, so they are all table top or have slight dips in the middle. Not full on "free-ride" as of yet. (I didn't see a chairlift) I would love to see a huge drop to transition, and a hip jump, but that is up to the trail builders. Whom by the way have done a great job with the trail. Every thing on the trail can be ridden on a hard tail bike, so don't assume you need a big bike to ride the trail and then get there and complain about how much your pile weighs going up hill.
Best trail in the area right now. |
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awesome. |
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This trail is very deceiving from the reviews and signs on the trail. I brought my 6" AM bike because I thought it was that kind of trail but it is not. I rode the entire thing and I think most features would be much better on a 29er ht or small travel bike. I would describe the majority of this trail as a XC trail with technical climbs. Many of the smaller tabletops on the first half are on flat spots and it is incredibly hard to get the speed to clear them on a heavier bike. I will say the trail builder has done a nice job with the many berms and the drop zone and mega jump area is pretty nice even though both could be much bigger. I thought I saw a sign that said 7ft drop and got excited but I think the biggest drop I found was about 2ft. I think the double diamond rating on freefall is completely uncalled for. When I think of an area called freefall that is a double diamond I think of huge drops and gaps or something that is not pedaling up rock gardens. |
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No detailed review given.
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First, ignore my scores except for the fun score and the technocal score... I realize that doesn't make sense, but for this trail and my personal experience, it is a very unique trail that is well, well worth the drive. The words I would use to describe this trail are unexpected and unintuitive (again for me) and that is what I really enjoyed about it. These trails have some topography and fun, built-in features (the unexpected part) and a rhythm of their own. To be honest, I have never ridden any trails like them. The overall facilities are also nice. I may even try camping here sometime. Great job by the builders and park! For you looking at the air opportunities... The construction of jumps is ongoing (good!!!)... The biggest ones are rhythm table tops of about two bike lengths lip to tranny... most are less that 2 bike lengths; although there may be some doubles for those of you that can really boost. the drops are less than 2', except for one, but I am not sure it was intended to be a drop, but can be ;)... |
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The trail boss has bought a mini excavator of his own and is adding humps and berms on the front half of the trail. Trail improvement is the goal this year but a little added distance may happen. The work is still in progress so changes will continue throughout the winter. While the improvements are happening the trail can still be ridden. The trail distance should be between 11.5 and 12 miles when complete. The trail has been leaf blown once so most of the derailleur hungry sticks are off the trail. The leaves are still falling so at the least one more blow through the technical sections will happen on Thanksgiving weekend. Lots of time and effort has gone into this trail and it shows. One of the best trails, if not the best in the Triangle is being improved on again. All the fun, rocky, rooty, technical, and hilly stuff described in other reviews are still there. Just now there is more. Another added bonus is there is added parking towards the tent campground. There is limited parking at the park so this is a big bonus for busy weekends. |
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I used to race XC here a decade ago. Wow has it changed.
The old (optional) rock gardens are still there - they seem to be designed by a local bike shop to sell derailleurs
(or now 29ers) - not so fun clipped-in on an old XC bike but plenty fun on my Enduro with flat pedals.
Lots of fun new additions such as the sessionable Mega Jump loop (afterwards, on the easy contour-line ascent follow
the sign on the left a short 15m easy hike back to the start again). Everything marked yellow/optional on the trail map is
a fun. Good flow IF you go fast (ditto for Beaver Dam).
I'd have to rank this the best trail in the Triangle Area. Definitely worth the short drive on weekends.
More fun on an all-mountain or jump bike than an XC bike (or at least drop the seat post and use a minimal pack.)
A big thanks to those who put in the major effort to add all the new fun options! |
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This trail used to be good. Now it's fantastic. The Mega-Jump makes it the best trail in the area and well worth the drive from the Triangle. Ride this trail at least every week and you'll be a better mountain biker for it. |
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First time riding here yesterday... very fun trail! We hit all of the hard rock gardens and... wow, they are hard! The rest of the trail was pretty fun with not too much climbing. I don't know if I've ever seen a trail with so much signage. Every feature had its own cool name. Overall, it was definitely worth the trip from Raleigh area! |
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This place is awesome |
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This trail, IMO, is THE place to ride in the triangle. The trail has something for everyone, but caters to the experienced rider. This trail is well marked, and the signage for technical sections is spot on. Most features have ride arounds. Goldrush i think it is called, is AWESOME. Im with the others on the freeride rating. im not totally sure what would classify as freeride for the triangle area, but i dont think there is much of it at san lee. The trail flows, it will test your skills, its rocky, in sections, fast and smooth in others, and all around fun. Well worth the drive from pretty much anywhere in the triangle. the trail designer here knows what he is doing! |
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I have seen a lot of reviews that I feel do not accurately reflect this trail. It is a great trail, that will challenge most riders.
It has flow, it has technical, and it has a nice downhill section with free fall.
I also think freeride should be removed from the rating option. If you have been to the Shore, (not the Jersey Shore) or rode Aptos, you do not truly understand freeride. |
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Technical is the word here! The new jump zone is terrible, but the berms are good? Trail builder calls it a mega-jump, more like baby-jump! |
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The trail at San Lee Park has changed again. There has been just a little distance added but berms, humps, in and out of ravines have been added. The leaves add to the excitment but is still very rideable. FreeFall is even more difficult with leaves but has been blown once. The new stuff needs to get packed down. Come ride in Sanford and do your part to improve the new stuff on the trail. If you are not into technical you can bypass all the crazy stuff and still have a fun day on the bike. Some of the best riding in the piedmont if not the best riding in the piedmont is at San Lee Park. |
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My husband and I have been riding every weekend for about 5 weeks. Our friend decided to skip the beginner trails and kick us straight into intermediate trails. We did this one 11/3 and it was so fun! it was fast! The only downfall was the leaves! So many leaves on the ground that caused a lot of slipping and sliding. It did make for a few good laughs watching my husband do the superman off his bike. We did exit at point 2 but look forward to going back and doing the rest. The Rocky Gautlent parts were not easy to ride , in fact we had to carry the bikes over them. Lucky for us there was bypass area that made it much easier to ride then having to go thru the rocks. I would say this trail is a tad bit easier than the Governs Creek which kicked our butts (especially if you ride it backwards like we later figured out we did). Happy Trails! |
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I enjoyed riding the trail but it is not for the meek of heart. It is a pretty tough ride for the beg/intermediate just staying in the seat :) either flying over handle bars or against a tree. I found the trail pretty easily "i think" but I wound up down on the lake trail which was pretty treacherous root riding but made it so I think I missed a turn. Overall good heart pounding ride with moments of widespread panic included.... |
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The trail is now a little over eleven miles long. I enjoy the trail so much I rarely go out of town to ride something else. There are several technical sections Bouldergeist, The Ledges, Rocknest Monster that are fun but not near as long as Freefall and The Gauntlet. Freefall is now longer and probobly about a mile long. The Jungle has added length and needs to be ridden to get packed down. Charlies Mountain still has a few tough spots and the three tough climbs towards the end are still there. We are lucky to have our local trail builder in Lee County. In the winter he puts as much time improving the trail at San Lee as he does riding the trail. In the past I would sometimes go to the Asheville area to ride but now I see no reason to spend so much time in the car when you got San Lee right here in the triangle area. |
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Hands down the best riding I've done in the Triangle Area. I'm a New Englander so the more technical the better. The free fall section was so much fun. Every bit of it is very ridable, it's just a question of linking one move to the next. I think riding the trail clockwise is probably easier than counter-clockwise but I'm headed back next weekend to find out.
The new section of trail called "the jungle" is great fun - like the speederbike scene in star wars.
As for flow - I like the steady change of pace. If I want to ride steady I'll get on my roadbike.
Hats off to the trail builder. Best section of trail around!! |
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I found this trail to be very fun. The technical rating is mostly for the vast amount of roots and rocks. So if a bumpy ride is not your thing I recommend looking elsewhere for a fun ride. Some tough climbs and fun difficult sections.(bypasses are available for beginners and anyone who does not feel confident in the rock technical sections. The flow would have been a 5, but the rocks and roots make some spots slower than others and some turns may require footing to make, creek crossings might need walking, and few hills dragging the bike but very nice overall. Overall highly recommend and please remember to sign the riders log! |
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Fyi - It is a good time to go there. I knocked down at least 200 spider webs this morning.... My first trip there and great trail! Good flow and very easy ride except for the "Expert" rock sections. All most got out clean till the last Rock section and then the "dabbing" started! Don't let other reviews scare you about the tech sections, they are fun and challenging. Nice to see some technical rock sections here in the Piedmont! |
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Rode this trail 3/26, then raced on it on 3/27. This is definitely NOT a trail for a race. There is limited opportunities for passing, and if you are not on a full-suspension bike you will be standing 90% of the 9.2mi lap. For riding in general this is a good trail if you like it to be technical. Never-ending roots and rocks! If you are anything but a pro rider make sure you have spare tubes/repair kit, or be sure to walk through the rock gardens as they will do a number on your tires. If you are Exp-Pro rider, you should be able to ride the entire course, but portions may seem like trials riding given the current conditions presented. The flow is not that great. There are a few un-sustainable nearly 180deg corners while climbing which can drive nearly anyone at anytime to have to put a foot down to navigate.
There are a few opportunities to follow bail-out routes for those who have mechanicals or decide the trail is too much for their abilities.
Overall a good trail to fine-tune your skills if you are patient and have an entire day to ride. A Pro rider at race pace would do 1 lap in around 55 mins. When you pull into the park turn left up the hill and park. The course starts behind the pavilion at the back of a gravel parking area for RV's.
Have fun! |
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I went to San Lee back in the beginning of October and by far the best part of the trails are the technical sections which are more toward the halfway point in the ride and definately take a more advanced riding skill to get through. The flow of the trails and design of the ride setup in the woods is nice along with it's away from the city so no noise from the outside world makes for a peaceful ride. There's a lot of ups and downs so definately be ready to do some peddling up hills and bring something to drink you're going to need it. As far as scenery goes it would be great if it wasn't all woods riding and a little of an enjoyable hilltop view of the area would be great but this is NC not Idaho so I'll take what I can get out here. Worth the drive from Raleigh or any other place within 75 miles. |
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This was my first trip to SanLee. I have only been riding about six weeks and this was tough. My previous rides have been at Harris, Umstead and American Tobacco Trial. Harris is much more my speed at this time. The trail at SanLee is very difficult to follow. I found myself heading in a loop. This my have been due to the time of year and the leaves on the trail. There were many parts of the trail under construction and lots of soft spots. I will probably wait until the spring to try SanLee again. |
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For the Triangle I place San Lee near the top. It has some good technial sections, decent trail mileage, and a nice flow. Other than Charlie's Mountain, the climbing isn't much, but that is to be expected for the Triangle.
The Gauntlet and Free Fall provide an excellent challenge for those that like to takle rock gardens. It takes tremendous concentration to clean both sections. It's also very nice that they offer a "ride around' for those lacking the requisite bike handling skills or when you just feel like skipping it. |
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I rode San-Lee up to the bail out this morning. The only problem that I ran into was that the bypass around "The Gauntlet" wasn't marked. It was no big deal to me, but I thought that I would put it out there.
Also the park times are incorrect on this site and the park website. Current Park hours are from 8am to 8pm. Only sucked that I had to wait an hour to get into the park. I let one of the Rangers know and he said that they would take care of the error. |
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No detailed review given.
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I finally took a chance to ride San Lee since the changes. I've always liked these trails and now they are even better. The terrain in that area is great for trails. I love all the side sloped trails...off camber or bench cut...it was all a pleasure to ride. Nice use of rock for up'ing the 'fun factor' and this is without counting the Gauntlet and Freefall. Every opportunity to use rock features were done. Still has all the old favorites...the beginning bomb down the valleys and the tough grunt climbs near the end.
Well done out there. From a trail builder's view it looked like it was fun trailwork out there. Such a beautiful area, nice switch backs, nice rock armoring...Charlie's Mtn is a real gem...great job on the trail design. |
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Highlights are The Guantlet, Free Fall, and Charlie's Mountain. The first two provide some nice opportunities to work on navigating rock gardens; CM mixes in some climbing and nice switchbacks. Overall, the trail throws a little bit of everything at you; a hybrid of Anglers Ridge and New Light. |
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This trail rips, really really fun. |
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No detailed review given.
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As of Christmas day 2009 San-Lee Park can not be reviewed. When it reopens after the holiday schedule the trail will be much more different than what it is now. There have been many additions and changes to the trail during the month of December, and they will continue to go on while the park is closed during the Christmas/New Years holidays. So after the holidays all you Raleigh guys need to come see what us Sanford guys have constructed. I think you will love it. |
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Great ride. I found the gauntlet and freefall sections to be the most technical of the trails I have ridden in this area. I could not clean either of them, but will work towards it. The trail really only flowed in a couple sections, most of it was work, but fun none the less. I would avoid this trail on a rigid bike or with true beginners. Hard tails and fs, have at it. If you can clear freefall and gauntlet and don't mind riding with a slowpoke, PM me so I can watch your lines :-) |
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An enjoyable trail and a good workout. The Free Fall rock garden is quite a challenge, but it can be bypassed. Whichever direction you choose to ride, you will be presented with some uphill grinding to start out. A few new sections add some length. |
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Really good work out and close to home. |
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No detailed review given.
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No detailed review given.
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I guess the numbers of stars is subjective, but it is a good overall trail with lots of technical stuff, and lots of climbing. No chance to rate flow, but it makes you work most of the trail, so flow would probably take a small hit if I rated it. |
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Lots of new sections have gone in over the past few years that have really increased the fun factor with some rocky, more technical lines. Trails drain well after rain. Governors Creek is nearby and worth checking out if you're making a long drive down to Sanford. |
4.2 / 5.0 based on 62 votes
3.4 / 5.0 based on 62 votes
2.5 / 5.0 based on 62 votes
