Your source for Mountain Biking in the Triangle
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill


Trails

Rules of the Trail
Trails to ride in the area
Why doesn't TriangleMTB.com list all the trails?
Trail Etiquette
Night Riding in the Triangle
Visitors Guide

Rules of the Trail

The way we ride today shapes mountain bike trail access tomorrow. Do your part to preserve and enhance our sport's access and image by observing the following rules of the trail, formulated by IMBA, the International Mountain Bicycling Association. IMBA's mission is to promote mountain bicycling that is environmentally sound and socially responsible. For more info check out IMBA

Rules of the Trail.

1. Ride On Open Trails Only.
2. Leave No Trace. In fact, leave less of a trace. See trash, pick it up.
3. Control Your Bicycle!
4. Always Yield Trail.
5. Never Scare Animals.
6. Plan Ahead.
7. Respect closed trails.
Keep trails open by setting a good example of environmentally sound and socially responsible off-road cycling.

Don't Fail the Trail. Going around obstacles widens trails, impacts vegetation and causes erosion. Challenge yourself by staying on the trail. Use caution when going over obstacles.






Interactive Map

Trails to ride in the area are:

American Tobacco Trail
Beaverdam
Briar Chapel
Brumley Forest Nature Preserve
Chapel Hill Trails
Clayton: Legend Park
Fayetteville Trails
Governor's Creek
Harris Lake
Lake Crabtree
Lake Johnson
New Light
Salee Park
Umstead
Uwharrie National Forest

Other Trails around the area

Why doesn't TriangleMTB.com list all the trails in the Triangle?

We get asked this question a lot. There are a lot of great trails that are not listed on the site. The biggest reason for not listing them is legal liability. TMTB or its sponsors cannot legally recommend riding on unauthorized trails. Some trails are private and the owner/builders have asked to not have them listed. We can respect that. Believe me, we would list them if we could.

But MTBR lists them in their trail reviews? Actually, MTBR the company does not list them but rather it's free members list them on their own accord. They also post a warning not to list illegal trails. They tread the line so to speak and probably have a lawyer on retainer. We don't have a lawyer and don't want to need one!

Trail Etiquette, the not so fine line of single track.

Group riding tips

A few tips concerning trail and riding etiquette. These are not rules, but suggestions.

1. Have fun.
2. Keep a reasonable distance between you and the rider in front of you. This allows them room to make mistakes and dabs, plus you're not running into them. This is especially true when riding on obstacles, stunts or difficult climbs.
3. It's not rude to ask to go ahead or ask to be passed. A group will find it's natural speed and you will feel more comfortable knowing your not holding someone up or slowing yourself down.
4. When you fall on an obstacle, make every effort to clear the area for the next rider and allow them the opportunity to try it as well.
5. Don't stop in the middle of the trail if you can help it.
6. Always say hi to other riders not in your group. It's common to announce how many more riders are in your group that still need to pass.
7. Always ask riders with mechanical issues if they need a hand.
8. Don't widen the trail or take short cuts. Respect the trail design.
9. Don't stand in landing zones for hucks and jumps. No telling where the rider will land sometimes and you don't want to be hit.
10. Warn riders behind you of hidden obstacles or trouble.
11. Make sure you come out of the woods with everyone you started with. It's common to regroup at trail intersections.
12. If your going to stop, stop at the top of the hill, not the bottom.
13. Be patient.
14. Be encouraging to other riders, respect others skills, abilities and learning curves.
15. Big Groups might consider yielding to smaller groups or singles. Let them pass in opposite direction, or "play through" if they are faster than your group.
16. Designate a sweeper to ride last if there are beginners or riders of varying skill level on the ride.



Don't modify the trail because you can't clear the obstacle where others can.

Please do not cheapen the mountain biking experience by making the trails or obstacles easier. Notching or removing logs, clearing rock piles, widening turns, etc only robs the community of the challenge and fun of mountain biking. It is especially senseless when the obstacle has been in place for a long time. What if somebody paved the whole trail? Think about how that would take away from the experience.

If we can not ride an obstacle, we walk it without shame. We all have our abilities, and these must be challenged in order for them to be increased. Suppose my 60 year old dad, who does have a mountain bike, thinks an obstacle is too hard. It would negatively impact everyone if he went out there and constructed a sidewalk wide smooth bridge over the obstacle. This would not make anyone happy except him and riders of his ability, but at the same time it would deprive him of any possible challenges in the future.

As an alternative to walking obstacles, a bypass trail could be established. Those who like the obstacle can ride it, and those who don't can bypass it.

Whenever someone has altered an established trail or obstacle, they have forever denied everyone of the opportunity of riding it and challenging themselves. We suggest you search for the main group who built and maintain the trail and volunteer to help. This way you can express your desires and contribute to the whole mountain bike community.


Riding with your dog:

It's not as simple as it sounds. A well behaved trail dog is a great riding buddy. A dog that causes you or your buddies to get frustrated is no good. These tips were submitted by a TMTB forum poster, the logslayer.

1. Ride in back if you're with a group My dog (a white eskimo spitz) likes to run behind me, and consequently will always try to stay there - even if someone passes him. In fact, my main trail buddy calls him 'Little Earnhardt' because of the way he "blocks" riders trying to pass him. He'll also take short cuts to get back behind me if someone manages to pass him. Knowing all of this, I usually bring up the rear when riding with a group - especially when riding with folks who are not used to riding with dawgs. Although, because I'm sometimes faster than most of my trail buds, I occasionally get out ahead of them far enough to where they don't even see my puppy. But, if I'm on a training ride with fast company, I usually just leave Max at home. Moral of story - ride in back if you're with a group. Let your riding buddies know the commands to get the pooch out of the way ahead of time and let them know its okay to tell Fido to get out of the way.

2. Be aware of temperature and weather conditions for fido's sake. Basically, just remember you have a huge advantage over your dog in covering long stretches of distance. Even in relatively cool weather, dogs can get over-heated. Dogs really have a pretty inferior cooling system compared to humans and horses because we can sweat. As you know, cooling off is all about heat exchange, and sweating is a very effective way of accomplishing this goal (i.e. the liquid conveys a lot of heat out of your body). Dogs on the other hand, have to cool themselves off by circulating an enormous amount of blood through their sinus area and panting to draw cool air into this area, thereby "air-cooling" their blood. This system may be OK for long sled pulls in the arctic, but that's because it's freaking -5 degrees up there. Thus, make sure to have a few planned water breaks along the way to let you mutt cool off and get a drink of water. That's pretty easy around hear because of the plethora of creeks available. In general though, most dogs don't have a problem running the trails of the Triangle area because they are relatively short and pretty hilly, which gives them plenty of time to catch up or pass you on the climbs...But you can positively kill a dog (or any animal for that matter) on a trail like Tsali which is long and very fast. You may have to take a slower pace in a situation like that. Finally, in really hot weather, leave Fido at home...

3. Some breeds and some dogs catch on to trail etiquette much quicker than others. My doggy never had to be trained not to run off or chase something - he just automatically wanted to keep me in sight at all times (some breeds are more apt to be VERY attached to their owners and never want to be separated). He also learned "MAX, MOVE!" on his first ride, so anybody (if they know the command) can tell that and he'll pull off the trail and let you go. I was VERY LUCKY because my dog never had to be trained anything, he just figured it out instantly (I know its sounds like I'm bragging, but believe me, Max has several other quirks that can try my patience ). Some dogs need to be trained the "MOVE" command (for instance, most labs I've ridden with are so excited to be running around with you, they tend to get in your way and need to "taught" a lesson with a gentle nudging of the front wheel). Also, be realistic about what your dog is really capable of...Some dogs, (e.g. greyhound type builds) can seemingly run all day with a graceful ease, but other larger breeds or small pudgy breeds are not particularly efficient runners and will suffer miserably on long/fast rides. Basically, a Bull dog is not a good trail dog...Also, most big dogs (80lbs and up) will develop major joint disorders if they run around too much - trail terrain puts a lot of stress on their shoulder joints and hips; keep this in mind. Very small dogs can also get worn out in a hurry because they have to work so much harder to keep up (although I have ridden with a couple Jack Russells that were little machines, very young though). The perfect trail dog IMHO is a 40-60 lb long striding dog with short hair in good health.

4. Obey park/trail rules concerning dogs...I know everybody has the perfect pooch, but please reframe from taking them out to public parks and New Light...No need to give our furry friends a bad name. Also, make sure your dog is well behaved around other people and other dogs when you do have him/her on a trail.

5. Keep up with your dogs' preventive maintenance. Just make sure to give them the proper flea/tick/heartworm medications because they will be exposed to an inordinate number of parasites while on the trail. And believe me, the modern flea/tick medications really do work - I wish I could take them sometimes. But don't forget about the heartworm meds due to the fact that the dogs will be drinking water out of creeks where a bunch of mosquito larvae hang out (i.e. heart worms). I also usually bring a couple dog treats (they even have doggy power bars nowadays) on longer rides. It's also a good idea to have a spare bowl for water at your vehicle to freshen up your pup before the ride home (or, they even have collapsible bowls now that fit easily into most Camel Baks; so you can give your dog water even when a creek is not close by or is dry). Not a bad idea to have a towel handy at the car as well. Don't forget to check for limping and look at their pads to ensure they haven't torn them up (especially for big dogs, they seem to wear holes in their pads on rocky terrain - like Slick Rock in Dupont Forest). Finally, you may wish to shave your dog in warmer weather if they have long hair. There seems to be some controversy about shaving versus not shaving, but I have found my dog is MUCH more comfortable when he's shaved in the warmer seasons. BTW, you can usually give a dog buffered aspirin if they're limping or stiff - BUT, MAKE SURE YOU ASK YOUR VET ABOUT THIS BECAUSE TOO MUCH ASPIRIN CAN BE DANGEROUS AND IT MUST BE BUFFERED!!! For example, my girlfriend gives her 100 lb lab one 325 buffered aspirin (like Bufferin) when he's a little stiff, but she also makes sure she gives it to him with food. It would obviously be less aspirin for a smaller dog.

6. Keep your dog in shape...Some people are fair weather riders and go through long stretches without riding...If that's the case, make sure to take your dog for long walks (or even better, a nice jog is great for them) frequently during this period.

I apologize for being so long-winded and somewhat patronizing, but I've been riding with Max for 5 years now and I had a lot of experience with "mountain dogging"...But once you have a worthy trail dog, it is a great relationship because you'll almost always have a friend to ride with (and they won't make fun of you if you get off your bike and walk around a technical section. - LogSlayer, thanks for contributing to the site.

Night Riding in the Triangle

Night riding is allowed on some of trails and not allowed on others. Look for the moon graphic on each trail page to see if it is available for night riding. Some trails are open 24x7 while others allow for night riding only for an organized group ride or event. Stay posted to this site and the events page for group night rides.





"I may never be a rich man, but I ride a nice bike."
- Striker