Mountain Biking in Western North Carolina
Fall color along the Flat Laurel Creek Trail.
The mountainous western part of North Carolina is a haven for outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
Some of the highest peaks in the East, surrounded by vast areas of public land and miles and miles of trails, invite mountain bikers from all over the world. But even locals looking for a quick, easy ride find the area irresistible. Why take an expensive vacation thousands of miles away when a world-renowned outdoor playground is right next door?
MTB WNC is your on-line mountain biking guide for the Mountain region of North Carolina, containing all of the information you need to make your next trip complete. We aim to provide guidebook-quality information that you can use in your outdoor persuits. Have fun browsing and riding!
On This Site
Trails
The Trails section is dedicated to the individual trails in Western North Carolina. Use this section to search for a trail if you know its name. Each trail has its own page with all the details, a map (where available), and a place to leave ratings and comments.
Featured Trails: Estatoe, Cove Creek, Yotee's Run, Cedar Rock...
Trailheads
MTB WNC's Trailheads are hubs or larger areas where several trails are clustered together or in a network. Each represents a place where you can spend a day or more exploring mountain biking trails without driving too far (or at all!).
Featured Trailheads: Pisgah National Forest, Nantahala National Forest, Dupont State Forest...
Best Rides
The Best Rides combine the individual trails from the Trailheads above into a fully guided experience. We feel like these trips are most representative of the great mountain biking that Western North Carolina has to offer!
Featured Hikes: Black Mountain, Daniel Ridge, Eastern Slickrock, Tsali...
Maps
This section covers all of the maps we have available for you to view, download, and purchase, including maps of the Trailheads and Best Rides above, and interactive Google Maps with downloadable GPS data.
Featured Maps: Interactive Map of Trailheads, USGS Topographic Maps, Nat. Geo Trails Illustrated ™ Series...
Photo Gallery
Browse through photos of the trails, views, waterfalls, and mountains in the region. Links to these galleries are provided from Trailheads and Rides as well.
Featured Galleries: Dupont State Forest, Flat Laurel Creek, Picklesimer Fields, Tsali, Black Mountain...
Area Information
Get general area information to round out your trip, including things to consider when planning a ride, information about places to stay and bike shops, and ways to get involved in the area's mountain biking community.
Area Information Pages: Camping/Lodging, Bike Shops, Geography, Weather/Climate, Clubs & Organizations...
Site Updates & News
Forest Service Closes Shining Rock to Camping
The National Forests in NC just announced a camping ban, until further notice, in the Shining Rock Wilderness and Graveyard Fields areas, due to bear activity (trying to get food inside campers’ tents). The news release is below: Date(s): Oct 17, 2012 Pisgah Forest, N.C. — The U.S. Forest Service Read more »
Posted on October 17, 2012 12:36 pm
Forest Service Issues Warning about Black Bears in Shining Rock Wilderness
We received the following US Forest Service alert yesterday: TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY, N.C. – The U.S. Forest Service is warning visitors to the Shining Rock Wilderness area of the Pisgah Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, to be on the look-out for black bears. While black bear attacks on people are rare, Read more »
Posted on June 13, 2012 9:16 am
Much of Gorges State Park Reopened
According to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation’s web site, much of Gorges State Park – including the loop road, picnic areas, and several trails – have reopened after a long period of closure for construction! So get on down there and enjoy it! We’ll be visiting ourselves to Read more »
Posted on May 25, 2012 11:24 am
Alexander Mountain Bike Park Revisited
So I had some time after work today, and I decided it was time to hit up little old Alexander Mountain Bike Park, along the French Broad River in northern Buncombe County. Boy, was I not disappointed! The newer Left Loop had not even been completed last time I was Read more »
Posted on May 11, 2012 12:29 am
Live Blog – Pisgah Ranger District Trails Strategy Meeting
We’re going to post updates from tonight’s Trails Strategy meeting with the forest service, regarding the Pisgah Ranger District trails (Bent Creek, Mills River, Davidson River, Shining & Middle Prong Wilderness areas, and the Graveyard Fields/Black Balsam areas). Keep watching as we’ll be providing updates from the meeting (we have Read more »
Posted on May 8, 2012 4:46 pm
Over Half of Mortimer Campground Closed
According to a recent Forest Service press release (and to confirm a lot of rumoring going on before that), part of most of Mortimer Campground has been closed due to the potential for flash flooding in the area. 12 of the 23 campsites, in the lower area of the campground nearer Wilson Read more »
Posted on April 9, 2012 11:16 pm
Two New GPS Maps Added
We’ve added two new GPS maps of big area trail systems: Wilson Creek, in the Pisgah National Forest near Grandfather Mountain, and Panthertown, in the Nantahala National Forest near Lake Toxaway. Both of these trail systems, although very different, have two common types of destinations within them: waterfalls and trails Read more »
Posted on February 8, 2012 10:00 pm
Archived news and more articles are on the WNCOutdoors.info Blog.
