Eastern Slickrock Best Ride
Synopsis
Loop ride features slickrock riding, significant climbs, technical sections, jumps, and fast trails. A blast. Highly Recommended!
Ride Statistics
- Difficulty: More Difficult
- Total Length: 5.4 mi
- Trail Tread Condition: Moderately Rough
- Climb: Hilly
- Total Elevation Gain: 850 ft
- Trails/Roads Used: Corn Mill Shoals, Big Rock, Little River, Burnt Mountain
- Ride Configuration: Figure-8 Loop
- Starting point: Corn Mill Shoals parking area
- How to Get There: From Asheville, take I-240 west to I-26 east to the exit for the Asheville Airport (exit 9). Turn right onto NC 280; follow this 4-lane highway for 16 miles toward Brevard. Stay straight on the 4-lane, NC 280 ends and the highway becomes US 276/US 64. Stay on this until downtown Brevard; turn left to follow US 276. Stay on 276 until Cascade Lake Road; just past Grammy's restaurant. Turn left here. Go about two miles and park in the large parking area on the left, rimmed with huge boulders and with an information board in the back of the lot. The Corn Mill Shoals Road trail starts across the road from the parking lot. Locate DSF on the WNC Area Map.
Details
Ride Description
Ride across Cascade Lake Road and onto the signed, gravel Corn Mill Shoals Road; ride down and around the blue gate. Turn left shortly onto the signed Big Rock trail. The first part of this climb is steep, rocky, and pretty technical. Later, the trail will emerge from the forest, going onto solid granite slickrock.
The slickrock sections are somewhat technical, with pits, dips, and drop-offs, and steep sections are common. Your tires will have great traction when it gets steep (unless there are leaves or pine needles on the rock - then, watch out!). An incredible view will open up to the left at one point. Follow the cairns and blazes, and stay off the patches of moss between the solid rock sections, which dies if it gets trampled or ridden on too much. The trail will continue in this manner all the way to the top of the ridge, passing through sections of woods and then out onto rock again.
After topping out, the trail starts downhill and curves right, downhill, through the woods. You will veer north and come out onto slickrock again. There is an intersection with the Cedar Rock trail on the rock, marked by cairns and a sign anchored with stones. Turn right, heading downhill on the slickrock along the ridge, and pay close attention to the cairns! It's easy to wander off the trail here and end up at a dead-end by the woods. This downhill section is moderately steep, bumpy, technical, and fast, and it's almost all on solid rock. The trail will reenter the woods, leaving the slickrock behind, and become pretty technical again. This will soon bottom out at the signed intersection with the Little River trail.
Turn right here. This trail - hardpacked doubletrack - is rolling and fairly fast. A few rocky sections, deep sand pits, and a good creek crossing (by means of either a ford or a sketchy log bridge), and scenic woods spice up this part of the ride.
You will soon reach the signed intersection with Corn Mill Shoals Road. Make a hard left onto this doubletrack trail on an old road bed - much the same as Little River was. Next, you'll want to bear right, uphill, at the intersection with the Burnt Mountain trail. This wide singletrack trail follows the Little River at first, and starts out as a fast, rolling, and fun ride. Further on, the trail becomes a bit more demanding - there are some rocky sections and even a few very short pieces of slickrock. Further still, the trail takes a more uphill path and climbs significantly.
The trail will round a wide right turn back to the north and continue uphill toward the summit of Burnt Mountain. The singletrack continues climbing steadily and it flows on and off the old road bed - it's a fun climb. You'll pass just below the summit of Burnt Mountain as you reach the top of the climb. Another faint trail leaves to the left; bear right, downhill, and prepare to have some fun! Be very careful of horses on their way up, however; they prefer to climb this section of trail while mountain bikers prefer to drop it.
The descent starts out as fast and twisty singletrack. It gradually becomes more and more technical, developing some excellent jumps at first where you can catch some air and then later becoming quite steep and rocky with a few short drop-offs which can be nasty if you're not paying attention. At the bottom of the descent, which will come all too quickly, is another intersection with Corn Mill Shoals road. Look right and you will see the earlier intersection with the Little River Trail about a hundred feet downhill. Turn left and begin climbing up Corn Mill Shoals Road.
This ride culminates in a moderate climb, followed by a short but fun descent with a few rock jumps. Pass the Big Rock trail on your right, ride around the gate, and back to your vehicle at the parking lot.Alternatives: turn left at the Big Rock/Cedar Rock trail intersection instead of right to descend the east side of the Cedar Rock trail. Then turn right at the intersection with the Little River trail to pick back up on the ride. This alternate is shown in purple on the ride map. Also, try riding either of the smaller loops in the other direction - it totally changes the character of the ride. Add in more nearby trails for nearly endless options.
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GPS map coming soon!
Map coming soon!
