Alexander Mountain Bike Park

Alexander Park mountain bike trails closed permanently Jan. 31, 2020. The parking area and trails are now gated and off-limits. You can still have a picnic by the river. Too bad!

Historical information remains below.

Overview

Located in a wooded buffer zone around the Buncombe County Landfill, Alexander Bike Park offered mountain bikers about 7 miles of trails on a slope high above the French Broad River.

[Closed] Technical Section of Trail at Alexander Park

[Closed] Pines and Ivy at Alexander Park

The trails ranged from smooth and fast (less common) to tight and twisty (more common), but in general they were rated More Difficult and were moderate in aerobic and technical challenge. Some trails followed existing roads but some were newly constructed for the park.

Some sections of trail got overgrown a bit in the summer, but they were in generally good shape.

Trails

There were two main loop trails in the park.

The red-blazed right loop started at the French Broad River parking area and traveled around the lower section of the park, totaling just over 3 miles, and contained the more tight-and-twisty singletrack and doubletrack.

The other loop, blazed yellow and called the M3 loop, started at the tip of the right loop (at the landfill access road) and wound around the hillside above the French Broad River. It had a faster, more flowing feel to it, but it too had some twisty sections with technical challenges to spice it up.

The barn road connected the parking area to the right loop and then continued uphill to form a connection through the middle of it.

Directions

From Asheville, take US 19-23 North to the Marshall/Hot Springs exit. Take this exit (US 25-70) and drive to the second light. Turn left onto Monticello road and follow this until it ends at River Road. Turn right; it is several miles to the signed parking area. The parking area is on either side of River Road.