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Best Mountain Biking in North Carolina

This list represents the most popular mountain biking in North Carolina (learn more about Top Trails). Use this list to plan your next North Carolina mountain biking trip. Select a state and/or activity below to find even more top trails.

Learn more about Top Trails

Activity: State: Reset

#1. Bent Creek

The nearly 10 miles of doubletrack and singletrack open for biking in Bent Creek Experimental Forest are comprised of a 6.5-mile loop, with a 1.6-mile one-way out-and-back (3.2 miles total) tacked on…

From the guidebook "Mountain Bike! The Southern Appalachian & Smoky Mountains"
Asheville , NC - Mountain Biking - 9.7 miles

#2. Umstead Park

If you want to get outside, be surrounded by trees, and just spin, then this is your place. Umstead Park offers clear, well-maintained gravel Forest Service roads throughout this thick patch of woods.…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Raleigh , NC - Mountain Biking - 16.6 miles

#3. 18-Mile Ride

Some mountain bikers disdain gravel road trips, preferring singletrack or nothing. However, even the staunchest singletracker may be persuaded that some gravel roads must be ridden. The ride begins…

From the guidebook "Mountain Bike! The Southern Appalachian & Smoky Mountains"
Boone , NC - Mountain Biking - 34 miles

#4. Kitsuma

Kitsuma is an awesome ride—period. Once you climb past the dozen or so initial switchbacks (which, strangely enough, are kind of fun in their own right), you’re faced with a torpedo run down along kni…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Black Mountain , NC - Mountain Biking - 10.3 miles

#5. Panthertown Valley

This 4.6-mile combination trail (a 2.8-mile loop with an out-and-back spur; the spur is .9 each way) is a great introduction to the interior of Panthertown Valley. Mostly level, moderately technical,…

From the guidebook "Mountain Bike! The Southern Appalachian & Smoky Mountains"
Cashiers , NC - Mountain Biking - 4.6 miles

#6. UNC Wilmington

This trail is open to riders of all ability levels. There’s no elevation gain, but hey, you’re at the beach; what do you expect. The many humps are lots of fun, and the logs are big enough to require…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Wilmington , NC - Mountain Biking - 6.4 miles

#7. Benson Hollow

This 5.5-mile loop inside Boone Fork Recreation Area can be pieced together with some trails that bisect the main loop. The doubletrack portion of the loop (about three and a half miles) has at least…

From the guidebook "Mountain Bike! The Southern Appalachian & Smoky Mountains"
Blowing Rock , NC - Mountain Biking - 5.5 miles

#8. Caney Bottom

This may well be the most purely fun trail available in all of Pisgah National Forest. The climb is relatively mild, the waterfall is spectacular, and the descent will have you waking up the next morn…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Brevard , NC - Mountain Biking - 5.2 miles

#9. Black Mountain

Simply put, this is one of the top three descents in the entire forest. It should be on the “A” list for any rider who requires enormous doses of heartbreak, challenge, and adrenaline. Make no bones a…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Brevard , NC - Mountain Biking - 9.9 miles

#10. Buckeye Trail

"Buckeye was built with the whole family in mind." Elevation is gained slowly for the most part. Long, slow switchbacks follow the contours of a mature forest of oaks, hemlocks, and maples shading d…

From the guidebook "Mountain Bike! The Southern Appalachian & Smoky Mountains"
Blowing Rock , NC - Mountain Biking - 5 miles

#11. Smith Lake

Smith Lake is an excellent introductory trail—a good place to take friends you want to show a good time and where they won’t biff. The track is most often smooth and flawless, and if you’re expecting…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Fayetteville , NC - Mountain Biking - 7.9 miles

#12. Dupont Epic

With the multitude of trails in Dupont, the area just begs for epic rides. Here’s one that takes in a good deal of the forest, including many of the classic attractions as well as some of the more rem…

From the guidebook "Off The Beaten Track Volume II: A Guide to Mountain Biking in Western North Carolina - Pisgah"
Hendersonville , NC - Mountain Biking - 23.5 miles

#13. Catawba Riverfront Mountain Bike Park

This 12-mile loop (mostly singletrack, with some doubletracks) along the Catawba River has sections as demanding as anywhere in Charlotte. It draws riders from all over the southeast to compete in an…

From the guidebook "Mountain Bike! The Southern Appalachian & Smoky Mountains"
Charlotte , NC - Mountain Biking - 12 miles

#14. Cades Cove

Hundreds of thousands of tourists come to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park each year, and almost every one of them takes the 11-mile paved Cades Cove Loop Road, either motor or non-motorized v…

From the guidebook "Mountain Bike! The Southern Appalachian & Smoky Mountains"
Cherokee , NC - Mountain Biking - 11 miles

#15. Lake Crabtree

This is an excellent beginner trail where I send any novices looking for rides in the area. It’s smooth and safe with just enough roots and humps to keep it interesting. The park management and NC FAT…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Raleigh , NC - Mountain Biking - 3.9 miles

#16. Catawba River Front

This is a top-notch ride, only 15 minutes from Charlotte. Catawba is the kind of trail that’s doable for a determined beginner yet still challenging for an advanced rider. For the uninitiated, the cli…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Charlotte , NC - Mountain Biking - 8.5 miles

#17. Bicycle Post

This is the best trail we’ve seen east of Raleigh so far. It’s safe for newbies, and still fun for advanced riders. It’s fast and fun, with plenty of room to stretch your legs and spin, and plenty of…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Greenville , NC - Mountain Biking - 8.6 miles

#18. Renaissance Park

This little secret singletrack gem lies hidden only a long wheelie’s ride from the Charlotte Coliseum. Don’t be fooled as we were into expecting a smooth, cruising trail set up for Buffy on her Huffy,…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Charlotte , NC - Mountain Biking - 4.7 miles

#19. Cane Creek

A number of trails lace the land around the lake. The directions given here lay out two loops: The first is a beginner’s loop with a minimum of technical challenges, though it does contain some huge,…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Waxhaw , NC - Mountain Biking - 11.9 miles

#20. Betty Heinous Loop

Betty Heinous, while not quite in the same league as her big brother Mo’, is a fast, hair-raising run that will have you alternately grabbing all the brakes you can and letting them go to hope for the…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking North Carolina"
Asheville , NC - Mountain Biking - 12.8 miles