Dark Mountain

The next time you find yourself headed to Northwestern North Carolina, bring your bike along. There is some fantastic singletrack to ride at the Dark Mountain facility in Wilkesboro, NC.

It's Dam Fun!

The trails at Dark Mountain roam around a wooded hill on the shores of the W Kerr Scott reservoir. In fact, to reach the trails, you drive across the top of the dam. Conveniently, the parking lot for the trails is across the street from a nice playground. So, if an enterprising parent were to convince, oh, I don't know, maybe your spouse to watch your kids play, you could get in some sweet trail time even if encumbered with small children. There are also some portable toilets in the parking lot at the base of the dam on the other side from the dam you can use if you need.

The Dark Mountain trail area is marked below in the red square.

Trails by Numbers

Dark Mountain is maintained by the Brushy Mountain Cycle Club (BMCC), and directions to it were easily found at a local bike shop in Boone, NC where I was staying. The trails themselves consist of a short, steep jeep road that enters and loops around the top of the hill, and the maze of 9 trails that branch off of it and criss cross each other and the jeep road itself. The trails are numbered, and you'll want a map before you hit them.

Sign posts throughout the trail system point to which trail you are on. The trails were very nice and include a couple of special features. However, my enjoyment was tempered by the fact that they were not directional. I almost had a head-on with the only other people in the park. I decided to reverse direction and follow them for safety.

There are a couple of truly wonderful features at Dark Mountain. There is a large marble boulder up top that is built up on one side for jumping. There is also a really great trail numbered 6 which is an awesome downhill exit path. Many log jumps, rock gardens, and BMX type obstacles exist that will lift your wheels from the dirt repeatedly. You will really if you enjoy that sort of thing.

One of my favorite features was the rhodadendran tunnel. A trail has a fast bit that scoots through a tunnel under huge flowering bushes. During the spring, I imagine it would be filled with flowers and very beautiful.

One of my favorite features was the rhodadendran tunnel. A trail has a fast bit that scoots through a tunnel under huge flowering bushes. During the spring, I imagine it would be filled with flowers and very beautiful.

Trail 1 was very nice and reminded me of the Dwelling, though it was not as bu-bu-bu-bumpy as Dwelling.

Trail 2 was technical and reminded me of the South Loop. I am not good enough to enjoy that kind of thing yet and found it unpleasant and was forced to dismount several times. I was riding alone (only two other guys in the whole park on a Friday morning) and didn't feel like taking any chances.

Trail 3 has the tunnel of Rhodes. Try it!

Trail 4 was very pleasant and fast to ride. It leveled off like a roller coaster and allowed me to catch my breath and then take off again.

Trail 5 was off of trail 4 and was very fun! A strong downhill into a lakeshore with a lot of curves in the trail crossing contour lines. Then a well-designed ascent to the top of the hill. The two guys I was following and I stopped to rest and then recovered and found we were 20 feet away from the exit point back onto the main Jeep road (trail C).

Trail 6 I used to exit and will comment on later.

Trail 7 crosses trail 6 and the intersection is difficult to navigate at first.

Trail 8 was a one-way climb to a dead end and back. I recommend avoiding trail 8.

Trail 6 was HOLY COW! Someone went ape-**** on this one and put in jump after jump after jump. There were log piles to climb over, there was a row of logs to roll down on a hill (very scary), and it landed in a rock garden. It was very advanced to me - Area 51 level stuff. Rookie pucker effect was a 10. Advanced guys, you simply have to try this downhill scramble through all known possible obstacles. You will be screaming WOOHOO! all the way through it and go back up and do it again. Someone up there knows how to make an advanced trail.

All obstacles have a go-around, so even a rookie like myself with several wounds on the back of his calf can navigate most everything without a lot of trouble. I really enjoyed Dark Mountain and would not hesitate to go there again.

Reviews of Dark Mountain at SingleTracks