With both Sugar and School House gone will need several more miles of trail to make it work the drive.

Time to reopen the trails out to the Dairy Barn

Probly won't help to salt this one away but.. i rode there two weekends ago, it was still perfectly easy to access SLE and Sugar and they were in great shape.  All they did was remove the signs, so if you know your way around, the only real difference is that there is now more trail on the SLW side which is now a proper loop known as Paradise.   

Also, for the aspiring SS'ers out there, Paradise is a great loop to start building those skills on.

Anybody got a mileage out there right now?

Paradise, Avery, Tunnel, Prairie together.

The official map says it's 5.9 miles, which doesn't sound quite right. Somebody else told me they were getting 8.5.

That sounds about right.

How I wish they'd open up more of that stuff out there to mountain bikes..
Considering how many hiking and horse only trails there are and the fact that you've got the blue star running right through the middle of it, I'm always surprised at the amount of foot traffic on Paradise.

Robert C. wrote on 09/19/17 at 11:31am:


More trail is being built up near Prairie and the Adventure Center, probably another 4+ miles. That should get total trail mileage around 12.

rob wrote on 09/20/17 at 2:59pm:


This thread reminds me of all those organized  TTB rides that did not happen while Catawba was being transformed into the WWC.

At least folks are now being honest about poaching.  Me thinks "the man" has better things to do than watch this forum.

Oh and Rob, it's all poison ivy and that lingering smell of Tyson.   

aasnowrider wrote on 10/18/17 at 1:17pm:


From the main parking lot, follow the signs taking the Paradise loop clockwise (directional).

At about 1.5 miles you'll get to a trail junction. Stay left. This is the small avery loop around the pond (1/4 mile or so). You'll dump back out on paradise. In another 3/4 or a mile or so, you'll get to the blue star/tunnel trail/paradise (old school loop west) trail junction.
Stay straight on the tunnel trail (Bi-Directional).

Once you get to the gravel road and cross the bridge you've got two options for the Prairie loop (Bi-directional). Take a left onto single track for clockwise at the sign (parallels Steel creek), or stay straight up the hill on the jeep road for counterclockwise. At the top of the hill take a left onto single track. It's a loop, so you'll eventually return to where you started.

Then work your way back.

When you get to the end of the tunnel trail, directional paradise going back the parking lot is a sharp left turn. Plenty of signage if reading them is your thing.

This is about 8 - 8.5 miles or so.

Yep.

We're lucky to have this on the south side.

Soon, there going to be working on another loop on the prairie side. That'll make the total mileage in the 12 mile range. So stay tuned. 

Yielding to hikers could be a subjective thing. 

That would have to be a "going in opposite direction" thing wouldn't it? If I am coming up behind some hikers, I really don't have anything to yield to. I will let them know I am there, wait for them to get the heck off the trail and then I blow by them.....errr, wait patiently for them to move to one side then ride slowly by all the while saying "hope you have a good day"

If they are coming the other way, you just have to see. Most of the time, the hikers will move off the trail and let me by. 

A lot of the hikers don't look like they've been in the woods before. Might not know what they or I are supposed to do. 

I had to stop dead on the rock pile the other day as a family with kids was coming down. Not the easiest place to stop, but it was fine. Smile and wave, smile and wave.......

we came across the same guy, i think.  he yelled at us as we were passing.  i was having way too much fun to even register.