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A jeep trail climb followed by great singletrack back down.


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Map Key

18.2

Miles

29.3

KM

40%

Singletrack

3,073' 937 m

High

1,505' 459 m

Low

2,598' 792 m

Up

2,595' 791 m

Down

5%

Avg Grade (3°)

27%

Max Grade (15°)

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Not Allowed

Overview

Yancey Ridge was recently redesigned in 2021 during a large restoration project to protect from erosion. The trail cannot be shuttled and requires at minimum a climb up a jeep road that is currently closed to motorized vehicles. The climb is moderate to challenging but can be pedaled the entire time depending on fitness. Once you reach the top and are on the marked Yancey Trail, the singletrack is fast, relatively smooth (for Pisgah) combined with enough roots, rocks and small rollable drops that keep it interesting. There are also many long downhill stretches with clear sightlines that you can open it. There are a few punchy climbs and 1-2 shortish hike a bikes. The downhills in between feel longer than they look on a map and more than makeup for the few climbs. A few nice long-distant views along the way! Fantastic trail!

Description

Skip parking at Mortimer campground unless you want extra road miles. Instead, head on FR 981 (Roseboro Rd), and you'll have two parking options:

1. Park at the bottom of Yancey Trail. You can see the obvious trail exit (opposite river) and a few spots for parking (riverside). From here, climb north on FR 981 until you reach a concrete bridge with an obvious parking area just to the left of the bridge and FR 192 across the road (currently gated off for watershed restoration (April 2023)). This is the bumpy jeep road you'll climb up to Yancey. When you're all done you'll end right at your car!

2. You can park at the bottom of FR 192 mentioned above which has plenty of parking. While it cuts off some initial climbing from the start, if you do not have a shuttle or drop-off, you'll have to bike uphill after your fun and exhilarating downhill. This is not my preferred option.

FR 192 is severely eroded and bumpy in places making the climb up not your usual mindless gravel road. You'll be forced to pay a little attention to what you are doing. It is never too steep to bike depending on your fitness. At the top is Old House Gap. On your left are two boulders and a gate, an option to continue straight or an option to go right. You are going to the right on 4062 (small sign to confirm). Stay left at the first fork then right at the second (these turns are intuitive and the trail leads you in these obvious directions). From this point you'll reach an overlook and a makeshift stone seat to have a rest before officially jumping on Yancey Trail which is marked by a FS signpost.

From here it's a mix of some wide open singletrack, a few mild technical spots and a few short punchy climbs with 1-2 certain and short hike-a-bikes. The upper and middle sections are fast and flowy, the middle to bottom is a bit more technical with speed checks and the bottom is smooth with several switchbacks. There's a great lookout before you drop into the final section of downhill. The trail will dump you out back on FR 981.

Contacts

Shared By:

Zach Morrow with improvements by Cody Bliss and 1 other

Trail Ratings

  4.4 from 23 votes

#1

in Wilson Creek

#713

Overall
  4.4 from 23 votes
5 Star
57%
4 Star
35%
3 Star
4%
2 Star
4%
1 Star
0%
Recommended Route Rankings

#1

in Wilson Creek

#713

Overall
66 Views Last Month
10,992 Since May 17, 2015
Difficult Difficult

0%
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5%
19%
76%
0%

Photos

One of the many creek crossings.
Dec 8, 2017 near Linville, NC
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Weather


Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 84 days ago
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