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A short 2.5 mile loop with decent flow and a lot of potential in the heart of Charlotte.


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Map Key

3.6

Miles

5.7

KM

Singletrack

694' 212 m

High

644' 196 m

Low

179' 55 m

Up

179' 55 m

Down

2%

Avg Grade (1°)

9%

Max Grade (5°)

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Unknown

Trail close for 24 hours after rain. For current trail conditions, go to tarheeltrailblazers.com.

Description

Southwest District Park (SWDP) boasts 4.5 miles of singletrack trails anchored by the original Main Loop (2008) 2.0mi, which has several sub loops that always come back to the Main Loop. Currently, there are 3 sub loops, Tamale (2017) 0.5mi, Stillwater (2020) 1.25mi and Abu Run (2021) 0.75mi. The trail is designed and built to be ridden in one direction only, both for optimal flow and for safety. The trails are all hand-built with a small amount of machine building more recently. The Main Loop is beginner rated with the other three sub loops rated as intermediate. All features have ride-arounds. The trails at SWDP have been described as old school tight technical singletrack. There are flatter and more flowy sections and rooty and rocky sections with punch climbs which will surprise the advanced rider and challenge the intermediate rider.

There are several features which have been added in recent years. There are two 26ft length bridges crossing the stream. Stillwater loop boasts 13 wooden crossings or bridges and a beginner rated wooden berm. Tamale has one of the longest downhills with a curvy and flowy trail. Abu Run features a purpose-built stone arch flyover bridge which has to be seen to believe. The rider passes under the 8' clearance and later on the trail flies over the arch and into one of the largest wooden berm constructions in the Charlotte singletrack system. It also challenges with the highest climb in the park with an tight switchback at the end.

Construction will begin in Spring 2022 on the final phase of the SWDP build-out. The new trail will re-route some of the harder sections of Main Loop and incorporate them into a new 0.5mi loop of wider flowy trail with a couple of new features. This will bring the SWDP trail system to over 5 miles! Well worth the trip.

Contacts

Shared By:

Vinnie Connors with improvements by Hank Gray

Trail Ratings

  4.1 from 31 votes

#689

Overall
  4.1 from 31 votes
5 Star
35%
4 Star
39%
3 Star
23%
2 Star
3%
1 Star
0%
Trail Rankings

#689

Overall
68 Views Last Month
5,073 Since Aug 24, 2014
Intermediate Intermediate

4%
14%
64%
18%
0%
0%

Photos

Trail builders have been doing a great job here.
Mar 3, 2021 near Charlotte, NC
Cool rock jump on the stillwater side.
Mar 3, 2021 near Charlotte, NC
Stay left at the bottom of the main entrance drop to ride the new Stillwater loop
Nov 28, 2020 near Charlotte, NC
New jump on main loop.
Mar 3, 2021 near Charlotte, NC
Riders passing under the stone arch flyover bridge on the new Abu Run Trail at SWDP
Feb 19, 2022 near Charlotte, NC
Flyover Arch Bridge with large wooden berm. New exit includes a second smaller berm to carry speed to the hillside climb.
Feb 19, 2022 near Charlotte, NC
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Weather


Current Trail Conditions

Unknown
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Jun 16, 2024
Jason Brown
Trail is in great condition except for the 2 large trees down. 1 on main trail and 1 on tamale.
Aug 26, 2023
Colton Apgar
Jun 6, 2023
Jason Happe
4mi — 1h 00m
Nov 2, 2022
Ryan Snedegar
5mi
Sep 20, 2022
Matthew Hughes
Aug 7, 2022
Jason Brown
4.3mi — 0h 46m
Jul 3, 2022
Jason Brown
Jun 3, 2022
Luis Rivera
4.7mi
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