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Kessel Run

Difficult Difficult
 4.9 (37)
  1. Areas
  2. NC
  3. …West and Mountains
  4. …Cherokee
  5. Fire Mountain
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“The highlight trail of the Fire Mountain Trail System, this one is fast, fun, and oh-so-much flow. ”

Vinnie Connors
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2.1

Miles

3.4

KM
Singletrack

2,884' 879 m

High

2,335' 712 m

Low

120' 36 m

Up

642' 196 m

Down

7%

Avg Grade (4°)

24%

Max Grade (14°)

Dogs No Dogs

E-Bikes Allowed

Features -none-

This is a one-way, downhill only trail — do not try to climb this trail. One Way Only: This is designated as a directional trail.

Description

Kessel Run starts at the very top of Fire Mountain and can be accessed by climbing either Spearfinger or Uktena. The trail crosses over Waya at a horseshoe-shaped wooden bridge and crosses Lazy Elk at the 1.8 mile mark before ending at another intersection with Lazy Elk. If you add the end of Lazy Elk and Kate's Wave to this run, you get a 3.5 mile total downhill. The terrain is mostly smooth singletrack with tons of berms, rollers, a few jumps, and one optional technical rock garden. The flow is almost endless!

Contacts

Land Manager: City of Cherokee, NC

Shared By:

Vinnie Connors with improvements by Michael Murphy
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.9 from 37 votes

#1

in Fire Mountain

#237

Overall
  4.9 from 37 votes
5 Star
89%
4 Star
8%
3 Star
3%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Trail Rankings

#1

in Fire Mountain

#11

in North Carolina

#237

Overall
14 Views Last Month
4,441 Since Aug 21, 2017
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Photos

Kessel Run to Lazy Elk to Kate's Wave - Fire Mountain Trails - Cherokee, NC - 11/11/2018
Nov 18, 2018 near Cherokee, NC
Kessel Run - Fire Mountain - Cherokee, NC - 8/20/2017
Aug 22, 2017 near Cherokee, NC
Scenic vista on Lower Tinker's Dream at Fire Mountain in Cherokee, NC.
Aug 24, 2020 near Cherokee, NC
Riding over the bridge on Kessel!
Sep 1, 2017 near Cherokee, NC
Really well constructed trails, these guys did a great job and created a wonderful asset for the WNC MTB community!
Sep 1, 2017 near Cherokee, NC
Lazy Elk - Fire Mountain Trails - Cherokee, NC
Oct 28, 2017 near Cherokee, NC

4 Comments

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Weather

Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 83 days ago
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Jun 8, 2026
Luke Mellon
Jun 10, 2024
Glenn Gemmill
Aug 10, 2023
Jason Gardner
Rode 8/9. Trail in great condition.
May 11, 2023
Aaron Tyrrell
This is my favorite downhill in the ETN/WNC region. Worth the trip.
Apr 27, 2022
Daniel Walker
Martin and I. Day 1of4. We went to the top of the Mtn 3 times. Best way up is the Fire Tower trail. Best way down is Kessel Run. Aktuna is also goo… 17.4mi
Oct 23, 2020
Lost Justpastnowhere
Sep 4, 2020
Christopher Angel
Nov 21, 2019
Michael Murphy

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