REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

Mountain bike trails near Highlands, NC?

2315 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Timothy G. Parrish, Nov 9, 2021

celswick

Discussion Starter · Nov 5, 2021

We're taking a Thanksgiving trip to Highlands, N.C. this year. It won't be a mountain bike trip, but I'm debating whether I should take my bike. I'm pretty experienced and pretty fit (for a fat guy); I ride almost every day and I've ridden DuPont, Pisgah, etc. quite a few times.

The trip will be me with my non-riding wife, 2 adult daughters, and my mother in law. What I'm looking for is something close by that I could ride in the mornings while everyone else is getting up, getting ready, etc. I'm trying to avoid just sitting around the air bnb until 11:00 waiting for everyone to get up and get ready. If there is somewhere that meets that description, that would be great. If not, I'll find some other way to amuse myself while waiting for 4 women to get ready to take on the day.

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Harold

· #2 · Nov 5, 2021

nothing especially close shows up on Trailforks.

nearest stuff is up in Panthertown, some gravel in Georgia,

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celswick

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 6, 2021

Thanks. It looks like I’ll be be doing some walking/jogging every morning.

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Banjopickin

· #4 · Nov 8, 2021

Panthertown is not too far and its pretty fun... if its less than 30-45min away from where you're staying its totally worth it. Good XC stuff with a more natural flavor. Good views and plenty of waterfalls.

My loop is approx 12 miles and 2000' of climbing FYI.

Panthertown Loop Mountain Bike Trail, Cullowhee, North Carolina

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celswick

Discussion Starter · #5 · Nov 8, 2021

Banjopickin said:
Panthertown is not too far and its pretty fun... if its less than 30-45min away from where you're staying its totally worth it. Good XC stuff with a more natural flavor. Good views and plenty of waterfalls.

My loop is approx 12 miles and 2000' of climbing FYI.

Panthertown Loop Mountain Bike Trail, Cullowhee, North Carolina

That looks cool; I may have to check that out.

Since I posted my original question, a Plan B has arisen. I'm going to visit my daughter in Clemson this weekend and going to the game on Saturday, and I've managed to swing a day of riding in Pisgah on Friday (I plan on doing Clawhammer/Maxwell Cove/Middle and Lower Black). That may be enough real riding to get me through Thanksgiving with my mother-in-law.

Is Panthertown a good place for a family hike? I know there will be mountain bikers there, but is it a good place to take a stroll through the woods?

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RDO

· #6 · Nov 8, 2021

celswick said:
Is Panthertown a good place for a family hike? I know there will be mountain bikers there, but is it a good place to take a stroll through the woods?

It's a fine place to hike, there are a number of waterfalls and vistas. I have hiked there twice and never seen a mountain bike.

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Prognosticator

· #7 · Nov 8, 2021

celswick said:
That looks cool; I may have to check that out.

Since I posted my original question, a Plan B has arisen. I'm going to visit my daughter in Clemson this weekend and going to the game on Saturday, and I've managed to swing a day of riding in Pisgah on Friday (I plan on doing Clawhammer/Maxwell Cove/Middle and Lower Black). That may be enough real riding to get me through Thanksgiving with my mother-in-law.

Is Panthertown a good place for a family hike? I know there will be mountain bikers there, but is it a good place to take a stroll through the woods?

There are also some good trails in the Clemson Experimental Forest. Check out the website or visit the South Carolina Botanical Garden for trail maps.

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Timothy G. Parrish

· #8 · Nov 9, 2021 (Edited)

Prognosticator said:
There are also some good trails in the Clemson Experimental Forest. Check out the website or visit the South Carolina Botanical Garden for trail maps.

Botanical Garden does not have MTB trails. You want Issaqueena. Look on TrailForks or MTB Project; everything is on there. No other accurate maps available.

Depending on your route, hiking in Panthertown has water crossings. Some knee deep; Mac's Gap trail. A few other trails are regularly muddy and soft; namely Great Wall FS 489 and Granny Burrell Falls trail. Otherwise awesome place to hike for waterfalls and views. Don't bother hiking up Big Green trail, 487, nothing to see up there and waste of time.

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Prognosticator

· #9 · Nov 9, 2021

Timothy G. Parrish said:
Botanical Garden does not have MTB trails. You want Issaqueena. Look on TrailForks or MTB Project; everything is on there. No other accurate maps available.

Depending on your route, hiking in Panthertown has water crossings. Some knee deep; Mac's Gap trail. A few other trails are regularly muddy and soft; namely Great Wall FS 489 and Granny Burrell Falls trail. Otherwise awesome place to hike for waterfalls and views. Don't bother hiking up Big Green trail, 487, nothing to see up there and waste of time.

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Right. SCBG doesn't have trails. What I wrote was they have maps of CEF trails which includes Issaqueenah.

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Timothy G. Parrish

· #10 · Nov 9, 2021

Prognosticator said:
Right. SCBG doesn't have trails. What I wrote was they have maps of CEF trails which includes Issaqueenah.

Ah, Ok. None of their maps are useful, however. They could not add trail names to them for bizarre legal reasons. There may be an older IMBA coordinated one, but horribly out of date, circa 2012.

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