Review: Just was here for a couple days of camping/riding for the first time. This park is as advertised, awesome trails, vomit inducing uphills with rewarding downhills. one of the trail heads was 15 feet from my campground.

Review: I used to live in Northern Virginia so biked in the GW National Forest a few times. These trails here at Douthat State Park are in much better condition than a lot of the others I've ridden. The campsites are centrally located so you can just hit the trails from them. It is a lot of fun, but with some pretty brutal climbs to get up to the ridgeline. Please take the outer trails in a clockwise loop. The trails are pretty narrow and I was almost flattened by a guy coming down a switchback.

Similar Trail: Elizabeth Furnace, Reddish Knob

Review: I camped at Lakeside Camp grounds which is an excellent location for all the trails at Douthat. There are many activities at Douthat so non-mtn bikers will be well entertained while you ride. I rode just under 40 miles in two+ days. The first ride was on the eastern side of the lake on the Ross Camp, Mountain Side, and Beard's Gap which drops you off at the Park office. This was a steep, difficult climb. I don't get much climbing living in the Virginia Beach area so this may have been more challenging for me than some one with more climbing experience. The trail is rocky, lots of roots and very narrow. The downhill is not long on this route but there are a lot of tight turns and lots of switchbacks which beome annoying. The next morning at rode up Ross Camp again but continued on to Mountain Top Trail and down the Brushy Hallow Trais. This a much longer downhill, many switchbacks and steep and rocky, well deserving of the very difficult rating mostly because a mistake could be painful and costly. After lunch and a nap, I rode the west side of the lake. I rode through the park, past the park entrance to Stony Run Trail, this is a 5 mile climb all the way to Middle Mountain Trail. The climb is long, with 8 switchbacks, all but one I could ride, and can be very warm. Bring lots to drink. Once I reached Middle Mountain, the trail flattened out, some downhill and then a short steep climb. After this short climb, the downhill starts all the way back to the Lakeside campground. I used the Salt Stump Trail and Backway Hollow and ended up at my campsite. This downhill is fast and flowing. At the top, it is narrow with growth about shoulder high and makes seeing theeh trail tough. After several hundred yards, it open up and become fast with only a few switchbacks. There are a few rocky/rooty sections and while this trail deserves a very difficult rating, it is not as tough as the Mountain Top, Brushy Hallow sections. The lower section, Backway Hollow if a lot of fun and very fast.

Review: Camped and rode here last fall when I still had my hardtail 29er. It was rough on a HT bike. Some of the climbs were brutal but the downhill run we took back to the lake was pretty well worth the climb. We rode 20+ miles in a weekend and I don't think we ever rode the same thing twice.

Similar Trail: Wolf Ridge Trail, Reddish Knob

Review: douthat has really good trails and some rocky climb. i like locus gap the best because it is fun and fast. and when you done you can just go for a swim or take a shower

Review: Long, grinding climbs to the top (pretty much without interruption) followed by screaming descents on rocky terrain with lots of loose spots. Very challenging because of the climbing. Lots of amenities in the park, including camping and boating.

Similar Trail: Norris Watershed, TN

Review: I see it's been exactly a year since the last review. All I can say is "wow" and "you should go". Rode east side trails. Marking as Very Difficult for the climbing and the narrow singletrack on several trails with steep drops as the penalty for not staying on the trail.

* Review edited 5/16/2011

Review: I rode this trail last fall. It is not very technical but it does have some serious climbs. Definately some nice scenery once you finally get to the top. Blue Suck Falls is nice also.

Review: I enjoyed this ride we did a little over 20 miles in a day. Defiantly say stay for a few days to ride it all. The views from lookout rock was awesome. The down hill is steep and gets you rolling fast

Review: For intermediate or advanced riders, Douthat provides plenty of challenges and rewards. Few will like the huge climbs featured here, yet they lead to some sweet descents. Many of the trails are overgrown, but well marked with signage. You will feel you are in the back country as you enter a skin-flaying length of Rhododendron tunnels. Middle Mountain ridge is a sweet, mostly big-ring descent, with some tight switchbacks thrown in to spice things up. Parking off the main road in the park means you will be riding up. You can go off to the left of the road when you're driving in from the main entrance, or to the right. The trails to the left are more well-known and traveled. They lead up to Middle Mountain. A screaming descent back to the parking area is Stony Run Trail The trails to the right are less used, and lead up to a knife-like ridge line. However, there is some sweet tech stuff out that direction as well, on Mountain Top, Mountain Side and Brushy Hollow trails. For a detailed review of all that Douthat can serve up, read about a +40-mile race there: http://bigmountainriding.com/middle-mountain-momma-2009-xxc-ride-debrief/

Similar Trail: Dragon's Back, Roanoke, VA

Review: We camped at Beaver Dam Campground in the park for the night. I rode up the middle mountain trail. It was a solid hour climb for me. But the riding on the ridge was amazing. The downhill had my brakes smoking. The Brushy hollow trail was my favorite. It had a great flowing downhill. Nice place to ride. It is a little difficult for beginners due to the sustained 3ish mile singletrack climbs.

Review: This is a great network of trails. We rode (and pushed) up Salt Stump to Middle Mountain Trail. It was a grueling climb, but well worth it. Middle Mountain was an easy ride on the top of the ridge, but the pay off was riding the 4+ miles downhill on Stony Run. Lot's of fun. The other trails in the park are great too and in good shape. We will definitely go back.

Review: Before coming to Douthat to ride, I thought I was a fairly good climber on a mountain bike. I was wrong. The trails here are unlike anything I had ever encountered or dreamed about. The climbs start immediately & they don't give up--They just keep on coming. Then you add the rocks(or should I say mini boulders) that are on just about every trail that I rode. I rode for 5 days here & still did not ride every trail that the park offered. The descents were fast but you had to stop every so often to give your hands & brakes a rest--Yes, even with a full suspension bike like I have...LOL..While this may seem like complaining, I really did enjoy the trails overall, the 2 that stuck out in my mind were Stony Run & Locust ...Stony Run connects to Tuscarora Overlook & the view is breathtaking. You stand at 2000' feet & you can see mountains & valleys & the beach at the campground looks like a little speck. Locust had great flow & was a good ride overall. The only complaint I had was as a previous rider mentioned, the trails need to be cut back some. If you ride, you should either be prepared for some banged up shins/ankles or wear pads because if the branches & sticks don't get you, the rocks flying up on the descents will. Ride hard & live long.

Review: One sweet set of Mountain Bike Trails. I took a day trip with some fellow members of the SVMBA ( http://www.svmba.org ) so we only got to ride 21 miles of the trails. This was my first experience and I will be back this summer for more fun. We started our ride at the bottom of Blue Suck Falls. We rode up Heron Run until we reach the camping area and took the road over to Ross Camp Hollow Trail and rode it to Mountain Top. From Mountain Top to Brushy Hollow for a killer decent. Then by road back to the bottom of Blue Suck Falls Trail and up. This trail has a lot of hike a bike and we should have taken Stoney Run but we had time restrictions and decided to take what we thought to be a quicker route to the top for the decent down Middle Mountain. The climb was grueling but the decent was worth it. The trails do need to be brushed back as there are areas that will beat your legs worse than my momma could have ever done with a switch. Overall this is a great set of trails that are in need of some maintenance. * Review edited 7/1/2008* Review edited 7/1/2008

* Review edited 7/1/2008

Review: the best way to get the most out of this park and the trails is to rent a cabin and stay for two or more days. ...then take all 40 miles of it in at once!

Review: Douthat is without a doubt an east coast gem. I find the park's trails to be flowing and mostly easy with a few features. The trails are starting to age from use and there are sections that need rebenched or filled...no tail dragging. The park is really just a place to get warmed up, even though it would take a weekend to truly ride out every single mile of trail. Beyond the park, the backcountry offers insane trails - 7 mile descents, massive vertical, all day soul crushing ventures. There are 4 main ways out of the park on singletrack to the backcountry that lead to many secret descents that totally outrate what the park has to offer. A good rule of thumb in the park is to follow counter-clockwise patterns, but each trail has its place either direction and is ridable with the exception of buck.

* Review edited 11/2/2007

Similar Trail: elliots knob, SMT

Review: Just to be upfront, I also posted this review on the mtbr.com website. The website for Douthat (doubt-that) state park states there are over 40 miles of trails in this park. I rode less than half of that in the two days that I was in this area. Check in with the park ranger station to get a pretty good map of the trails. The trails are all well marked with color coded banners on trees. Day one, I rode the Stony Run Falls route (4.5 miles long with a 1900' climb) then on to the Tuscarora Overlook trail. I took the Blue Suck Falls trail back down to the ranger station. The climb was overwhelming to my Florida legs and I ended up walking many lengths of the steepest climbs. Day two, I took the Buck Hollow trail to the opposing side summit and rode down on the Brushy Hollow trail to the main road. Both of these routes are summarized by brutal climbs and excellent long, fast downhill runs that will leave your hands cramping from brake use. These trails are tight singletrack and in places are somewhat overgrown. Overall, this was an incredible place to ride with a fantastic view for those who are able to make it to the top. website information at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/dou.shtml* Review edited 6/9/2007

* Review edited 6/9/2007

Review: I rode the Douthat trails at the beginning of April for 3 days and they were perfect, so maybe a big storm came through just before Mudhunny rode. The trails are spectacular higher up on the mountains--hard packed with long climbs (and, of course, descents). Whatever hike and bike you have to do to get up there is well worth it.

Review: i was sadly disappointed when we rode this trail. i wish i could blame the bad shape of the trails--rampant debris and harldy rideable creek crossings (on stony run trail)--on the recent stormy weather, but there many areas with super thick piles of leaves and down signs at intersections indicating little or no signs of life have been riding the trails in what seems like years (hmm, the last review was posted in 2005, what a coincidence!). the only trail that i enjoyed and was 90% rideable (from a technical aspect, not riding because of the steepness is another story!) was the mountain side trail. this trail was slightly reminiscent of colorado, with tight singletrack, gravely dry terrain, and spectacular views. i wish more of the trails were ridden more because there is tons of potential for multiple fast loops. this trail network is definitely not lacking in quantity (40 miles could take days to explore) but you have to go through some choppy stuff to get to the better quality trails.

Review: This is a great network consisting of about 40 miles of trail. Long climbs are rewarded by grand views once a rider gets to the top. The decents are great, mostly open and flowing. You will not have to peddal for miles. For a trail map see the SORBA-Chattanooga trail guide. www.sorbachattanooga.org

Similar Trail: Tanasi 35 miles (TN), Dillion State Park - 15 miles? (OH)

Review: Douthat State Park is one of the best Mountain Bike Trail Systems in the South East!!! Long accents and fast descents provide an exciting and challenging workout. Middle Mountain Trail and Mountain Top Trail provide outstanding scenic views of the Allegheny Mountains. Stony Run Trail is my favorite accent and the Brushy Hollow Trail is my favorite decent. I recommend spending a long weekend here to really appreciate what the Douthat State Park Trail System has to offer.

Similar Trail: Tsali Trail Systems, Bryson City NC Fontana Trails, Fontana NC Chilhowee Trail Systems, Ocoee TN Tanasi Trail System(White Water Center), Ocoee TN New River State Park (Rails to Trails), Galax-Pulaski VA

Review: The key words at Douthat are options! The trails offer something for everyone, including long continuous uphills, teeth-chattering downhills, nerve wracking ridge rides and long flat sections through mountain laurel including some really challenging rock gardens! You can camp in the park (the cabins are great!) or anywhere outside the park in the national forest.