VIEW TRAIL MAP

MTB TRAIL STATS

Avg Rating:	12 trail reviews
Status: Open updated 10/17/09 by aabiking	Difficulty: Advanced
Length: 40 miles	Global Rank: #297
Tread: Singletrack	Configuration: Network
Ridden: 41	Wishlist: 44
Avg. Speed: 3.83 mph	Avg. Time: 3hr 0min

 

Buttermilk in Richmond

 

Dragon's Back in Salem

 

Angler's Ridge in Danville

 

  
reviewed by 2quik4u on May 16, 2010

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.

  
reviewed by bikefeen81 on March 21, 2010

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

  
reviewed by bigmountainriding on March 11, 2010

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

  
reviewed by jneuff on July 21, 2009

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.

  
reviewed by kevlars7d on June 27, 2009

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.

  
reviewed by vculee2002 on August 3, 2008

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.

  
reviewed by aabiking on July 1, 2008

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

  
reviewed by labrador944 on January 2, 2008

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!

  
reviewed by cjk133 on November 2, 2007

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

  
reviewed by gregc767 on June 9, 2007

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

  
reviewed by billybob123 on May 18, 2007

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.

  
reviewed by mudhunny on April 24, 2007

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.

MTB Trail Dashboard