|
|
|
|
|
||
Pine Mountain Recreation Area Mountain Bike Trail
Cartersville, Georgia
MTB TRAIL STATS
Avg Rating:   |
11 trail reviews |
|
Status: updated 2/9/11 by GoldenGoose |
Difficulty:  Intermediate |
| Length: 4 miles | Global Rank: #1787 |
| Tread: Singletrack | Configuration: Loop |
| Ridden: 21 | Wishlist: 25 |
| Avg. Speed: 4.2 mph | Avg. Time: 0hr 51min |
| Elevation Gain/Loss: +774/-649 ft | |
 2 trail check-ins |
Directions:
To view directions to Pine Mountain Recreation Area mountain bike trail, please login. If
you don't have an account, sign up now: it's free, only takes a minute, and gives you access to tons of other rad features.
Description: The trail is open daily for hiking. Mountain biking usages is allowed only on Wednesday and Saturday. Bikers must follow color-blazed directional signs for those days, no exceptions. The trail is maintained by the City of Cartersville Parks & Recreation Department. Relatively new trail, very clean ans well maintained. Wednesday is counter clockwise (for bikes) and Saturday is clockwise. I Recommend Saturday because that route will put all the tight--get off your bike-switchbacks on the up-hill and leave the--red hot disc brake rotor rollercoaster-for the down hill. All in all, this is a good lungbusting, challenging climb and a rewarding down hill. It\'s short enough to do if you live close by and you only have 30 or 45 minutes to ride (unless you\'re just a bad ass climber) and challenging enough if you want to lap it a few times to get a good burn.
Description: The trail is open daily for hiking. Mountain biking usages is allowed only on Wednesday and Saturday. Bikers must follow color-blazed directional signs for those days, no exceptions. The trail is maintained by the City of Cartersville Parks & Recreation Department. Relatively new trail, very clean ans well maintained. Wednesday is counter clockwise (for bikes) and Saturday is clockwise. I Recommend Saturday because that route will put all the tight--get off your bike-switchbacks on the up-hill and leave the--red hot disc brake rotor rollercoaster-for the down hill. All in all, this is a good lungbusting, challenging climb and a rewarding down hill. It\'s short enough to do if you live close by and you only have 30 or 45 minutes to ride (unless you\'re just a bad ass climber) and challenging enough if you want to lap it a few times to get a good burn.
added on September 11, 2006 by 
SIMILAR TRAILS
Riders who liked this mountain bike trail also liked:Five Points in Trenton
Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers
TRAIL REVIEWS review this trail
reviewed by inbody06 on February 9, 2012
Brutal up hill climb but worth the view from the top , not a bad downhill but not epic either. lots of rocks lining the trail waiting to grab a tire and make a meal out of you if you wipeout . lots of very sharp switchbacks hard to matain flow . but worth the view
reviewed by cliffc on June 18, 2011
Best trail within 10 minutes of cartersville. If you are at a low fitness level be prepared to take a few breaks, the uphill is brutal. I personally like wednesdays which is counter clock wise. The uphill may require getting off your bike a couple times at the switch backs but the down hill is FAST, really FAST!!! I try to ride this every wednesday and saturday since it is within 5 minutes of my home. Worth the ride
reviewed by topjimmy on February 16, 2011
When I first rode this trail a few years back I hated it. I rode it again today and loved it. Maybe the difference between a hardtail and riding it on a full suspension. Good, hard climb to the top. Take the short ride to the top to take in the view for a few minutes. Then bomb downhill for 10 - 15 minutes. Super fast downhill. Lots of switchbacks on the way up with rocks that are impossible to ride over. But the view and the downhill make the trip up worth it.
Similar Trail: Blankets Creek
reviewed by GoldenGoose on February 9, 2011
I was really impressed with this short trail. It had great singletrack, nice views, technical challenges, hard climbs, rewarding downhills, and flow. Easily one of the most fun short trails I have ever ridden. No, the switchbacks weren't easy, but I think every one of them IS doable with the right speed and right line. I feel like this is one of those trails that you can grow with. As you get better, obstacles become passable and your speed up and down the mountain increases. Oh yeah, the overlook is pretty killer too!
reviewed by mcornelia on August 5, 2010
I agree with Loonytik on his review - it's almost impossible to ride up counter-clockwise due to 270 degree switchbacks with steps. Really not made for bikes at all. And yes - this side of the trail (East) is empty during the week. You would be pretty safe to ride up clockwise and then back down the same way. Visibility is really good too - no real blind turns. The only disappointing part is you can spend 20+ minutes climbing up and then rocket down in 5. So if you want a climbing challenge and a FAST downhill after work this may be just the thing for you.
reviewed by Loonytik on August 4, 2010
This trail was not designed for bikes so don't expect it to be so. Frankly, the counter-clockwise direction is a waste of time because the switchbacks will have you off your bike more than on unless you're an accomplished trials rider. There isn't enough use of this trail during the week to worry about the direction. Ride up clockwise and take the time to visit the overlook, it's worth it. Then, enjoy the downhill down the same direction!
reviewed by zippyzap68.5 on May 5, 2010
I rode the Wednesday loop. It is a tighter and steeper climb to the top than the Saturday direction. The swithcbacks are very tight with large rocks right where you make the turn. I found myself off the bike to negotiate most of these. They are not ideal switchbacks for bikes. However, the downhill portion makes it all worth it. As previously suggested mind your speed downhill and be ready to turn. I think I am going to disagree with a earlier review recommending the Saturday route because the downhill section is littered with all the very tight swithbacks. The downhill on Wednesday is more flowing. I'll come back on a Saturday and test my hypothesis. Nicely maintained. Thank you Cartersville. I rate it a black diamond due to the difficult switchbacks (I normally don't have to get off the bike this much).
* Review edited 5/5/2010
Similar Trail: blankets creek
reviewed by Frank_C on February 25, 2009
Rode it for the first time today, a Wednesday. I appeared to be the only one out there. Scenery is nice, trail is well maintained. There are not a lot of technical areas. The first half of the ride is all uphill and the second half is all downhill. The climb going ccw is pretty tough at times. My biggest complaint about the trail is that the switchbacks are cut too sharp and have large stones which make it necessary to dismount 10 times or so. The downhill was a blast - about 20-25 mph. If I wasn't short on time, I would have ridden up again just to bomb it again.
reviewed by Giant_Boulder on January 2, 2009
This was my first MB trail and did I pick a rough one. Lots of dismounts and tight switchbacks. Went on a Saturday but I think I went around the trail backwards for that day. A fun ride down.
reviewed by sandm96 on September 27, 2006
Rode Pine Mountain again today as a part of a loop starting at Cooper's Furnace. Made all the way to the top, only dismounts or stops were for a few tight switch backs (uphill only), made all the switchbacks downhill. Also added the Lookout/summit section to this ride. Nice rocks up there to catch your breath on, and pretty good view as well. Just a word of warning: watch your speed on the downhill, this singletrack is pretty narrow with some blind turns, if you come head on with a hiker going fast, there's nowhere for either of you to go. It would be a nasty fall to go off the side. Also, this whole loop, with the summit/lookout trail, actually only totals about 3.2 miles from parking lot back to parking lot, but it's fun, and your legs know that they did something afterward.
reviewed by sandm96 on September 11, 2006
I'm the moron who submitted this trail, and to correct myself: Wednesday is Counterclockwise (recommended) and Saturday is Clockwise (OK, but tough switchbacks on the downhill, many of them are forced dismounts). Fun trail though!
Similar Trail: Not similar, but for more good climbing check out the House of Dreams ride at Berry College (Rome)
