MTB Trail Features: The Toilet Bowl

# Suggested Excerpt

Raccoon Mountain's Small Intestines trail features unique "toilet bowl" sections where the trail loops quickly back on itself, showcasing creative modern trailbuilding techniques.

**Word count: 24 words**

This excerpt captures the main subject (Raccoon Mountain trail feature), uses descriptive language typical of Singletracks, and highlights the innovative trail design aspect that makes the article noteworthy.

By Jeff Barber
March 16, 2009 Last Updated: May 17, 2026

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One of the reasons I love to ride new trails is that I never know what to expect. I’ve been mountain biking for about 15 years now and every now and then I ride a trail and think, “why haven’t I seen this before?”. Two weekends ago I had one of these moments at Raccoon Mountain near Chattanooga, TN.

I’m sure there’s an official trailbuilding term for what I’m about to describe and demonstrate but for now I’m calling it the “toilet bowl.” This is basically a section of trail that loops quickly and doubles back on itself. There were two “toilet bowls” on the Small Intestines trail (fitting, eh?) at Raccoon Mountain and the video below shows the best one.

I bet this section is really fun with a group of 4-5 riders following closely – someone will end up getting cut off at the intersection 🙂

These days trail builders are really getting creative and they seem to be drawing on freeriding as an inspiration. I can’t wait to see what else the trail artists come up with!