I added Douthat State Park in Virginia to my trail wishlist about two years ago when a friend said the trails there were better than Tsali. The Mountain Bike Virginia Falconguide seemed to confirm it and I even heard people refer to Douthat as “Mountain Bike Disneyland.” After almost a week of rain, wind, and cool weather the sun peaked through the clouds Friday morning and we were off to the mountains.
The Mountain Bike Virginia book said Stony Run was the popular place to ride so we parked our car in the tiny Stony Run trailhead parking area (room for 4 cars only). We had read there would be trail maps available at the park but we saw nothing but trees on the drive in. It turns out the maps and restrooms are in the main parking area about a half mile past the Stony Run trailhead and this is where we saw most of the other mountain bikers parked. Certainly not the first time a mountain biking book has been wrong…
Douthat boasts more than 40 miles of singletrack trails open to mountain bikers and the official park map is very helpful (though we heard some of the trails are “hiker only” but the map doesn’t designate which ones are closed to bikes). The scenery is great, the terrain challenging, and the options seemingly limitless. Our favorite trail was the Mountain Side trail that hugs the edge of a steep mountain face. Parts of the trail reminded us of the scree and gravel covered tracks in Colorado and the scent of pine and dry air made the experience all the more sentimental.
Despite the great weather and the enormous singletrack trail selection, we were a little disappointed by Douthat. The first trail we climbed, Stony Run, was an eroded, washed out mess with no less than half a dozen substantial stream crossings in less than a mile. Not only that, downed trees blocked the trail at regular intervals making it difficult to stay on the bike for more than a couple hundred yards. To be fair strong storms from the week before may have caused much of the damage but I still got the impression that the trails had not been well maintained.
The Wilson Creek area trails were in much better shape, though the trail design and layout left something to be desired. No doubt the Douthat trails were laid out for hiking many decades ago so there are few switchbacks to help you get up the mountain. Erosion has taken its toll on the upper trails cut into the side of the mountain and in many spots it’s as if there isn’t a trail at all. Maintaining these trails for future generations will take a serious effort and switchbacks and bench cuts seem to be a good place to start.
I’d love to hear from a Douthat regular who has ridden the trails recently to see if my impressions are correct. Also if any workdays are planned for the trails we’d love to hear about it so we can get the trails back in shape for the summer!
