Alamance County sits directly between Greensboro and Durham, North Carolina. And that is exactly where mountain bikers living in the county go to ride – west to Greensboro or east to Durham and Raleigh. While certain areas of the state are mountain bike destinations, there aren’t any mountain bike trails in Alamance County.
For now.
The county recently acquired around 700 acres of land near the Haw River. While more hiking trails are being added, Alamance County Parks is also planning to add up to 15 miles of mountain-bike-specific trails – a first for the area.
Up to 15 miles of singletrack
Adding new trails to an otherwise dead zone is awesome. Potentially adding 15 miles is huge.
“Realistically, if we really wanted to, we could probably throw 20 to 30 miles out there,” Nolan Carter, the county’s Trails and Open Space Coordinator, told singletracks. “Me personally, my goal is quality over quantity.”
Carter explained that he has been thinking about trails ever since he began working with Alamance County in 2017. He was excited about the potential of riding his bike to work, but soon realized that would mean riding on pavement. Carter was fine with that notion, but quickly realized something like a bike path or a greenway would be great.
And singletrack would be even better. Unfortunately, Alamance County didn’t have either. While riding on a roadway was a fine form of recreation, it obviously comes with its dangers. With cycling already having a higher bar of entry, adding potential road danger would surely make many newcomers look for other forms of recreation. Hoping to present new recreation opportunities to its residents and lay the foundation for more trail development, Alamance County began looking toward mountain biking.
“I would like to see this be kind of the halo project that kind of propels more mountain bike trails in our county,” Carter said.
While they are still in the early stages of trail development, Carter said the county has been considering 10 to 15 miles of mountain-bike-specific trails. The trail system would be within the recently acquired acreage, connected to an existing popular hiking trail network.
Carter says the goal is to keep user groups separate. Aside from a few trails that “technically” allow bikes, every other singletrack experience in Alamance County is on foot. He expressed that the county has numerous hiking trails, many of which do not allow mountain biking. To keep trail conflicts low and provide new opportunities for two-wheeled riders, Carter has his fingers crossed that the 10-15 miles of new trails will be for mountain biking only.
And hikers won’t be left out of the new trail plan. Roughly eight more miles of hiking trails could also be added to the 700 acres.
The trails will encompass a full range of skill levels – beginner, intermediate, and advanced – with an emphasis on green and blue trails. While Carter said they obviously want to provide a singletrack experience for all riding levels, the county also realizes that the likelihood that riders will just get into the sport by using the trail system is high.
For the county’s first mountain bike trail system, they don’t want to scare away or discourage new users.
But, Carter also mentioned that the new property has a bit more elevation than the surrounding area. While he couldn’t speak to features like jumps and drops, he did say that they will also incorporate more advanced trails.
A move from big sports to recreation
Like many places around the country, Alamance County has long focused on traditional sports. This generally means large sports complexes, with multiple fields and big price tags.
Carter mentioned that in recent years, Alamance County Parks has shifted its focus slightly toward different forms of recreation, with the Haw River State Trail as a high priority. That trail stretches 40 miles from north of Greensboro to the southern part of the county.
While hiking is permitted on the Haw River State Trail, mountain bikes aren’t. But the acreage the county acquired sits next to the trail, and adding mountain bike access will expand recreational opportunities throughout the area.
The county also hopes that it will be an economic booster for nearby communities. So, when the county acquired the land from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, they made sure to make an allowance specifically for mountain biking.
Carter said that they are currently applying for grants for the project. They are hoping to raise enough funds to have the trails professionally designed and to have at least some of the actual trail building done by a professional crew as well.
If they can fund an entire professional build, they will. If not, volunteers will be on standby. Carter mentioned how the county is beginning to find partners and advocates from nearby trail advocacy groups like the Triangle Off-Road Cyclists and the Fat Tire Society. Project boosters hope to receive good news regarding the first round of grants in August.
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