Dark Mountain Nearest City: Wilkesboro, North Carolina How to get there: Take I-77 north to 421, then 421 north to Wilkesboro. Take 268 west from Wilkesboro. Three miles past 421, turn right on Reservoir Road. Follow Reservoir Road across W. Kerr Scott Dam and turn left at the flagpole. The parking area for the Dark Mountain trail is at the end of the driveway down the dam. The parking area for the Overmountain Victory trail is below the dam. The Overmountain Victory trail can also be accessed from the Dark Mountain trail. Trail Length: 6 miles Trail Description: 6 miles of single track that is very well maintained and entirely wooded, except for one small loop by the parking lot. Other Info: A fairly tough climb to start off with, but once you get in the single track rolls along with some good switchbacks. The lake loop was a lot of fun, pretty fast going down and a decent climb coming back up. The downhill section I rode on my way out had lots of big swooping turns, some good jumps and log pyramids off to the sides, and was super fast and fun. There is a jeep trail that runs through the middle of the trail system (its an even tougher climb going up this road but it is fairly flat at the top), and you can get to just about any part of the trails from it. There are also campgrounds at other parts of the lake, as well as a boat ramp, so it can make for a really fun weekend. A map can be found here: http://www.bmcc.us/index.htm

Reviews - Rate this trail

Date Ridden: 07/25/2010  -  Lyn & Rob of Charlotte, NC Route Taken: Warrior Creek Opinions: Loved this trail! This is one of the best trails in NC - lots of fast downhills, corkscrews and hills to keep your cardio up. Very few roots, but some fun challenges (rock garden) to keep you on your toes. Highly recommend!! Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 07/16/2010  -  Bob of Harrisburg, NC Route Taken: Warrior Creek Opinions: Very nice trail. All single track around the campground. 11.5 miles. Beautiful scenery. Some difficult climbs but always a reward with some downhill. Maintained great. Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 03/06/2010  -  Matt of Mooresville, NC Route Taken: All more then once Opinions: This is a very fun trail not to many roots. I rode it on a SS and was fine. But there is a 500 footish climb to start. Nice switchbacks and appeares to be well maintained. Do yourself a favor and grab a map from the office and pick out a route to take. I would suggest, 6-8-1-2-4-5-6 I think can't quite remember. 8 and 2 were great. Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 02/21/2010  -  Craig of Charlotte, NC Route Taken: Warrior Creek Opinions: The trail still has snow on it. Went up there to preview the 6-hours of Warrior Creek race course. I'm guessing it's wicked fun when in good condition. Loads of trees down, campsite construction and berm washouts. Their web site is poor, not giving current conditions. Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 08/29/2009  -  John C of Aberdeen, NC Route Taken: Started with out and back on Overmountain Victory Trail (OVT)with a side loop in Shiner's. Went over to Dark Mountain and rode trails 1, 2, 4,5 - in that order. Opinions: Fun is the best word to describe these trails. These trails are laid out better, with better use of the terrain than anything I have ridden. The climbs are spread out and not debilitating, the down hills are fun and fast without being scary or dangerous. These trails are made to be ridden, not to break riders. By riding OVT first you get a good warm up. No real climbing to speak of, but lots of dips, twists, bermed turns and fun downhills. Shiner's loop is one of my new favorite trails, just a blast to ride. Dark Mountain trails are the same with a bit more climbing. The only technically challenging trail was #2. This morning I rode alone and it was early and wet. I walked a couple of the downhill switchbacks on this trail because they were very steep in the turn itself, I was alone, it was wet, it was way early and the penalty for falling would have been quite a tumble down the hill, across boulders, through trees and into the stream. If you can handle technical downhill, don't miss this trail. It is beautiful and well worth it. Trails 1,4,5 are all similar to one another with some good spread out climbs, great fun easy grade downhills with bermed turns and a few obstacles here and there. Don't miss out on these trails if you get the chance. Again they are not for those looking for the "ultimate challenge" but are for those who enjoy riding fun, well laid out and maintained trails and enjoy a good day in the woods. Can't wait to go back. Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 08/09/2009  -  NorwegianBlue of Charlotte, NC Route Taken: All of he Dark Mountain trails (except 8 - the Burn), part of the Overmountain Victory Trail and the Shiner's Run Loop Opinions: Excellent condition and empty, we saw hardly any riders on a Sunday around 10am with perfect conditions. Trails were well groomed and dry. Not very technical, but lots of elevation changes (the climb out on trail 2 is a great workout). Many of the turns use the side of the hills for banked turns. Once you figure out that there are not a lot of obsticals, you can really get your speed up. Do the Shiner's Run Loop clockwise and fast. It was a blast. Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 08/09/2009  -  NorwegianBlue of Charlotte, NC Route Taken: All of he Dark Mountain trails (except 8 - the Burn), part of the Overmountain Victory Trail and the Shiner's Run Loop Opinions: Excellent condition and empty, we saw hardly any riders on a Sunday around 10am with perfect conditions. Trails were well groomed and dry. Not very technical, but lots of elevation changes (the climb out on trail 2 is a great workout). Many of the turns use the side of the hills for banked turns. Once you figure out that there are not a lot of obsticals, you can really get your speed up. Do the Shiner's Run Loop clockwise and fast. It was a blast. Bathrooms in the visitor center are nice and clean! Get a map while you are there. Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 11/15/2008  -  Mark of Monroe, NC Route Taken: Road the following trails counter- clockwise: Started on #1 to C to #4 to #5 back to C to #6. Opinions: The trails at Dark Mountain are definitely fun to ride. We found trails 4, 5 and 6 to be the most fun. They seem to have the most downhill sections and the uphill sections are spread over distance. It was worth the two hundred mile round trip. We took the advice from an earlier posting and took a trail map. Get a map from this site. http://www.bmcc.us/kerr_scott.htm Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 07/20/2008  -  Z of Statesville, NC Route Taken: all Opinions: great trail... this was the first time riding it since the new numbering system - so if you use an old map, it is a bit confusing in the attempt to hit all trails. new map is at http://www.bmcc.us/kerr_scott.htm TAKE THE MAP! The snake (#2) is tough! Take extra water - I always run out. Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 10/28/2007  -  Thorne Montague of Charlotte, NC Route Taken: Burn Route - and then some Opinions: Fantastic trail. I loved it all... even accidentally going down (and back up) Fish Dam Creek trail, early on. I enjoyed the Dog Town and Lake Loop trails so much, that I went back for 2nds and then 3rds. Big fun. Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 10/21/2007  -  ABJ of Charlotte, NC Route Taken: All trails. Wound over and across the mountain turning on any trail that suited us. Opinions: These trails are amazing. You could spend hours on the mountain taking multiple routes on this fast web of trails. Some are harder than others, but as my motto goes, "Never be too proud to walk if you aren't comfortable." Several great overlooks to take in the fall colors and the resevoir. They have placed the obstacles in a way that they can be avoided if you don't want to ride them unlike at Spencer Branch. This trail is much better than anything the Tarheel Trailblazers have blazed. They could learn a few things from the BMCC. Also, the BMCC members that we encountered were extremely polite and respectful. Something else the Trailblazers could learn. Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 08/01/2007  -  Andrew of East Lyme, CT Route Taken: Core to 1 to 2 then the from two to the core to four, three to core, and then six back to the lot Opinions: Don't let the fact that I'm from CT be misleading, I've ridden many trails in North Carolina (mostly pisgah and tsali)and have a pretty good sense on what is "good riding". I liked this trail and will be back to do more riding. The difficulty ratings were a little bit too harsh and the work in progress trails were misleading but it seems that once they are on the map this will be a great place to ride Difficulty: Trail Rating:

Date Ridden: 09/12/2006  -  tco of clt, NC Route Taken: Rode all loops Opinions: This is my new favorite mtn trail. Well thought out for mtn bike specific riding. Really great flow and fun roller coaster feel. Plenty of climbing, but all incorperated into flow of trails, so you're not cranking in the saddle for miles to get to the top, then shooting down one long straight trail to the bottom like so many mountain trail systems. Also really like all the obstacles and jumps etc. Difficulty: Trail Rating: