I went out to 26 West Bike park today and wanted to post some specific information. First: how to get there specifically
Directions: From the Winston area, take I40 west to Asheville, then follow 240 past downtown. Look for 26 west and follow for about 25 minutes until exit 3; you will see the Wolf Ridge ski mountain signs. At the bottom of the exit turn right onto Bear Branch road, and another right onto Hwy. 23. Then take your first left onto Laurel Valley Road, and then another quick left onto Puncheon Fork Road. Turn right onto Wolf Ridge Road at the Breakaway Village sign and you're there!
These directions will take you right where you need to go once you get on I-26 west out of Asheville.
First off, the place is actually open and the ski lifts are running. One the weekends the ski lifts are running from 10-6. I rode out there today and there were 10-15 other downhillers out there. Mostly locals.
They do drive you bike to the top in a truck, but the truck was always waiting when we got to the top on the ski lift. The lift is high speed so you're not on there for 30 minutes like sugar mountain. I got there today around 10:30 and did about 10 runs before I headed home.
They have about 5 trails open. This is a six inch travel or better place to ride. I was out there on my SX trail and rode everything. I would have liked to have a little more travel up front at a couple of points, but I got through it with plenty of speed. You don't have to have a Demo9 to have a good time up there, but you wouldn't want to be out there on your cross-country bike either. This is not a place for spandex wearers.
They have tabletop jumps, gap jumps, board drops, road gaps, and one cool step up jump. And, like Snowshoe, you can opt out of all the features.
I would say that the vertical drop is comparable to Snowshoe's basin side. It takes about 5-10 minutes to get down most of the runs and then you can go right back up on the lifts. You can go as big as you want. There is a 20ft gap jump up there, couple good road gaps, and jumps pretty much everywhere. It is still a little loose, but I was bombing down with no trouble.
This could be the next showshoe. it isn't yet, but for western north carolina, this place is rockin! The cost of the lift is $24 for the whole day. Well worth it.
They do not have much for concessions up there so bring a cooler with water and some snacks. They ahve a nice gas station with coffee and things like that just off exit three (about 10 minutes down the mountain). But other than that, you won't find much on top of the mountain.
If you like freeride and downhill, this is worth the trip. Business is picking up. I think they just needed to get a website up. For my part. We were questioning if the place really exists. Well, after 2.5 hours of driving from Charlotte, I am happy to report that the park exists, is open, and if you've got a big bike, is well worth the trip!
Directions: From the Winston area, take I40 west to Asheville, then follow 240 past downtown. Look for 26 west and follow for about 25 minutes until exit 3; you will see the Wolf Ridge ski mountain signs. At the bottom of the exit turn right onto Bear Branch road, and another right onto Hwy. 23. Then take your first left onto Laurel Valley Road, and then another quick left onto Puncheon Fork Road. Turn right onto Wolf Ridge Road at the Breakaway Village sign and you're there!
These directions will take you right where you need to go once you get on I-26 west out of Asheville.
First off, the place is actually open and the ski lifts are running. One the weekends the ski lifts are running from 10-6. I rode out there today and there were 10-15 other downhillers out there. Mostly locals.
They do drive you bike to the top in a truck, but the truck was always waiting when we got to the top on the ski lift. The lift is high speed so you're not on there for 30 minutes like sugar mountain. I got there today around 10:30 and did about 10 runs before I headed home.
They have about 5 trails open. This is a six inch travel or better place to ride. I was out there on my SX trail and rode everything. I would have liked to have a little more travel up front at a couple of points, but I got through it with plenty of speed. You don't have to have a Demo9 to have a good time up there, but you wouldn't want to be out there on your cross-country bike either. This is not a place for spandex wearers.
They have tabletop jumps, gap jumps, board drops, road gaps, and one cool step up jump. And, like Snowshoe, you can opt out of all the features.
I would say that the vertical drop is comparable to Snowshoe's basin side. It takes about 5-10 minutes to get down most of the runs and then you can go right back up on the lifts. You can go as big as you want. There is a 20ft gap jump up there, couple good road gaps, and jumps pretty much everywhere. It is still a little loose, but I was bombing down with no trouble.
This could be the next showshoe. it isn't yet, but for western north carolina, this place is rockin! The cost of the lift is $24 for the whole day. Well worth it.
They do not have much for concessions up there so bring a cooler with water and some snacks. They ahve a nice gas station with coffee and things like that just off exit three (about 10 minutes down the mountain). But other than that, you won't find much on top of the mountain.
If you like freeride and downhill, this is worth the trip. Business is picking up. I think they just needed to get a website up. For my part. We were questioning if the place really exists. Well, after 2.5 hours of driving from Charlotte, I am happy to report that the park exists, is open, and if you've got a big bike, is well worth the trip!
