If you are looking for something to do with younger kids, look throughout the listings for the family friendly adventure notes.
Staff recommended means we, or members of our families, have experienced this first hand.
Biking
See our Message Board for some specific rides, and please add your favorites.
Bicycle Camping and Touring Advice, some of the advice is serious, some of it meant only as entertainment, but definitely a site worth visting.
Black Bear Adventures Bicycle Tours Many of the tours are on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive or Natchez Trace. The tours range from 16 days to 3 days. Let someone else do all the organizing and planning for you. Just register, show up and ride.
Blue Ridge Parkway If you are in good shape or want to get in better shape, the Parkway is gift to bike riders. Plenty of climbing through a park atmosphere. There are also quite a few bed and breakfasts and even wineries to add to your adventures. The book Bicycling the Blue Ridge will save you a lot of research time. It does a lot of the planning work for you, listing lodging, country stores, bike stores, and attractions along the way, while plotting the miles and elevation changes. It also includes Skyline Drive information. Elevation profiles, more info, and more. Staff recommended.
Carolina Tailwinds offer small group bike tours in the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah. Or try their winery tour in the foothills.
IMBA affiliates in Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia Ride and volunteer.
National Geographic Map Store The most thorough topo maps for our parks and national forests. If you are exploring a new area on your mountain bike, you will be glad you have one of these maps.
North Carolina
Destinations and Routes
Check out Routeslip or Bikely for over 1000 bike ride routes, both mountain and road, in NC with maps, mileage, and elevation.
Asheville area road rides: ride past Mt. Pisgah, 95 miles; Ox Creek Plunge, 33 miles; Tipton Hill Loop, 19 miles; Mt. Mitchell, 70 miles, challenging with 6,000 feet of climbing.
Blowing Rock challenging road loop, 49.4 miles.
Franklin area, Burnington Valley Route, 19 easy miles.
Henderson Area road loop, 25.5 miles; ; Hendersonville-Brevard area loop, 52.4 difficult road ride.
Macon County Bike Routes, 8 bike routes.
Nantahala Forest Area, Lake area road loop, 29.5 miles; Cherohala Skyway, 41 miles out and back;
Hanging Rock area road loop, 21. 6 miles
Hickory area road loop, 24.5 miles, intermediate, steep.
Shops, Clubs, Tour Companies, etc.
Cycle North Carolina Site for the Mountains to Coast Tour and other rides.
Mountain Biking in Western North Carolina Maps, trails, clubs, bike shops, lodging, volunteer opportunities. Another site lists over 50 trails.
Nantahala Outdoor Center Bike Shop in Bryson City, NC, provides mountain bike rentals and nearby trail information.
North Carolina Bicycling Highways is a great site from the Dept. of Transportation.
Tennessee
Check out Routeslip or Bikely for both mountain and road bike ride routes in TN with maps, mileage, and elevation.
Chattanooga single-track.
Virginia
Destinations and Routes
A blog by a Virginia mountain biker discussing some good trails (and hikes and snowboard trips...)
Check out Routeslip or Bikely for over 1000 bike ride routes in VA with maps, mileage, and elevation.
Mountain Bike Trails, over 40 listed on this site.
Bedford County trails. Falling Creek Park, mountain bike trails, newly developed and still growing.
Burkes Garden, approximately 20-mile road ride through pristine countryside. Gentle climbs, almost no traffic. If 20-miles is not enough, check out this century. We strongly recommend you combine this ride with a visit to Cuz's Uptown Barbecue Restaurant near Tazewell, VA, a destination culinary gem. They also have cabins to rent if you want to make this a weekend retreat. Staff recommended.
Carvins Cove, approximately 30 miles of great singletrack from beginner to advanced, challenging climbing on some trails. The lower trails are perfect for newbies, the climbing trails are for advanced riders, lots of intermediate as well. Our favorite new trail there is the intermediate Four Gorges Trail (not very technical, but a climb to start). Map. Trail building volunteers also needed. More info. Near Roanoke. Staff recommended. Family friendly adventure for athletic children 13 and up.
Crozet, Charlottesville area Loops, 15.7 mile, 17.9-mile, 13.5-mile, 22.1-mile, 26.7-mile, 35.7-mile, 36.5 mile, 89.1 mile, road rides west of Charlottesville.
Damascus and Mt. Rogers area mountain bike routes.
Douthat State Park Nearly 40 miles of some of the best mountain biking trails on the east coast. Most, however, are for fit, experienced mountain bikers only (however, any family or friends who came along and are not up to the challenge still have great trails to hike, or a small lake to swim or paddle in). See also Dan Casey's Bike Rides above and East Coasters below for maps. Staff recommended
Explore Park (select maps)12 miles of beginner to advanced mountain biking trails near Roanoke off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The intermediate and advanced trails are for experienced mountain bikers only because they include climbing and some technical sections. Beginner loop with mountain bikes is a family friendly adventure. Staff recommended
Front Royal area road ride, 83.2-mile loop (including some Skyline Drive riding)
Iron Mountain Trail, 8 miles of singletrack in the beautiful Mount Rogers area, great scenery, Damascus.
Harrisonburg area: road routes: 24.2 miles, 27.6 miles, 34.9 miles, 48.6 miles; mtb: 35-mile "Southern Traverse".
Lexington, 44-mile road ride with flat and rolling countryside staff recommended; another one is 52 road miles for someone training.
Suggested bike rides in Nelson County.
New River Valley area, Spruce Run, 17.1 easy road miles; Maggie, 20.8 easy road miles; Blacksburg-Catawba Loop, 42.2 miles of road riding in rural Virginia. There are several cross-over roads to shorten your loop. Beautiful countryside. Staff recommended. Huckleberry Trail, Blacksburg A paved, 5.7-mile bike/pedestrian trail. Family friendly adventure. Staff recommended; Pandapas Pond, great interactive map of fun mountain biking area near Blacksburg, beginner to advanced trails. When you get hungry, Blacksburg is just a few miles away. Staff recommended. New River Trail State Park A flat, 57-mile-long mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding path along the New River in SW Virginia. Family friendly adventure if done in shorter sections. Staff recommended; Wilderness Road Ride, 70 miles; Christiansburg to Floyd road loop, 47 miles.
Roanoke/Salem area Roanoke Greenways Loop, 17.1 m; Salem, 47 miles, Did You Say You Like to Climb? Route, 20 miles; Catawba Valley, 20 miles Staff recommended; Roanoke with some traffic, 23-miles; If you want to remind yourself why you live in the Blue Ridge area, or if Lance calls you up and asks you to him one of the most beautiful rides in our area, try the New Castle-Maggie route, 25 miles Staff recommended.
The Transamerica Bike Route goes east through SW Virginia from the Kentucky border to Damascus,VA then north to Lexington and east to Yorktown. Sometimes, if you hang out at the local Sonic in Christiansburg in late summer and early fall, you can see the Transamerica bikers refueling. You can tell who they are by their panniers. They may have come all the way from Eugene, Oregon. Note that even though the route traverses the Rockies at 11,500 feet, the Virginia portion of the route has more total elevation gain than any other state, although any bikerider who has moved to SW Virginia from anywhere else is not surprised by this fact. Our hometown buds may laugh at our 27-speed bikes, but they are usually left speechless (and sore) riding the Parkway. So, go ahead and enjoy that Cocunut Cream milkshake, you'll need it.
Virginia Creeper Trail A 17-mile former rail bed that stretches through woods, fields and over creeks and along rivers from Whitetop through Damascus to Abingdon. Open to hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. You can take a shuttle to Damascus (about 1/2 way) or to Whitetop and endup in Abingdon for a mostly downhill ride. Restaurants and bike rentals are in both Damascus and Abingdon. Adventure Damascus Bicycles, Blue Blaze, and The Ole Barn Bike Rental offer trip planning information, rentals and shuttles. Abingdon is an historic town with several wonderful bed and breakfasts close to the trail. Shower off, then rest your legs while you see great professional theater at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon. Abingdon is also home to the Virginia Highlands Festival in early August. We suggest hybrid or mountain bikes for the ride. Family friendly adventure if done in shorter sections. Staff recommended
Shops, Clubs, Tour Companies, etc.
Bikes Unlimited A bike store in Lynchburg with a very helpful website. Click on their local information page and see a list of good mountain biking trails in Southwest, VA. Their links page has a lot of great information, including bicycle tour companies.
Blue Ridge Bike Club Bike club in Roanoke. Organized rides for a variety of levels, training advice, online maps.
Breaks Interstate Park The Grand Canyon of the South. Hiking, biking, horseback riding, swimming, rafting, cottages and campgrounds. family friendly adventure
Dan Casey's Bike Rides Dan Casey writes very useful articles about road and mountain biking for the Roanoke Times. Maps. A must for bikers new to SW Virginia. Some family friendly rides described. Staff recommended.
East Coasters Road and mountain bikes, equipment, service, expert bike fitting, online maps to local mountain bike trails, and maintenance classes. (Roanoke and Blacksburg, ) Staff recommended
Franklin Freewheelers Franlkin County area, promotes and encourages the use of the bicycle for transportation and recreation, supports the rights of cyclists, provides information on bicycling safety, and encourages fun and fellowship among cyclists of all ability levels.
Mountain Bike Virginia Races, rides and maps
Roanoke Cycling Organization Road riding, mountain biking, races, training, organized rides.
Shenandoah Mountain Touring Trails, custom tours and events near Harrisonburg.
Virginia Bicycling Federation The unified voice of Virginia bicyclists. Help keep the roads bike friendly.
West Virginia
Check out Routeslip or Bikely for both mountain and road bike ride routes in WVA with maps, mileage, and elevation.
Bike West Virginia
Elk River Touring Center offers mountain biking tours, rentals and shuttles.
Guided mountainbike tours in West Virginia with Appalachian Wildwaters. Camping and lodging available as well. Take a raft trip your second day.
New River Gorge mountain bike trails
Mountain bike the ski resorts. Ski resorts have figured out that mountain bikers actually have some income to spend at their hotels, or at least their restaurants. Some even stage races and other mountain bike events. If you hunger for downhill with a shuttle back to the top, or a freestyle park, and some great restaurants, check out Snowshoe, WV. Warning: Their downhill is for brave intermediate/advanced riders. When it rains up there, the trails of red clay become the slipperiest, stickiest, sloppiest trails you'll ever ride. Downhill at Colorado resorts like Keystone seem like a piece of cake compared to east coast downhill because here we learn how to traverse roots, rocks and gullies galore, while having our treads clogged with slippery, sticky red clay. But, like Keystone, Snowshoe is managed by Intrawest Resorts, which means some of the best food and mountain resort atmosphere you can imagine after your ride. Check out our Events page for their races and camps. Staff recommended
WARNING TO MOTHERS OF MOUNTAINBIKERS: Whatever you do, don't watch the video clips on this page. No, don't! I said No! Stop!
