Did you know there is an old private runway at the top of Dupont State Forest? Yes, that’s right…the Summit Airstrip, a private runway built by a previous landowner for use by himself, his family and friends, which was completed in 1979. Today there are trails that will lead you to this airstrip, providing fantastic long range mountain views of Mt Pisgah at the end of the runway, perfect for the obligatory Strava post photo.
We love mountain biking in Dupont State Forest. The trails offer a variety of climbing, fast downhills, various terrains, moderate technical sections, numerous waterfalls and water crossings, some slick rock….just pure mountain bike fun without too much intensity. This specific 13-mile mountain bike ride in Dupont State Forest is not only exciting because of the airstrip, but it also offers a fun mix of flowy and technical sections giving a great taste of the trails. Also worth noting, there are porta-toilets or bathrooms at all of the dedicated parking areas in Dupont and I can say with confidence, they are the cleanest porta-potty’s I have ever had the pleasure of using!
This ”Airstrip” mountain bike ride is a nice, moderate ride which should take about 1 hour 30 minutes to maybe 1 hour 45 minutes from start to finish. To access this trail, park at the Dupont Visitors Center at 89 Buck Forest Rd (only 8.4 miles from our RV Park, see driving directions at the bottom).
So here are the turn-by-turn directions for this fun Dupont State Forest mountain bike ride…the “Airstrip ride”.
13 miles, 1,400 feet of climbing
Characteristics: moderate, fun flow, some technical sections, small amount of gravel road but mostly single track, roots on one trail, slick rock on another trail, 2 fun downhill sections, airstrip with great photo ops
Park at the Dupont Visitors Center on Dupont Road
- Enter through the gate and ride up Buck Forest Road (gravel road) through the historic wooden bridge (photo op #1)
- Take a right onto Conservation Road for about 300 feet
- Take a left onto Pitch Pine Trail (single track begins…now the fun begins!) (1 mile)
Note: Pitch Pines is a great warm-up trail to wake up your legs, it has some fun small rock sections and great flow. This trail will pop out by Lake Dense.
- Take a left onto Three Lakes Trail (7 miles)
Note: Three Lakes has a lot of roots and will keep you on your toes as you snake your way through. Again another “wake-up” trail.
- Take a left onto Conservation Road (another brief section on the gravel road…sorry, getting back to the single track soon)
- Take a right onto Bridal Veils Falls Road (gravel road)
- Take a hard left onto Cornmill Shoals Trail (1.5 miles)
Note: 1-mile climb with some slick rock along the way…enjoy!
- Take a left onto Laurel Ridge Trail (about .75 mile)
- Take a right on Mine Mountain Trail (1.7 miles)
Note: climb for about ¾ mile and then enjoy a fast fun downhill
- Take a left at the bottom of the downhill onto Fawn Lake Road
- Take a left onto Conservation Road. In about 500 feet you will pop out onto the airstrip runway, bare left and continue down to the end of the runway to see the views of Mt Pisgah. Photo op #2. Now backtrack about 500 feet for the official “Airstrip” downhill.
- Take a right onto Airstrip Trail…have fun! (if you skipped the photo op at the end of the runway, the trail will be on your left instead)
- At the bottom of Airstrip take a left onto Shelter Rock Trail
- Take a right onto Corn Mill Shoals for more downhill…are we having fun yet?
- Take a right onto Bridal Veil Falls Road (gravel road)
- Take a left onto Conservation Road (gravel road)
- Now you have a choice…you can either head back to your vehicle OR ride Three Lakes/Pitch Pine backwards. Pitch Pine has a few sections that are relatively technical in this direction and makes for a fun end to the ride. If you want to ride this last bit of single track, take a right onto Three Lakes Trail and then just continue onto Pitch Pines Trail until it ends at Buck Forest Road. Take a right onto Buck Forest Road to the parking lot.
- If you decide to head straight back to the parking lot, continue on Conservation Road and then take a left onto Buck Forest back to the parking lot.
This is the counter clockwise route for Airstrip, Mine Mtn and Cornmill, but they also work very well in the clockwise direction. If you want to try this one, as you are coming down Bridal Veil Falls Road, you will still turn left onto Cornmill Shoals but about ½ mile in you will turn left onto Shelter Rock. Then a right to climb the airstrip trail, then right onto Conservation Road, left on Fawn Lake, right on Minte mountain, Left on Laurel Ridge and then a right to head back down Cornmill Shoals. Both routes end at the same Cornmill Shoals/Bridal Veil Falls road junction.
There are so many awesome mountain bikes trails and mountain bike parks around us. We hope you enjoy this ride as much as we do! Let us know what you think. Now it’s time to go relax those legs so you can explore more trails tomorrow.
Driving directions from Pisgah Forest RV Park and Campground to the Dupont Visitors Center parking lot:
Take a right out of our driveway onto Crab Creek Road.
After 4.2 miles turn right onto Dupont Road/Staton Road
After 4.2 miles more, the Dupont Visitors Center parking lot will be on your left
