[Triangle-AR] New park offers mountain bike trails (Herald-Sun)

[Charlie Roberts]

FYI,  New hiking and biking trails for those of you in the north Durham 
area.

...trianglemtb.com also has a link: 
http://www.trianglemtb.com/pages/trails/littleriver.html


-Charlie

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Column: New park offers mountain bike trails
By Phillip Barron, Herald-Sun, November 25, 2004   

Residents of Durham and Orange counties are about t
enjoy a new park at half the usual price. That's
because the new Little River Regional Park and Natural
Area has land in both counties, straddling the county
line. And since we're sharing the land, we're
splitting the cost of this exciting new project. 

Opening Dec. 5, Little River is the first joint effort
between the Durham and Orange County parks and
recreation departments and only the second regional
park in the state. At nearly 400 acres, it's much
larger than most county parks -- roughly the size of a
state park. 

Most exciting is that the park gives Durham and Orange
residents the first public mountain bike trails in
either county. 

"This is a huge benefit to Durham and Orange
residents," says Lori Taft, recreation and parks
management director for Orange County. Fifteen miles
of trails are planned for horseback riders, hikers and
mountain bikers. The more than 6 miles of singletrack
opening in December were designed and built by
volunteers with the Durham Orange Mountain Bike
Organization (DOMBO). 

Taft says that of all the groups that have volunteered
time to get the park ready, none has worked as
tirelessly as DOMBO. DOMBO carefully and thoughtfully
divided the singletrack into two loops: one more
challenging than the other. 

Singletrack, the gourmet of mountain bike trails, is a
thin strip of trail winding through the woods. It gets
its name from its width; it's just wide enough for one
bike at a time. 

The beginner loop introduces novices to riding over
roots, rocks and bridges. Cross-country connoisseurs
will love the more advanced loop, which has some of
the most challenging climbs, rock gardens and log
crossings in the Triangle area. 

The significance of opening singletrack at Little
River is that Durham and Orange county governments
join the Wake County and the state parks departments
in recognizing the demand for public places to
mountain bike. 

Opening day celebrations kick off at 2 p.m., with a
group ride on the beginner loop. The park's main
entrance is about 12 miles north of downtown Durham on
Guess Road. Look for signs just inside Orange County. 

None of this could have happened without the help of
the Triangle Land Conservancy, Eno River Association
and trail-building grants from the state government.
Special thanks go to George Newton, who originally
donated the land for preservation. 

Looking forward to opening day, Taft says, "I hope to
continue to work with DOMBO." 

Phillip Barron is a member of the Durham Bicycle and
Pedestrian Advisory Committee, a citizens group
advising local government how to make Durham more
bike- and pedestrian-friendly. He can be reached at
pbarron at gmail.com.