Disclaimer: The Blue Ridge Bicycle Club and its affiliate members encourage you to always wear a helmet and to ride within your own personal limits (safety first!). We urge you to have a topographical map of the area and to bring a compass. Any mileages included are approximate. Use these directions at your own risk!
Access: From Asheville, take I 26 East to Exit 9, Asheville Airport. Turn south at the top of the ramp onto Route 280 toward Brevard. Travel for about 15 miles to Pisgah Forest and take a right onto Route 276. Travel for about five miles and take a left at the sign for the Pisgah Forest State Fish Hatchery. After about one mile, turn left into the Fish Hatchery parking area.
Miles Ridden: 18.5 miles. Using your topographical map, you can exclude any of the trails listed and use FS 475 to get back.
Technical Difficulty: Moderate. The climb up FS 475B is not hard; it just seems to stretch on forever, and the middle sections on Daniel Ridge will sear your lungs! Sections toward the end of Daniel Ridge allow for no margin of error as you ride the edge of a ridge with a the longest rock garden you’ve ever seen, pushing you toward a sixty foot drop to the river below.
Rider level: Beginner: We would only recommend you ride up FS 475B to 225, down Caney Bottoms and back to the start on FS 475. Intermediate: 5 hours. Advanced: 3 hours.
Trails and roads used: FS 475, FS 475B, FS 225, Caney Bottoms Extension, Caney Bottoms, Davidson River (for beginner ride included), Daniel Ridge, Long Branch, Butter Gap (seasonal), Cat Gap (seasonal).
Route: Leave the Fish Hatchery and take a left onto FS 475. Turn right onto FS 475B to start a long steady climb. This is a great warm up on a cold winter’s day! Stay straight past any turns on FS 475B; you’ll pass Slick Rock Falls on your right and a gorgeous view of Looking Glass Rock. There are several small cascades to your left.
After about three miles, take a left onto FS 225. Pass a turn off to the right, pass another turn off to the left, and start a nice downhill. Keep your eyes peeled for a gated road to the left. Caney Bottoms’ sign is down in there. Turn left, and go around the gate. The old road is fast and loose, with an eight-foot berm thrown in the mix. Pass an unmarked trail to the left in a right hand bend. About a tenth of a mile past the bend, turn left onto yellow blazed Caney Bottom extension, which is single track. There is no sign here, so pay attention. If the road starts to get overgrown, you’ve passed it.
After about half a mile of fast, slightly downhill single-track, you will come to a stream crossing. It is very rideable, even by beginners. Just remember to keep those legs spinning! There is a bridge off to the right, but where’s the fun in that? Caney Bottoms hiking trail breaks off to the left at this point, as well. Stay straight across to start, following blue blazes. The track is a constant slightly downhill grade with a few log speed bumps along the way. You’ll come to another stream crossing that is just a little tougher than the first, but still rideable. Beginners may want to walk this one. There is some more downhill grade, very fast single-track and a set of log stairs down to the next stream crossing. Keep your bum way off the rear of the saddle, and stay off that front brake. Beginners, you may want to walk your bike from here across the bridge and up the very short climb. There are two more technical stream crossings in a row, and then some fast downhill grade cruising. There are several small root drops and a few water bars to get airborne on. Toward the end of the trail you’ll see a light at the end of the green, forested tunnel. It is the field for the Campground. If you are paying enough attention, take a right onto the last extension of Caney Bottoms. If you reach the field, no worries, just take a right on the gravel road.
The last extension of Caney Bottoms is a fast, tight, single-track cruiser, with a very polished, almost paved feeling. Take a right onto the gravel road and follow it downhill. Just before a very large and deep stream crossing, take a left onto a narrow bridge and follow the short stint of single-track back to the road. Go around the gate and intersect with FS 475. Beginners, at this point, I would suggest you turn left and follow FS 475 to the Davidson River trail, about a half mile on your right. This just cuts out part of the road to the fish hatchery, and is a fast beginner friendly track. Intermediate and advanced riders, take a right and ride up FS 475 to the next turn off to the right. Ride around the gate and start up the gravel road. Pass the first entrance to Daniel Ridge on your left. Continue about a half mile up the gravel road, and ride to the bottom of a waterfall off to your left. These falls are about 80 feet tall, and you’ll be riding near the top of them on the Daniel Ridge trail. Turn back the way you came for about 50 yards.
From here, ride up the small set of log stairs, off to the right, to begin Daniel Ridge, following the red blazes. The trail starts off as a fairly easy climb and has a few moderate sections. You will come to a point where the trail switchbacks to the right. Continue up, following the red blazes. There is a great view of Looking Glass Rock to your right. Top the ridge with the peak of the falls to your right. Follow single-track over a few bridges covered with chicken wire, and start a few dips in and out of the hollows. The trail leads to a field, but remember to stay left at all intersections, following red blazes. Continue on to another stream crossing. After about 50 yards, start an agonizing climb to the top of Daniel Ridge. This is a very steep grade for about two miles that is tough when dry, and downright mean when wet. The climb passes a dirt road for a good break area. Topping out on Daniel Ridge, you begin your downhill shoot. There are a few small climbs within the first mile, and then a downhill rock garden that rides the edge of a ridge 60 feet above a stream, with only inches for a margin of error. Be very careful and pay close attention to the trail. The emerald glen in which you are riding may well be one of the most beautiful areas you ever see. Stop, if you wish to enjoy your surroundings, as taking your eyes off the trail is not an option!
The trail becomes a very fast, smooth downhill, but be very careful of the 90-degree log staircase. I have heard ill-fated stories of guys taking this with too much speed and crashing on the far side. Continue down, where you will intersect with FS 475 again. If you’re feeling cooked, you can turn left and take the road to the Davidson River trail on the right. If not, press on, wayward soul! Turn right on FS 475 and start climbing. Pass a gated road to the left. Continue up past a few campsites and turn left at the wooden signed intersection to Long Branch. The trail starts off tight, with a few small water bars and tight turns. After about half a mile, turn right onto Long Branch again, following the orange blazes. The trail that heads straight leads to McCall Cemetery. After a short distance you will come to a log bridge to walk across, and an easy one-mile climb with a rare rock here or there. If the next downhill section could be on a dual slalom course, Brian Lopes (world champion) would eat it up. It involves a wide, jump-riddled course with a few tight turns just to throw off your speed.
At the bottom you will have reached a dirt road. If it is April 15th – October 15th, the following trails are closed to mountain bikes except the first quarter mile, so you’ll need to take a left on the dirt road leading to FS 475. Take a right on FS 475 and head for the car. If it is October 15th – April 15th, then ride on, my fortunate friend. Jag diagonally to the left and take an immediate right onto Long Branch. The trail stays level for about a hundred yards. Take a hard right and meet another ‘Brian Lopes wonder trail’: a very fast downhill track with some nice opportunities for air! Stay straight at the intersection with Butter Gap. The trail starts to level out a bit so speed on just as fast as you can hammer those cranks. Pass through Picklesimer Fields come to an intersection with Cat Gap. Take a left off the rock for a nice two-foot wheelie drop. The trail is a wide ridge run beside a creek thirty feet below. The trail dips in and out a few hollows, and starts a semi-technical downhill run over root laces and log water bars. Get in a low gear when you get to the stream crossing and just keep spinning up the hill on the other side. The track turns downhill again with a few more small water bar steps thrown in for good measure, to slap your bike about on the way down. Take a left on the gravel road, ride around the gate, and you’re back in the fish hatchery parking lot.
© Blue Ridge Bicycle Club Inc. 2004