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Check out our latest articles on Charlotte, NC mountain biking spots.
Posted: May 14, 2026 | Updated: May 14, 2026
If you're new to Charlotte, visiting the Queen City with a bike, or are a local rider just looking for new spots to check out, this post is for you!
Charlotte is the biggest city in North Carolina at a whopping 308-square miles and contains loads of amazing mountain biking destinations - trails, facilities, parks - and there are even more available in suburb cities located next door like Belmont, Mount Holly, Davidson, Fort Mill. It can be very hard sorting through the riff raff and finding spots worth the drive, time, and effort it takes to get there... so let us sort it out for you!
Airline Bike Park
The Crown Jewel of Charlotte Mountain Biking that offers several styles of riding - Cross-Country (XC) trails, jumps and features like drops (some are huge!) and berms, downhill trails, BMX jumps - at all different levels and is now connected to the River District via beautiful, accessibility-focused nature trail system.
Huge Airline Black Drop
Cross-Country Trails
A machined Green XC trail - Kitty Hawk - starts out directly from the parking lot and can be ridden in a complete loop for beginners. Kitty Hawk can also be connected to the Blue or Intermediate XC - Auto-Pilot - trail that is full of flow, quick downhill sections and plenty of speed punctuated by mild climbs.
Gravity Terminal
The Flight Deck is the main attraction as a giant wooden deck built on top of a shipping container with a huge wooden roll into the Blue or Intermediate jump line and a cambered drop and gap that starts out the Black or Expert line.
Gravity Terminal is Home to the Jump Lines
Adjacent to the deck is a Green or Beginner jump line that gives you a great bit of leeway to get your dirt jumping legs under you.
Through the shipping container are a series of fast downhill lines with some gnarly jumps and gaps.
Downhill Lines are through the Flight Deck Shipping Container
Lastly, there is a HUGE BMX jump section where you'll sometimes see BMXers full on sending it.
Backyard Trails
These trails are technical and rooty with tons of diverse features from gap jumps, skinnies, concrete slab climbs, trail made of old railroad tracks (Poo Tracks), and more. Located adjacent to Park Road Park and tied together by the beautiful Little Sugar Creek greenway, the trail system often alternates between beautifully maintained and rough, handcrafted jank (intentionally).
Tons of Rock/Concrete Features from the Old Water Treatment Facility
Featuring 3 Main Loops - Front, Middle, Back Thirds - each with their own personality, you can tailor your ride style and length to the mood you're in:
Front Third
This is the easiest trail loop and is full of skinnies that are a ton of fun. Great to hop on to get your legs warmed up before hopping on some of the other loops/features.
Skinnies!
Middle Third
This is the main and most popular loop of the trail system featuring the iconic Poo Tracks (trail made entirely of narrow concrete railways from the early 1900s). It’s miles of primitive singletrack blended with session-able jump lines with some good flow peppered here and there. The New and Old Jump Lines offer something for every skill level. The Old Jump Line featuring wooden shotgun jumps, tabletop rock jumps, and some mandatory gap jumps off to the side. The New Jump Line features table top jump lines, BMX-style kicker gap jump lines, and a bunch of other features.
Shotgun Jumps on the Old Jump Line
Back Third
A rugged and technical gauntlet of natural rock, punchy climbs, and high-consequence maneuvers designed to test your bike handling skills.
Marion Diehl
Straight up workout segment for the climbers. It’s the steepest and most primitive terrain on the property and focuses mostly on elevation.
Colonel Francis J Beatty Park
Colonel Francis J Beatty Park Trail Page
This expansive park is great for families, and as an extension, the trail system offers mountain biking largely geared toward Beginner and Intermediate riders looking to carry some speed. The trails offer a mix of smooth singletrack punctuated by rooty sections and signature "dips" that keep things interesting. There are several features peppered throughout the trails such as drops, jumps, skinnies, rock gardens, and rollers to challenge more advanced trail riders.
Cambered Wall Ride on the Black Line at The Colonel Pump Track
The Tarheel Trailblazers often have trail maintenance days here and overall the trails and features are kept in great condition.
Main Loop (Green/Blue)
4.3-mile loop that is relatively easy to navigate. It winds through forests and along the park’s lake, featuring sandy soil, roots, and occasional gullies.
Beatty’s Black & Blue
Combines the Main Loop with the Black trail Beatty's Black (and optionally Hidden Black) which is significantly more technical featuring some of the most unique wooden technical trail features in Charlotte.
“The Colonel” Pump Track
The main feature here containing Beginner, Advanced, and Expert lines.
The Beginner line is a series of rolling trails with small berms offering a great introduction to pump tracks and beginner mountain bike mechanics.
The Advanced line introduces slightly bigger berms, small tabletop jumps, and the opportunity to pick up some serious speed.
The Expert line features tabletop jumps, a wall ride, and a sequence (only one shown) of steep wooden kickers, ending with a plank jump. Additionally, there is a rock garden and a skinny with a couple options to introduce riders to different types of advanced trail features.
Wooden Kickers on the Black Line at The Colonel Pump Track
Ballantyne District Park
Ballantyne District Park Trail Page
This trail system is short at around 3-miles total so it's perfect for beginners or a quick secluded jaunt in the woods. The trails can be relatively hard-to-find as the trail system is tucked into tree coverage and there isn't much signage making it a bit difficult to find either one of the two trailheads.
Massive Wall-Ride on the Tech Loop
The easiest way to begin your ride is behind the Morrison Family YMCA where there is a distinct gravel parking lot, bicycle repair station, and a trail kiosk. From there, pedal across the street and up the hill, follow the trail in the grass and into the woods. This begins the Flow Loop.
There are three main loops here with the main attraction of the trail system - the giant wall ride Black line - located in the Tech Loop.
Flow Loop
A smooth, fast, and relatively flat machined section ideal for beginners as it lacks the heavy roots and rock gardens found in other Charlotte singletrack trails.
Tech Loop
The most popular section of the trail system featuring the aforementioned wall ride. To get to the wall ride is some decent singletrack with conditions familiar to riders in the Piedmont: switchbacks, berms, punchy climbs, quick descents, and a few rock gardens. The wall ride is a part of a line with progressively bigger jumps and drops leading to Charlotte's only full-sized wall ride. Tons of fun!
The Field Loop is mostly pedaling with wooden features like double-roller bridges, rock kickers, and flowy descents into a pine forest and out into the Tech Loop. This is great for warming up the legs and adding some additional mileage to the other loops.
Rocky Branch Park
Another trail system featuring technical riding and unique features located just outside of Charlotte in Belmont, NC. There is a little something for everyone here with machine built beginner flow lines, The Outpost machined jump lines featuring Green, Blue, and Black lines, the Boulder trail featuring technical climbing over rock features and through rock gardens, a rock-centric jump line fed by a huge wooden roll-in, and more.
Black Jump Line with Two Drops at The Outpost
Such a fun and diverse trail system that is only getting better!
The Outpost - The Jump Lines
The latest addition to the park and has quickly become the attraction that draws riders from around Charlotte to the park. The Outpost features a large wooden deck that leads to 3 separate lines - beginner, intermediate, advanced - that are relatively progressive in that once you master one, you are (probably) ready for the next.
Dirt Jumps on the Black Line at The Outpost
Canopy Trail
A 1.15-mile beginner-friendly loop with optional jumps and berms.
Boulder Trail
This 1.2-mile intermediate circuit lives up to its name. It’s a dense mix of rock gardens, skinnies, rock jumps, a huge wooden roll-in, and man-made features. While there’s plenty of flow, expect mandatory drops and "jankier" sections that require precise line choice.
Here you will find the natual jump line with a wooden deck roll-in and boulder-laden jumps. This requires a lot of speed and precision so be careful!
Huge Wooden Roll-In to the Boulder Jumps
Legacy Trail
The old-school, original hand-cut system with raw, technical singletrack peppered with roots and rocks, offering a punchy, old-school feel that rewards riders who can handle tight switchbacks and sudden elevation changes.
Euler’s Way
A 1.1-mile intermediate bypass that parallels the main corridor and is packed with its own set of berms and optional features to keep the momentum high.
Eagle Trail
A 0.6-mile machine-built flow trail that connects the system to the Cramerton entrance. It’s fast and sweepy with plenty of tabletops and a spicy advanced drop hidden in the mix for those coming in from the Eagle Road side.
Cedar Valley Bike Park
Cedar Valley Bike Park Trail Page
This bike park is adjacent to the Fisher Farm trails and is also located within Fisher Farm park. The trails can be considered a step up in terms of difficulty from Airline Bike Park. Immediately entering the bike park, you are confronted with several trail options that throw you into fast flow or optional gap jumps that get you acclimated very quickly with what's to come.
The main line here is the expert/pro line Double Black Sabbath that contains progressively larger mandatory gap jumps leading to HUGE doubles and finishing with a road gap drop and a decent table top. Only ride this section if you are VERY comfortable with jumps and can give the mandatory gap jumps towards the end of the line your full commitment.
Huge Road Gap Drop on Double Black Sabbath
Fisher Farm Park
Very fun and technical XC trail featuring a huge, optional rock roll and several other unique features that will keep you on your toes. Every feature is optional and this is a perfect place for finding your flow or starting out on a mountain bike.
Steep Rock Roll at Fisher Farm