These trails are BRAND NEW and are excellent in my opinion. The trails are best ridden in a certain direction or you will be climbing the entire time. These are intermediate level trails. A fair amount of rock, just right in my opinion, some awesome downhills. A couple advanced trails with a healthy amount of rock, but nothing to difficult. I really can't pick a favorite trail here, all of them are really good. The system consists of 4 loops (Green, Orange, Blue, Red) and 5 white connectors. I rode two days, covered all the trails and rode them in both directions to see which was the best. I recommend starting at trailhead 3 and riding the green loop in the clockwise direction for a warm up. Then head back up the green to con. 5 and the going counter-clockwise on the orange loop to con. 4, this is awesome downhill most of the way to the blue trail. You will want to go left on the blue trail, riding it clockwise to con. 2. DO NOT use con. 3, all it does is cut the blue loop in half. Ride con. 2 to the red loop, follow the sign and go left (clockwise). DO NOT use con. 1, all it does is cut the red loop in half. after you cross the trailhead 1 parking lot there are some nice advanced sections shooting off the main loop. Once you finish the red loop you will be back at con. 2, ride it back to the blue loop where you will again go to the left and ride the second half of the blue loop, this is one of the best portions of the trail in my opinion. At the end take con. 4, then straight (or to the right) on the orange, straight (to the right) on con. 5 and then either way on the green loop back to the parking lot. I highly recommend this trail!!!
This trail has a bit of everything. We started on red and stayed left at each connector riding the outside of each loop until doubling back at the end of the green loop. A fair warning that this route means predominantly climbs for the first half of the eleven miles. Not too treacherous, but not easy. This does mean fast and fun second half! Parts like trails in Colorado, some like Matson in St. Louis, some like good ol' rooty Missouri Ozark trails. Fun, challenging, worth the four hour drive! Super surprised to only encounter two other riders the entire loop.
| ThankAbsolutely the best trail system in southern Missouri. Intermediate, 11.5 miles of wonderful raw Ozark terrain at it's best. Two longer loops connected to two smaller loops. Connectors 2 and 4 are a nice challenging segment by themselves. Connector 1 cuts red loop in half as does connector 3 does to blue (the two longest loops). Suggest riding clockwise from the main trailhead just west of the state park and staying left until you ride the entire system (approx 2 hrs). I did this (intermediate rider) plus red and blue again counter clockwise ... 3 hours plus, 19 miles, 2000' elevation gain... awesome! The Orange and green trails can also be accessed from the southeast TH, great shorter set with less technical sections if you are less experienced but still has challenging terrain and beautiful sights. Fantastic trails!
| ThankI recently stayed at the Chateau on the Lake resort, and saw that this trail system was just across the dam. So I hauled my bike from IL to MO to check these trails out.
Riding to the trails by crossing the dam was a bit treacherous since the road is very narrow with little or no shoulder at spots. The trailhead is very nice with plenty of parking and a decent bathroom (vault toilet).
The trails are beautifully maintained. There's a good mix of flowy trails intermixed with more technical, rocky sections. There are not a lot of logs or other trail obstacles, except for some tree roots and rocks. The trails and intersections are clearly marked, so it's pretty tough to get lost or turned around.
The trail system isn't very expansive, especially since I visited in October when many of the trails are closed for hunting. But even riding the red loop and half of the blue loop twice still made for a decent ride.
If you happen to find yourself in the Branson area with a mountain bike, I'd recommend checking this area out. I had a lot of fun there!
| ThankI really enjoyed these trails today. They were a great escape from the Branson shows. I arrived at Trailhead 1 at daylight so I could get a few miles in before my wife and kids got up and moving around for the day. I kind of expected more climbing but really enjoyed the ride. Unfortunately portions of the blue and red loop were closed due to hunting activity in the area. I hit all the advanced options off the red trail and found them to be intermediate level. Thanks to everyone who made these trails available so vacationers like myself could get a ride in. If I ever come back to Branson I'll be sure to bring my bike again!
| ThankGreat trail, had a lot of fun. It was a little wet which made getting up the slick rock difficult on the blue trail. There were also a lot of leaves that made the trails slippery at spot. There are advanced trails that shoot off the red loop that I didn't trail.
| ThankThis is a great place to ride. I started on the Red route and took connecter trail 2 through the blue route and back. This has a great variety. Some tough climbs, some technical and some downhill. Great mix. The trail is very well maintained. Part of the blue section was closed for state hunting season, I was disappointed about that. Bring your bike. It's worth the trip.
| ThankThis trail is Awesome! Can't wait to ride it again! This is the first time I rode it, and I brought my Fat Bike. Had no problems climbing any of the hills. Great bunch of guys to ride with on Sundays around 2-2:30. They showed me around the trail system and made it more of a Blast! There is a fair amount of climbing in either direction. Would definitely recommend hitting this trail if you are in the area.
| ThankRode this shortly after it opened. Good trail from what I remember. I had a hard time finding good maps online at the time, but there are plenty available now.
| ThankThe red loop was a nice trail, and very well marked. The is not a lot of elevation, and there are a few rock gardens. It was a good trail for beginners.
| ThankMy rating is for the condition of trails. I'd probably give it four stars for overall ride experience. Excellent intermediate trails, fairly flowy with a mix of smooth riparian & a few gravely chunky rock sections. All single track bliss. Nice shade cover for warm summer days. Good mix of up and down, not too many sustained clubs.
| ThankThis was a great trail. Did the Red Loop and part of the Blue Loop. Portions of the trails were closed at this time due to hunting in the area. I still managed to have a great ride with only about 8.4 miles. I will be back.
| ThankPulling up after doing my homework on the place seeing the pictures posted I was anxious to ride. I got on the red loop and had bike trouble. But the red loop was fast with tight hair pins with a few technical splits off the main trail to keep you wanting more and to go further into the trail system. Yet for me my ride started and ended on the red line. Looking back on the bike trouble I had it took away from how much fun could have been had. I'll be back though my wife is a big SDC fan and we ha e season passes.
| ThankRode the Blue it start off easy but ends hard lots of rocks nice to ride
| ThankVery nice some rocks can't wait to ride it again
| ThankIf give this a strong 3 on a scale of 1-5. Good singletrack on the red loop, be sure to take the "advanced" offshoot trails if you are adventerous, they aren't that difficult. Blue loop was great but only half open and other loops closed during deer season (when I was there). It rained 5 days earlier but still wet and slippery.
| ThankHit the red loop for the first time today. Fun trail! Not a ton of up hill climbs like I was expecting, which was good. Just enough to add some difficulty. Nice obstacles, able to keep a good pace. It was a bit wet today which made the rocks super slippery but still a good time.
| ThankWell it took almost two years but I finally made it back to ride these trails. This time they were all open so I took advantage and rode at least part of all four loops plus the connectors linking them. Wow, what a great cross country experience! I really loved the interesting terrain these trails took me through. And there were just enough ledges, rocks, roots, technical climbing & descending to provide a real challenge. If my memory serves me right, there were also areas that were improved since I last rode them. There were at least a couple of reroutes that took advantage of a more sustainable track. And there has been some subtle but impressive armoring of drainage crossings. I feel that these trails are among the best in the state. Take a trip to Table Rock State Park to see for yourself.
| ThankThis is a great trail system!! The terrain has been utilized perfectly and the flow is just right, combining technical with smooth. Again, great trails!
| ThankVery well groomed trails. Some good, challenging climbs with some rewarding descents. It's your typical SW MO Ozarks terrain. Plenty of good views to take in as well. Definitely check it out if your in the area!
| ThankEven being somewhat sketchy, this trail rocks! I started at TH3 and rode in the recommended direction for each of the trails and bypassed the connectors that cut trails in half. The connector between red and blue trails was kind of crappy with what looks like tractor ruts in open space areas but still rideable. I didn't do any of the advanced trails on red this time but they are on my "to do list". I would recommend starting at TH1 because it has a portapotty just in case you are afraid to pee in the open (I'm not).
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