This was a huge surprise. As you would expect in this area, there's not much exciting terrain, no big climbs or descents, and nothing technical to speak of, but boy is this great trail in spite of the inherent limtations. The trail designers did a great job extracting maximum fun from the area. From the parking lot, you can hit the CCT by getting on the pavement at the north side of the parking lot. It soon turns into crushed surface, passes under Furnace Road, then crosses Lorton Road. Then, you can dive into the series of connected loops. These loops are mostly meadow, so there's not the usual issues with leaves. The trail, while mostly wide, is packed with crushed rock, so it drains well. What makes it really great is the flow built in to the trail. It's fast and perfect for yanking and banking your bike through meadows and forests. On the way back, look for the Giles Run trail on your right shortly before returning to the parking lot. This is the true, narrow singletrack in the area. It snakes through the woods. Even here, the woods are less dense than most of Virginia, and some of it's evergreens, so again there's not so many leaves. Even though not covered with the crushed rock, it also seems to drain well, making this a good ride when others in the area are still wet. Or, you can hit the Giles Run trail straight from the parking lot by hugging the fence on the left side of the playground on the south side of the parking lot and going through the opening there. Overall, the great flow, generally good trail conditions, and (so far) less crowds make this new trail one of the best rides in the area.
This is a great ride. Ample parking. Fast single track with some tiny rock gardens and some loose corners to help keep you paying attention. There were a couple of small pump sections. Overall, really enjoyed it. If you are looking for sweet jumps and technical stuff, this place doesn't have it.
| ThankGreat trails well maintained. Great place for beginners to get some experience and some fun sections for the seasoned rider
| ThankI did this trail after doing the green and blue fountainhead loops and it had some very flown sections but nothing technical.
| ThankThis is one of the trails maintained by MORE MTB club & is a great beginner route. There's a main loop of mixed-use (mostly equestrian) smooth single track with a decent amount of climbing but really not too bad. There are two intermediate side trails, Slaughterhouse and Powerline which provide some basic technical challenges. It's a great place to get started on mountain biking, and still fun for a more experienced rider if you live nearby. For local trails, I usually recommend starting here, then going over to Meadowood, and finally to Fountainhead.
| ThankThis is a fantastic trail system and perfect for those taper rides just before or after a big event. Nothing too hard, but just enough to get your heart pumping and your crank spinning. Above all, it's just a fun place to ride with few distractions.
| ThankThis trail was much better than I expected especially since it was ridden on a rainy day. There is nothing technical but man it has a great flow and lots of trail connections.
| ThankI agree with the most recent review - Giles Run was the only loop I could find, it appears the rest have been bulldozed while they complete some construction ... Giles Run loops is fun, but very short, maybe 3.4 miles or so. I hope when the construction is finished they are allowed to re-establish some other options.
| ThankI rode here on August 22nd after making a 73 mile trek to Fountainhead only to find out the trail was closed (yes I called and even checked the Facebook page and there were no updates). There were about 10 riders waiting at Fountainhead to ride and one of the guys mentioned there were some tails not too far away "Laurel Hill" in Lorton. So I decided to check it out instead of waiting all day for Fountainhead. I searched and searched on my phone for an address to the trailhead and I was brought to an area that looked like an abandoned prison and a disc golf course. After exploring a bit I finally found a trail, YES! The Giles Run trail was fast and flowing, nothing remotely technical but enough to try and make up for driving all morning to get to a closed Fountainhead. I rode Giles run until I was brought to a gravel walking path. I followed it until I went under the main road and then it took me to a large construction area. I rode all over this place, even found park signs "no motorized vehicles, etc" but no trail anywhere. It looked as though it had been bulldozed over a good amount. At this point I was pretty fed up Northern Virginia. Between the traffic, Fountainhead being closed, now this. I couldn't wait to get back home to Maryland and back to my local trails. This was NOT worth the drive.
| ThankGreat trail system for an afternoon workout. It is a hidden gem in that most of the time I have the trail all to myself. The loops are arranged in a way to allow different routes depending on your timeframe and desired difficulty. Not overly technical, but very nice flow and lots of fun. The trail has enough hard packed gravel to be ridden even after recent rainstorms.
| ThankGood 10 miles worth of singletrack. Nothing as challenging as Fountainhead, but a good time.
| Thankfor a beginner trail, this was a LOT of fun, I wish I had more time to do more laps at faster speeds. this is a great place to blast, or for beginners to get used to single track.
compared to the trails I'm used to (Michigan) the trail surface is super nice without any real rooty or rocky sections. the river crossing was a very nice touch!
| ThankLaurel Hill is a nice set of a few trails, it is made of 4 technical trails and respective connecting loops.
| ThankTechnicals I will name them in the order of most to least difficult from my perspective and those are, Slaughter House, Giles Run, Power Station and Apple Orchard.
The connecting loops like the pasture are very much cross country stile, so one can get a very good workout as they can be ridden at high speed.
The technical one's are medium to low difficulty, however they are fun to ride with a nice flow.
Be aware of the fallen trees, a few weeks ago they were all over and trails blocked, however two weeks ago when I was there only Giles Run still had three trees blocking the trail, so at those points in one of them you will need to dismount, though I am hopping that soon they will be removed.
Maintenance on these trails seems to be reasonable and trails are in very good condition overall, rain water drainage seems to be very good as no major noticeable damage can be seen.
Another nice trail near Alexandria and worth trying.
Pretty nice network of trails. A lot of open meadow riding but it is true, narrow singletrack. You can go pretty fast here as there is not much elevation change. 12 miles of riding gave about 900 ft gain/loss.
| ThankI have to apologize (somewhat) for my sour grapes review of 06/22/10. I've got nearly 2000 miles under my belt since then and I'm a much better rider. On top of that, the trails have really broken in nicely and with the late NOVA fall moisture they have a lot more traction than during the dry/dusty summer months. And the way the loops are laid out, you can go around and around for hours without getting bored. While most of it isn't technically singletrack, the actual riding surface is usually extremely narrow, which will help you newbies learn to stay in your line. Some sections lend themselves to lots of speed but be careful-I bet these trails can get crowded and there are lots of blind corners. And while I still consider Fountainhead to be the better option in the area, FH doesn't dry out too well, whereas Laurel drains very quickly. So in this time of year, LH is your best bet.
| ThankThis is a really fun, windy single track trail with great foliage in autumn. A lot of rocks and gravel give an extra balancing challenge for a beginner like me. I highly recommend...but don't tell anyone because it is awesome only seeing a few other bikers out there like today.
| ThankFun Trail for beginners. My wife and I are both new to the sport. It was great for her.. she was a little scared at first, but then got into it. I was ready for more by the end of the trail though...
| ThankA fun network of trails. I haven't hit all the trails yet, as things aren't well signed or mapped. But, after having ridden there and now referenced the topo maps available here on Singletracks, I definitely know where to go next time. And I'm definitely going to go back.
| ThankGood condition, fast ride. Flood damage (new bridge on Giles Run) has been repaired by county.
| ThankGreat for beginners or advanced riders who ride fast here. Lots of options and distance is great. Obstacle course is challenging and fun. I have yet to make it through all the obstacles. Trails are well marked and parking is tricky with many access points. Traffic can be a nightmare, but Fountainhead is right up the street. Designed by mountain bikers.
| ThankFirst time riding this trail and it was awesome. took a little time to find the trail but once i did this will be my all time fav. Yes it is flat but fluid and you can keep your speed up. getting some good jumps and switch backs. people review on this tail is mixed and i think it is because there is a trail system that is small and does suck but once i had found the better branches it was a blast spent most of my time in a nice low gear and ready to pedal any time. great traction. almost no roots and a couple of fun rock gardens. Trail does need maintenance because of a flood washed out some bridges but just got off and walked around and carried my bike. This is a great beginner track if your going 0-5mph but many times i was going about 10-18mph and had a blast. "no speedo". Hard tail would rock this trail and great for 29er as well. Will be back often.
| Thank