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The direction of travel alternates throughout the week. Pedestrians travel clockwise on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Travel counter-clockwise on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

Overview

Trail is two-way to start then splits into a one-way loop with bikes going one way and hikers/runners going the other. Direction of travel changes depending on the day. Either direction, you must climb at first, but the downhill is a really fun. You'll also enjoy views of Lake Lure and Youngs Mountain along the way, especially in winter.

Need to Know

An additional 7.5 miles of singletrack trail will open in this area in the Spring of 2018. The Weed Patch Trail will start at the end of the current extension. It will be a backcountry trail and end at a prominent mountain peak and view at Eagle Rock.
The trail borders Rumbling Bald Resort which offers vacation rentals and also has a couple of restaurants that are open to the public.

Description

The current parking area is small, enough for 6-8 cars. The town is working with state parks to expand the parking area.

The first part of the trail from the parking lot is doubletrack gravel. This short Connector Path leads you to a nice bridge over Buffalo Creek. The singletrack Buffalo Creek Park Loop starts a short ways up on the right after the bridge.

The counterclockwise climb is shorter but steeper. The top of the climb is about 1.5 miles in, measured from the parking lot. One section is very steep with stacked switchbacks up a ridge. After that, it is mostly downhill hiking through a really nice forest and some boulder fields.

There is a one-mile out-and-back extension that breaks off a little after the peak of the main climb. The trail is to the right if hiking counterclockwise.