Bernard Mountain Trail
Spanning 3.16 miles, the Bernard Mountain Trail descends nearly 1,000 feet from the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, following the rocky ridge parallel to Kitsuma.
Designed for intermediate mountain biking and hiking, the trail connects from Bernard Mountain Road, accessible via Mill Creek Road, to the Point Lookout Greenway near the Old Fort Picnic Area.
This new trail offers a great new outdoor experience in an area already renowned for its trails. From atop Bernard Mountain, hikers and bikers will enjoy rocky features, all-season views, and lush forests. While classified as intermediate, the trail also features technical sections and advanced alternate lines for mountain bikers. In contrast to the easy-to-intermediate Gateway Trails, Bernard Mountain Trail is narrow singletrack with many rocky sections and steeper grades.
Hikers, mountain bikers, and trail runners will enjoy making a loop of Barnard Mountain and the point Lookout Greenway. This approximately nine mile round trip loop can be accessed at the new Bernard Mountain Parking lot off Mill Creek Rd., the Lower Kitsuma Picnic Area Parking Lot in Old Fort, or the Upper Kitsuma Parking Lot in Ridgecrest.
Rules
We gotta have 'em. This is PUBLIC land. These trails were funded by the community with a tremendous amount of time and technical support by the USFS.
The Grandfather District of Pisgah National Forest is almost 200,000 acres and stretches from Old Fort to Boone. There is one recreation manager for this entire area. The USFS does an incredible job with a small staff covering this huge public land resource. Volunteers play a huge role in keeping these trails open.
Please read these rules. If trails are wet consider riding gavel or going to a bike park with a paid trail crew. If you see some trash pick it up. If you see something sketchy going on let us know. You can email jon@g5trailcollective.org or leave a note on our website at www.g5trailcollective.org
Be part of the solution. Jump in and lend a hand or take out your wallet.
