Any recommendations for Tsali, Dupont, Pisgah NC?

[Ride On]

I will be heading to the Casheirs/Highlands section of the Blue Ridge Mtns. I will be going with 12 family members...to everyone else this is not an MTB vacation however it is for me . I may only get 1 or 2 days to ride so I want to make it count. I will probably be riding solo -- I am leaning towards going to Tsali (as opposed to) Pisgah, Dupont and as from what I read Pisgah and Dupont is like super technical hardcore (am I wrong?) and Tsali seems to be more flowey/fast. I usually ride Trail/XC Harthsone, Allaire, Huber, Clayton, 6 Mile. As a reference...I also occasionally ride northern NJ Allamuchy, Deer Park, Kittatinny... but they pretty much kick my ass. I don't really do big jumps and drops...

If I only have one day (or 2 days) to ride to Tsali, does anyone recommend Right Loop vs. Left Loop, Thompson or Mouse? Should I reconsider my choice and go to Dupont instead? How difficult is Pisgah or Dupont compared to say... Allamuchy or anywhere else in NJ.

Any other tips and recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[gmb3]

Went a couple years ago (but not to Tsali). Dupont was definitely less technical than Pisgah and Pisgah was not more technical than the NNJ destination parks. Waaaay more climbing though and longer distances and "middle of nowhere" feeling. My avg speed was definitely a couple mph higher down there than it is in NNJ but downhills are also longer and the climbs were mostly smoother doubletrack. Below are 2 rides we did for reference.

Dupont: https://www.dropbox.com/s/28og1ti9kcwwlpx/5-Dupont.jpg?dl=0
Pisgah (Black Mtn-Sycamore): https://www.dropbox.com/s/qn41de7b4frortf/3-Black Mountain - Sycamore.jpg?dl=0

 

[rocbike]

I just rode Dupont in February. It's not hardcore technical at all. Some good climbs but not extremely long or exhausting and nice fast descents. Rooty and rocky in some places but pretty flowy all around for the most part. Beautiful scenery too with lakes, waterfalls, etc. You could make a whole day ride out of it. Look for the Maprika map called "Dupont Forest MTB Ride (23 mile ride)" and follow it. You don't have to do all 23. The first day we just did the upper half from the Lake Imaging parking lot up Jim Branch then down to Grassy Creek Falls then up and around finishing on Ridgeline, a swooping fast downhilll back to the lot. The next day we did the middle then went to Bent Creek, another park I would recommend. We just took a few trails there since we were running out of daylight but the trails we did were rooty singletrack and not too technical but I think there is some technical stuff out there too. Compared to NJ? Dupont isn't any more difficult than Lewis Morris. It doesn't really look like it and it's much bigger than LewMo but the difficulty level is comparable. Have a great time!

 

[Ride On]

Hey thanks for the Replies. Both are very informative. Its funny...I often hear from others what is is considered technical every where else wouldn't be that technical in NJ. I might now be leaning towards Dupont (as it is a little closer to where I'll be staying then Pisgah).

 

[rick81721]

Good info. Next time I go to florida thinking of driving down with mtb and stopping halfway for a day of riding. Pisgah fits the bill

 

[Pearl]

Good info. Next time I go to florida thinking of driving down with mtb and stopping halfway for a day of riding. Pisgah fits the bill

https://www.strava.com/activities/723735592

 

[rick81721]

https://www.strava.com/activities/723735592

Wow a little bit of climbing there!

 

[Pearl]

Honestly, it is not terrible if you look at the grade. 90% of it is an old jeep road, so its not steep at all. It has enough rocks/roots to make it "feel" like single track:

The payoff doe

 

[gmb3]

So i'm heading back to Asheville in late August and will only be able to do 1 ride. Last time i was there i did Black Mountain/Sycamore, Bent Creek/Green's Lick, Squirrel Gap, and Dupont. Any other good recommendations besides @pearl 's above? I want to ride in Pisgah proper, i think. Also, i know The Hub is the go-to rental place but any other recommendations? Squatch bike shop seems to be a few bucks cheaper so i might look into that.

 

[SSmtbr]

Good info in here! Heading down to ride next weekend and camping at the Bike Farm, which offers rentals for a bit cheaper than The Hub (but looks like they rent to guests only). Question to veterans of the area - My only MTB is a SS hardtail and rigid 95% of the time (I have a fork I can put on) that sees most time at Ringwood and Jungle. Is it worth it to rent a FS for the weekend or just ride what I've got? I'm driving so bike hauling isn't an issue, I just don't want to spend half the trip trying to get the hang of a FS since I've ridden one for a total of maybe 45 minutes my whole life. Our tentative plan is probably doing a day at either Dupont or Bent Creek (or both?) and a day at Pisgah.

 

[JDurk]

Both DuPont and Bent Creek are SS friendly and see more multi usage. There's still some technical stuff to be found. Pisgah is more raw and there's a lot of climbing to get to the tech. Putting a fork on might be nice for a longer day in the saddle. Either way, riding there is pretty awesome. Enjoy and leave time to visit the Sierra Nevada brewery.