Western North Carolina is one of the East Coast's most famous outdoor destinations, with visitors flocking from across the country and around the world to visit the famed Great Smoky Mountains, enjoy the thundering waterfalls of Transylvania County, and, of course, ride the rugged singletrack trails that thread the ancient Appalachian Mountains.
Of all the trail systems in Western North Carolina, DuPont State Forest is one of the most popular. This 12,400-acre forest currently attracts more than 1.2 million visitors per year. By comparison, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, less than two hours away, is the most visited national park in the United States. Compared to the Great Smoky Mountains, DuPont State Forest attracts more than four times as many visitors per acre.
There is a huge demand for the trail system here.
10x increase in visitor numbers
When the forest first opened for public recreation in the late 1990s, it attracted approximately 130,000 visitors per year, and over the past 25 years or so, visitation has increased an astounding tenfold.
The problem is that the trails in DuPont State Forest were not originally designed or constructed to any particular standards. absolutely The original trails were never built to handle the current surge in traffic, and although the Forest Service has renovated many of them over the years to accommodate the increased traffic, they still can't withstand the pressure.
On Saturdays and Sundays in the summer, “you can't even find a place to park your car in the parking lot,” says Todd Branham, an avid local mountain biker and owner of Long Cane Trails, the company that contracts to build and improve many of the trails in DuPont State Forest. “It's not about going out in that big woods and getting lost, or not seeing anyone once you leave the crowded parking lot. wherever“And it's all users, and it's getting to a point where people are getting frustrated.”
New management plan to handle growing traffic
To address the ten-fold increase in traffic, DuPont State Forest has been working to develop a comprehensive management plan, a first for the Forest Service and drawing on successful management plans established throughout the Mountain West.
While developing the plan, the forest received extensive input from local residents at three different meetings. “We had a great turnout at our meetings,” says Sarah Landry, executive director of Friends of DuPont. “We had one meeting in Brevard, one in Hendersonville and one in Mills River.”
During the meeting, they hosted focus groups for different user groups. The different groups that use DuPont State Forest are (in order of popularity) hikers and trail runners, mountain bikers, horseback riders, and hunters and fishermen. Landry told us that while foot sports remains the number one use of the forest, the percentage of mountain bikers continues to increase and the percentage of horseback riders continues to decrease.
The Forest Service also hired an outside contractor to do a “very thorough trail assessment,” Landry said. “They figured out where our hot spots were, which trails were being used, which trails weren't being used, and then they put all that together and made these recommendations.”
Recommendations from the draft management plan published in April
The draft management plan was presented at a public information session in April, with the final document expected to be released shortly. As of this writing, SingleTracks had not yet received a copy of the final draft management plan, but Kirsten McDonald, information and education supervisor for DuPont State Forest, said she does not expect there will be any major changes when the final plan is released.
“When we were looking at trails, we were looking at three things to find sustainability,” Landry said. “Socially, is it safe? Is it a good experience for users? Economically — how much does it cost to maintain this trail year after year? And ecologically — what impact will it have on that particular trail? Some of those are really tough decisions, you know?”
To reduce the risk of conflict between users, several trails in the forest will be off-limits to horses, as well as mountain bikers. “Mountain bikers will be able to use Hooker Creek, Ridgeline, Rocky Ridge and Grassy,” Landry said.
Additionally, some trails, such as the Ridgeline, will be directional, allowing only downhill mountain bikers and uphill hikers.
We originally reported that mountain bikers were losing out because of planned trail changes in DuPont State Forest, and looking strictly at the numbers, that's certainly true. But “more isn't better,” Branham said. “It's quality over quantity. More isn't better. We have really long distances around here. It's ridiculous. So that's not the answer. It's about quality.”
Branham, a professional trail builder, has seen a trend nationwide toward quality over quantity, with some land managers willing to pay more than three times the standard rate to build trails that are technical, interesting and attractive. The same is true for DuPont, which means that with these trail modifications, the forest is trying to create a quality riding experience.
The trails designated for mountain biking (specifically those that have been cleared of horse travel and are now open only to bikes and hikers) are some of the best in the forest, and maintaining these trails helps preserve the best mountain bike loop rides DuPont has to offer.
Quality over quantity.
The Curious Case of the Ridgeline Flow Trail
“The Ridgeline is just a flashpoint,” Landry acknowledged with a nervous laugh. “The Ridgeline will be bikes downhill and hikers uphill, and there will be no horses.”
The Ridgeline has a history of user conflict and managing this flashpoint is critical, so this ruling on the management plan is a major win for mountain bikers.
When asked if he had any negative interactions at DuPont, Branham said, “I personally saw the devil in his eyes coming up the Ridgeline. There was a gentleman who had a small horse.” […] He enjoys climbing the Ridgeline because he has a right to do so. It's very dangerous, but he has a right to do so.”
Not anymore.
While keeping horses off the Ridgeline was a big success, allowing hikers onto the downhill trail seems foolhardy. Some trail signs say the trail is currently multi-use, but many mountain bikers and even documents from DuPont State Forest's latest reconstruction bid claim it is a downhill trail.
This is truly a flash point.
Branham points out that the flow trail is evidence of how DuPont embraces mountain bikers. “It's a little bit out of place,” he says. “We don't need a downhill trail. There's nothing else like this around here.” [the forest].”
Hikers are permitted to walk on this flow trail, All the Way Through the ForestSo at least the rules are applied equally, and just getting your horse off this iconic downhill stretch is a win.
New trail developments on Continental Divide property don't include bikes… yet
New horseback riding and hiking-only trails will be developed on 717 acres of new land known as the Continental Divide Property. “When you look at it, it's going to be very conducive to horseback riding and it's going to give you the space to not have to worry about bikes coming down the hill or coming up behind you,” Landry said.
“The great thing about the hike, it's a long-term plan, but it will eventually connect to other public lands in the region,” Landry said. “The Palmetto Trail is right there. We've got Jones Gap State Park in South Carolina. So as the plan gets further along, avid hikers will be able to enjoy a few more hikes traversing here.”
Unfortunately, there are currently no plans to develop a bike path on the Continental Divide property, although that may change in the future.
Branham said the current management plan is just the first step in a multi-phase rollout. There's still space on the Continental Divide, so it's possible that bike paths could be built in the future. Maybe even e-bike paths. We don't know for sure, but we'll have to wait and see.
“It's a win for mountain biking.”
Landry and other Friends of DuPont officials looked at the proposed business plan and said, “Yes, we don't need a memo. This is fine. This is what we wanted.”
“We think it's going to protect the forest,” Landry explained, “protect the trails and hopefully reduce some of the conflict between users. From our perspective, it certainly achieves all of the goals we had in mind with the master plan.”
Branham agrees: “It's a win for mountain biking. A total win, and it's only going to get better from here.”
