Featured Ride: Kerr Scott IMBA Epic, North Carolina

“Welcome to Wilkesbermo.” Kerr Scott gets its nickname from the hundreds of bermed and banked terns, and has been compared to a 30-mile roller coaster ride.

Kerr Scott, located in central North Carolina, has three main trail systems: Dark Mountain, Overmountain Victory Trail and Warrior Creek, plus shorter trails either looping or connecting to those main veins. Most riders park at one of the main trailheads for shorter rides, or set up a shuttle to incorporate the entire 31 miles of 95 percent singeltrack that make up the epic.

Dark Mountain is the oldest of all the trail systems at the lake, and its 5 miles were designated a National Recreation Trail in 2005. You’ll encounter rooty tech and downhill jumps.

Overmountain is 5 miles and the easiest trail in the system—perfect for newer riders or visitors not sure of where to start.

Warrior Creek, at just under 11 miles, is among the most progressively-built trails at Kerr Scott and represents the evolution of more than 10 years of purpose-built MTB trailbuilding. Along the way there are rock gardens, bridges, tons of in-sloped turns and great lake views. Warrior Creek also contains several “super-stacks” of berms and banked turns that are likely to provide the most memorable part of your ride.

Off Warrior Creek (but not part of the official epic) is the 1.6-mile Headwaters Trail, a double-black diamond snack. Headwaters was designed to ride one-way because of its challenging rocky sections, chutes, boulders and stacked slabs. The trail also has a nice mix of drops, berms and jumps to tie it all together.

When designing Headwaters, the local club sniffed out the most rugged areas for an advanced trail and, during construction, rock was hauled in if there wasn’t any. As a result, alternate lines are often more difficult than the main line.

A big thanks to the Brushy Mountain Cyclists Club, which built and maintains the trails.

Photos courtesy of MTB Project