:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Dody Ridge Rocks:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
One of my riding buddies NMan, has been singing the praises of this loop for a while. I have been wanting to check it out, but I have never been sure of the exact route. NMan just wrote this up, so I printed it off and headed out there Saturday.
https://www.singletracks.com/php/trail.php?id=2785
Although this route is a little short on singletrack, it makes up for it in variety and a fairly quick ride. Parts of this ride are on the Glenwood Horse Trail. The access point is Day Creek parking lot for the horse trail (1 mile west of Montvale, VA). What I have found riding on this trail system is that yes - there are horseback riders around, but they tend to stick to the road mostly and leave the singletrack to us. Sections of this trail system have some very good singletrack and in places it is pretty technical.
Begin this ride out of the parking lot on the same road you came in on, but going up. This is Blackhorse Gap road - an old stagecoach road that heads towards West Virginia. There are several miles of climbing, but all is rideabable.
At the top, turn left and you get a sweet ridgetop ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
View of Dody Ridge, last part of the ride
After a nice paved downhill, turn left onto Salt Pond Road (FS 193) and take the doubletrack fire road down to Quarry Road.
Take a left onto Quarry Road and continue to the horse trail on the left.
There are some private drive signs along the road but no-one gave me a second glance, so I think access is OK. You pass several homes and the road gets rougher and rougher and then the horse trail sign and trailhead is on the left.
The first mile of the trail is very steep and hike a bike in some sections.
When you are partially up the hill a trail veers off to the left - take the right more traveled trail.
At the top, things get a little nasty - in a good way. Rocks come at you from all angles, some loose and some that are embedded. A little slickrock too. This stretch needs sawing out - there are a number of blowdowns from recent forest fires.
After a cool ridge top rocky ride, the trail descends steeply down to Day Creek. At the bottom the trail splits - take the left trail, but both will carry you out to the same area.
In and out of more rocks.
Eventually you roll out to the Forest Service doubletrack which carries you right back to the Day Creek parking lot.
Fun trail, which it were better marked and maintained. None of it is blazed, which is always a worry on the first ride. But, I'll be back.
One of my riding buddies NMan, has been singing the praises of this loop for a while. I have been wanting to check it out, but I have never been sure of the exact route. NMan just wrote this up, so I printed it off and headed out there Saturday.
https://www.singletracks.com/php/trail.php?id=2785
Although this route is a little short on singletrack, it makes up for it in variety and a fairly quick ride. Parts of this ride are on the Glenwood Horse Trail. The access point is Day Creek parking lot for the horse trail (1 mile west of Montvale, VA). What I have found riding on this trail system is that yes - there are horseback riders around, but they tend to stick to the road mostly and leave the singletrack to us. Sections of this trail system have some very good singletrack and in places it is pretty technical.
Begin this ride out of the parking lot on the same road you came in on, but going up. This is Blackhorse Gap road - an old stagecoach road that heads towards West Virginia. There are several miles of climbing, but all is rideabable.
At the top, turn left and you get a sweet ridgetop ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
View of Dody Ridge, last part of the ride
After a nice paved downhill, turn left onto Salt Pond Road (FS 193) and take the doubletrack fire road down to Quarry Road.
Take a left onto Quarry Road and continue to the horse trail on the left.
There are some private drive signs along the road but no-one gave me a second glance, so I think access is OK. You pass several homes and the road gets rougher and rougher and then the horse trail sign and trailhead is on the left.
The first mile of the trail is very steep and hike a bike in some sections.
When you are partially up the hill a trail veers off to the left - take the right more traveled trail.
At the top, things get a little nasty - in a good way. Rocks come at you from all angles, some loose and some that are embedded. A little slickrock too. This stretch needs sawing out - there are a number of blowdowns from recent forest fires.
After a cool ridge top rocky ride, the trail descends steeply down to Day Creek. At the bottom the trail splits - take the left trail, but both will carry you out to the same area.
In and out of more rocks.
Eventually you roll out to the Forest Service doubletrack which carries you right back to the Day Creek parking lot.
Fun trail, which it were better marked and maintained. None of it is blazed, which is always a worry on the first ride. But, I'll be back.