Mountain Bike Trail Review
Big Creek in Georgia
Review by: Michael Horwitz (cRash)
There’s also a really cool gully chute that you approach on a short downhill run. It’s got some drops, jumps, chicanes. A lot of us on our cross country rigs do it all the time. Best time down is just under :55. If you ride Big Creek, make sure you ride the gully.
Directions to Big Creek
Directions From Atlanta…
* Take GA-400 North.
* Exit #7A Holcomb Bridge
* At the second stop light Go North (turn left) on Old Alabama.
* Slow down when you see the entrance to Belcourt Apartments on the left.
* Turn left into gravel parking lot (look for Big Creek Park sign).
Big Creek Stats
- Classification: Cross Country
- Other: Freeride
- Trail Difficulty: Whoa! Airtime! (medium)
- Trail Traffic: It’s A Party! (lots of traffic)
Big Creek Mountain Bike Trail Review
So Big Creek is like my home track. You won’t find it on anyone’s Top-50-Must-Ride-Before-You-Die lists. But for nearly 8 miles of totally wooded singletrack and a natural freeride area smack dab in the middle of where like 4+ million people are crowded into? Trust me, it’s got its merits … and TTFs … and rocks … and drops … and rooty gnar.
Fine. It’s not Fruita. I’ve ridden Fruita. It’s not Squamish, BC. I’ve ridden Squamish, BC. It’s Big Creek in Roswell, GA. But there’s no way I’d ever have gotten to ride Fruita and Moab and Squamish and Whistler if it wasn’t for Big Creek. It’s where my new friends helped me to learn to really ride a mountain bike. It’s where I first smashed my knees and shins and elbows and head into immovable objects, and got up and spit and cussed and then got back in the saddle. It’s where I took my shiny new single speed for its maiden ride. It’s where I first fired up my HID light, graduated to clipless pedals and did the trial run of that POV video camera I just had to have. It’s where I first watched guys a third my age do some really stupid shit off rocks and across eight-foot deep gullies and get away with it, making me figure I could at least give it a shot.
And to think we almost lost Big Creek. It was like this somewhat secret but not so secret set of trails on this no man’s chunk of land. ‘Til the city bought the land and we all had visions of bulldozers followed by baseball diamonds and toddlers on leashes. But some really great guys in our local club spent hours of volunteer time talking and negotiating with city bureaucrats, assuring them we aren’t a pack of lawless hairballs and that we would create an asset, not a liability for Roswell. And the Parks and Rec suits let us! And then those same guys and others with shovels and Pulaskis and a Dingo and rakes and all that other manual labor stuff got really busy. They built a directional (just obey the signs) stacked loop system:
Beginner Loop: About a 1-1/2 miles of half up, half down in either direction. It’s pretty tame. It’s where you take your GF or kid or a NooB that you think you might want to turn into a mountain biker. It’s got some bridges across a couple creeks and it’s all in the woods. And it’s highly likely you’ll see a deer or two, or three.
Skillet Express Trail: Hangs off the Beginner Loop and adds about a mile. Labeled “Intermediate” it’s a little bit more of a test of mettle with log crossings and a teeter-totter and a low skinny if you dare – check out the video. Or, all of the technical trail features (TTFs) in Big Creek have ride-arounds if you don’t dare.
Troll Trail: Also off the Beginner Loop, Troll has a few quick ups and downs and a wham-bang creek crossing over a thin bridge where a troll or two could well be lurking.
Laughing Creek Leg Trail: This gets you over to the good stuff. Here come some rocks and roots and off-camber-to-keep-your-attention turns. It sets you up for:
Climbing Snake and Hurts So Good Trails: 2-1/2 miles of singletrack with loose baby heads, one tight switchback, rock gardens, log crossings, swooping 2-foot high berms, the “Wender Bender”, grunting ups, off-camber downs, and a booter or two. That’s a grin on my face by the way.
Freeride Area: While cojones may be optional, they really help. Here’s where the guys and gals session. Hey! Women who freeride absolutely have honorary cojones. Bring your big-hit bike, pads and full-face helmet. You want tabletops and doubles, a 3’ rock drop, a hip or two and some scream down the ravine full of gnar that’ll goose your suspension? Knock yourself out … literally. There’s also a really cool gully chute that you approach on a short downhill run. It’s got some drops, jumps, chicanes. A lot of us on our cross country rigs do it all the time. Best time down is just under :55. If you ride Big Creek, make sure you ride the gully.
In addition to the MTB trails, there’s a 1-1/2 mile walking/hiking trail and about 5 or so miles of concrete greenway and ponds and open fields and boardwalk through these wetlands that then connects to the Alpharetta Greenway. Perfect for your significant other and in-laws to ramble around while you’re taking care of some serious mountain biking business.
So next time you’re looking for an urban track, think about Big Creek. It’s where 20 or so of us will regularly show up, with little to no organization, on Tuesday nights in the summer, ride until twilight and then head for beer and wings. And if you want to freeze your ass off on a winter’s night, think about signing up for night rides. You can warm your ass back up with beer and tacos afterwards.