Looking for mountain bike trail systems that everyone can enjoy? This is the one.
Saturday January 26, 2019
This was my first time going to Oak Mountain State Park. It was the weekend I didn’t need to be on-call for work so we decided that we needed to get out. Trent has been there before and he likes the trail. He suggested us to go there because it was only 2 hrs away. Easy Drive!
We left Atlanta around 10 am. When we got to Birmingham, Alabama, we both got pretty hungry. So we made a stop in Birmingham to have brunch at Silver Coin Indian Grill. They offered buffet on that day. The food was on-point and there were many vegetarian dishes as well.
Don’t forget there is 1 hr difference between GA and AL timezones.
We got to Oak Mountain State Park at 12.20 pm. However, it was still only 11.20 am, Alabama time. We went back in time and gained an hour! Just to make sure, we headed to the campground the get a campsite first.
Because it was so cold, we paid for a pull-up campsite with water and electricity. It costs $37/night. If you want to get a tent campsite (no water, no electricity), it only costs $27/night. We checked our campsite and rode our bike around the campground. There was a lake in the area too.
Then it was the time to ride!
Mountain Biking at Oak Mountain State Park
We parked our car at the north trail head. It was pretty busy when we got there. We had to wait a little bit to get our parking.
They have a good trail system here. There was a main red trail that was connecting with many different side trails. So we started by riding and climbing on this main red trail. You will be doing a lot of river crossing and the view is great with beautiful creeks and waterfall along the side. So this trail is definitely good for dogs. But you need to keep them on leash because there were more hikers and bikers on this main trail.
Boulder Ridge Trail
This was the first side trail we hit. To be exact, it was just Trent that did it. Because this trail is considered a double black diamond trail (extremely difficult trail). I decided to keep going on the main red trail and wait for Trent on the other side of Boulder Ridge Trail. Yes, and I was glad that I didn’t do it. From looking at the footage, I knew I would be walking my bike a lot on that trail.
The trail is really rocky and technical.
Thunder Trail
This is a black diamond trail. This is more for my level than Boulder Ridge trail. I won’t lie… I still have to walk on some of the sections, either from my worn out legs or my nerve. And I would say that the trail is technically flowy. It still has a lot of rocks and roots, but still flowy. There was some sketchy section that was hard to see where you were supposed to go. If you miss it, you might be falling over a cliff. But that is mountain biking, right?
Lightning Trail
Now, we came to the fun one (especially for me). This was the last trail we did on that day. This trail is considered a double black diamond trail as well but I think it is from the features (jump, and drop). It was the least rocky trail of all the 3 trails we did on that day. It reminds us of a bike park in Colorado. VERY FUN.
We finished our ride at 5.30 pm (ET) and went to have dinner at Nori Thai & Sushi. The food was ok but not as authentic as I wanted it to be. As usual, I’m just being picky.
After dinner, we were deciding if we wanted to stay at the campground at that night. It was cold, and Atlanta is just 2 hrs away… If we went home, we wouldn’t have to set up our car to sleep in and we would be able to take a shower in our own bathroom with fresh towels. So we opted out and ditched our campsite, just like that.
Still, we got back home at 8.00 pm (ET). NOT BAD AT ALL!
Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.
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