Mountain Biking in Old Fort, North Carolina

September 30, 2026

The Gateway Trails, Kitsuma and Heartbreak Ridge

Old Fort has two kinds of mountain biking, fourteen miles apart in feel and about two miles apart on the map. The Gateway Trails are a machine built stacked loop system designed to be genuinely welcoming to newer riders. Kitsuma and Heartbreak Ridge are old school Pisgah, steep and technical. Most trail towns have one. Old Fort has both.

Why is Old Fort worth the drive for mountain biking?

Western North Carolina has never had a shortage of hard trails. What it has lacked is somewhere to become the kind of rider who enjoys them.

The Old Fort Gateway Trails were built to answer that. Fourteen miles of the system are open, part of a planned forty two mile network, and the G5 Trail Collective describes them as some of the most accessible and user friendly trails in Pisgah National Forest. That is not marketing softness. It is a design decision, made deliberately, in a region where most trails were built by people who were already very good at this for other people who were already very good at this.

Two miles up the road, Kitsuma is waiting whenever you want it.

That combination is why Old Fort has become one of the fastest growing trail towns in the region, a shift Blue Ridge Outdoors documented here.

What trails are in the Old Fort Gateway Trails system?

Fourteen miles are open as Phase I. The named trails in the system include:

Gateway, the system’s namesake and the spine most loops build from
Jarrett’s Run, part of the core loop network
Betty’s Run, part of the core loop network
Foundation, flow oriented, and one of the most ridden pieces of the system
Forager, part of the stacked loop structure
Oak Hollow, part of the stacked loop structure
Jarrett Creek Road, the forest road connector that ties loops together
Salt Gap, the upper connector toward the older trail network
Kitsuma, the classic. Steep, technical, ridgeline
Heartbreak Ridge, the long descent riders drive a long way for

Because this is an active build with new trail opening in phases, per trail mileage and difficulty ratings change. Get current numbers from Trailforks or the G5 Gateway Trails page rather than from any guide, including this one.

Where do you park?

Two options published by G5:

Allison Trailhead parking on Old US 70, with access by way of Camp Grier’s Rostan Trail. Note that this access is restricted between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Alternate Gateway parking near the original entrance, with an alternate creek crossing.

Parking at trail systems this new fills early on good weekends. Arrive before ten or ride Tuesday through Thursday.

Which Old Fort trail is right for your level?

If you are new to mountain biking

Ride the lower Gateway loops. They were built to be ridden by people who are still learning to ride, which is genuinely rare here. The stacked loop layout means you can add or subtract distance without committing to a big day, so a first ride can be twenty minutes or two hours depending on how it is going.

If you are comfortable but not confident

Ride Foundation and the mid system loops. Flow oriented and rhythm building, and forgiving of a bad line, which is what you want while you are still finding out what you can do.

If you are a strong intermediate

Ride the full Gateway system, then add Point Lookout Greenway as a cool down. There is enough length across the system to make a real day of it.

If you are experienced and here for the descent

Ride Kitsuma. Steep, exposed, technical, and the reason a lot of people know this town exists.

If you are here for the big day

Ride Heartbreak Ridge into Kitsuma. This is the long one. Plan the shuttle and bring more water than you think you need.

If you are riding with someone who does not mountain bike

Ride Point Lookout Greenway. It is 3.6 miles, paved, with long views down the gorge, and it works on any bike.

Point Lookout deserves more credit than it gets. A group with mixed abilities can all ride from the same parking lot and all have a good day. That is rare.

What is Kitsuma actually like?

Steep. Sustained. Exposed in places, with a series of switchbacks that reward commitment and punish hesitation. Riders who came up on flow trails often describe their first Kitsuma descent as the ride that recalibrated what they thought a descent was.

It is also popular with hikers. The Kitsuma and Point Lookout loop is a well documented combination that turns the descent into a rideable loop without a shuttle.

Two things to know before you go. It is not a first ride, or a second one. And conditions on the older trails in this district have changed since the storms, so check status before you commit to a long day.

How do you shuttle Heartbreak Ridge?

Heartbreak into Kitsuma is the marquee day, and it is a point to point, which means you need a plan. Three approaches:

Two cars. Leave one at the bottom, drive up in the other. Free, reliable, and it requires a second driver.
A commercial shuttle. Operators run shuttles in this area seasonally. Mountain Top Shuttles is one.
Ask the bike shop. The Old Fort Bike Shop knows what is running this season, what a fair rate is, and whether the road up is currently passable, which is not always a given.

That last point is the real one. A local shop knows what happened on a trail last week. An app knows what happened whenever the last person uploaded.

When is the best time to ride in Old Fort?

The valley floor around Old Fort sits at roughly 1,400 feet, which is low for these mountains. That is why the riding season here is longer than most of the region’s.

Spring, March to May

Excellent riding, though wet weeks happen. Stay off the trails when they are soft. A tire rut cut into wet clay lasts a year.

Summer, June to August

Green, shaded and humid. Ride early. Afternoon storms build fast against the escarpment.

Fall, September to November

The best of the year. Firm dirt, cool air, and color in the valley that holds into early November.

Winter, December to February

Underrated. The valley sits low enough to ride most of the winter, with cold mornings, empty trails and long views through bare trees.

Do not ride wet trails. The G5 Trail Collective asks riders to stay off when trails are soft, and on a system this new that request is the difference between a network that lasts and one that needs rebuilding. If your tire is leaving a rut, turn around.

Where do you get a bike, a part or a fix?

The Old Fort Bike Shop is the hub. Rentals, repairs, current conditions, and the single best source for what is actually rideable this week.

Afterward, Hillman Beer has a creekside patio at 78 Catawba Avenue that is roughly the correct distance from the trailhead, and Modern Alchemist is in the same block. Our Old Fort town guide covers the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Are the Old Fort Gateway Trails good for beginners?

Yes, and that is unusual for Western North Carolina. The system was built as beginner friendly stacked loops by design. Most trail networks in this region assume you already know how to ride.

How many miles of trail are in Old Fort?

Fourteen miles of the Gateway Trails are open now, part of a planned forty two mile system, plus the older Pisgah trails including Kitsuma, Heartbreak Ridge, Young’s Ridge, Snook’s Nose and Jarrett’s Creek.

Do you need a shuttle to ride Kitsuma?

No. Kitsuma can be ridden as a loop by combining it with Point Lookout. Heartbreak Ridge into Kitsuma is a point to point and does need a shuttle or a second car.

Is Kitsuma hard?

Yes. It is steep, technical and sustained, and it is not a trail to learn on. Ride the Gateway system first.

Can you hike these trails?

Yes. The Gateway Trails and Kitsuma both see hikers and trail runners. Yield uphill, call out on blind corners, and expect company on weekends.

Are the trails open after the storms?

The Gateway system Phase I is open. Conditions on the older trails across this district have changed and continue to change as recovery work proceeds. Check the G5 Trail Collective or ask at the bike shop before you drive out.

Where should you stay for a riding weekend in Old Fort?

In the valley, close enough to the trailhead that you are not driving anywhere before the first ride.

Where to stay for a riding weekend

Wunderland Resort sits on 35 acres at 448 Curtis Creek Road, minutes from the trailheads, with direct access into Pisgah National Forest. After a long descent there is a natural water cold plunge and a sauna on property, which is a better recovery plan than most riders build for themselves. Lodging runs from forest villas to glamping pods to vehicle and tent camp sites, so a group of six can arrive with different budgets and still stay together.

There is effectively no cell service in the valley, which nobody misses after the first evening.

Check availability · See accommodations · See amenities

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