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Trail Description:
These trails rock for being in the middle of Newport News, way better than Harwood. If you've parked in the lot at the end of Gatewood by Warwick drop off the bottom of the parking area and go below the fence, there is a big pit on this part that's pretty fun, follow that trail out to the service road go left and cross the lake. You can turn left just after you cross the lake and get on to the main section of trail there. There's another small section if you continue past this, climb the road to the right heading toward the rail road tracks you'll see a trail on the right when you see the fence ,follow that trail around to the right, this section it turny and fun, not very long, cross staight over the road when you come back to the road ,to another small section. Alright back to the main sections when you make that left follow the trail to the right after you cross a log on a downhill make a right, follow this out to the BMX stuff, stay to the left down the hill and make a left, this is the begining of the longest section(about 3.5 miles). when you come back out to the road again make a left cross the ditch and another left. when this comes out there is one more small section if you go across the low water bridge on the left. Just before the end of the long section you'll notice a left take that back, this is about the hardest trail out here, so far as hilly and rooty. There are three bridges out there and some pretty good climbs for this area. The city now owns this so it is OK to be out there. Have fun.
How to get there:
From I64 take the hwy 17 south exit toward NN, go down to Warwick make a left, then make another left after you cross the lake onto Gatewood, park in the small lot on the left. Or from Glendale go to the end of Fern Dr. cut though behind the Woman's Club on to the service road follow it around under 17 and the last small section I mentioned will come up on the right
| Posted by: Brad Pfister on 7/7/2009 |
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Great trail for Peninsula riders. Do wear board shorts or other swimming gear because there is a good rope swing that is nice on a hot day. The bmx jumps are ok, it needs more mtb jumps though. Watch your bars, there are some narrows through trees on speed sections that could be painful if you don't keep your line. Lots of good rolling sections an some decent uphills. I'll be there as often as I can!
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| Posted by: Ben Sugar on 8/19/2007 |
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I grew up in this area, and as a new mountain biker I was pleasantly surprised on a recent visit that there was a halfway decent MTB trail system - Hampton Roads isn't exactly the most trail friendly area.
Very good general design to these trails; lots of tight turns, some decent jumps and logs with ride arounds. Lots of mileage fit into a fairly small parcel of forest.
A couple things to be aware of, though. The sandy soil tends to collect in loose patches at the bottom of descents, and right on turns - having to slow down on these was frustrating, and pushing it caused me to eat sand more than once. The steeper climbs also tend to be eroded (again, sandy soil) and very rooty, which is a challenge. One final thing is that parts of the trail have flow issues - very abrupt transitions from fast areas w/ jumps into extremely tight turns.
Overall though, a great place for an after-work ride - i'll definitely be back.
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| Posted by: Rob Ostermaier on 4/2/2006 |
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Good trail for a fun workout but watch out for a couple of the log obstacles some of them are not well maintained and you'll catch your chain ring at the top. Other than that first part is rough and technical with lots of roots and climbs. Second part is fast winding and smooth. Lots of fun.
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| Posted by: Steve on 6/7/2005 |
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The section the left after crossing the lake has lots of small hills and turns. Cool ivy grove along the trail. Many trails spiral and intersect in ways that make it a challenge to stay oriented. Constantly varing terrain. Some potentially dangerous lakeside drop-offs, and a few opportunities to get your feet wet, and your bike muddy (like Harwoods Mill), so be careful. Nice arobic workout. Very, very well maintained trail, close to home.
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| Posted by: Kendall on 10/1/2003 |
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way better than harwood mills and few people know about. has a really cool drop at the beginning and plenty of intersecting trails. If you like harwood but dont want to make the drive to waller mill or york river then you should definetly check it out.
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| Posted by: Gene on 7/30/2003 |
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I ride this trail regularly because it is close to home. The trail is maintained by those who ride it, so clean up if you find problems along the way. The area is posted with old signs, but they are out of date. I have checked with both the Newport News police and park police.
enjoy it, great ride for learning the ropes or just getting away from the city. the shoreline trail provides the higher difficulty level.
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