Mountain Biking Richmond Hill Park, Asheville, NC
A multi-use trail system is nearly complete at Asheville's Richmond Hill Park, on hills overlooking a bend of the French Broad River northwest of town. Built within the last few years, these trails have been a great way to show that the city serious about its plans for outdoor recreation on city land.
Richmond Hill Park Trail Sign
Switchback on Rock Outcrop
The trails were purpose built with mountain bikers in mind; however, they're open to both mountain bikes and hikers. On a recent trip, I saw dozens of hikers and one mountain biker using the trail. You'll often find families and dog-walkers on the trail, so keep that in mind if you're coming here for a ride.
The trail system currently consists of about 5 miles of signed trails on both old road beds and purpose-built paths. Trails twist along the piney hilltops, pass through the disc golf course, and dip down into a couple of creek bottoms near the railroad tracks and the French Broad River for a unique experience.
Overall, trails are "tight and twisty" in character. They were designed this way on purpose both to provide that type of experience which isn't found elsewhere in the region; to encourage bikes to slow down and share the trails with other users; and to fit as much trail mileage into the small amount of land as possible. Whether you're here to kill some time, get some exercise, or hone your bike handling skills, you'll find the trails here suitable.
Some of the mountain biking trails in Richmond Hill Park
The Yellow blazed trail is the main route through the park, about 3.1 miles long. It forms a loop. The **Blue* blazed trail is a "lollipop" loop that heads south off the Yellow trail. here are 4 short Red blazed trails that connect various segments of the yellow trail together, making alternate loops possible.
See the full photo gallery of Richmond Hill Park.
From downtown Asheville, NC, take Montford Ave. north across I-240 and turn left immediately onto Hill St. Follow Hill St. for 1 mile to Riverside Drive and turn right. Go 0.9 mi and turn left onto Pearson Bridge Rd. Go across the river; in 0.3 mi., turn right onto Richmond Hill Dr. (inside a sharp right-hand curve). Follow Richmond Hill Dr. to its end in 0.9 mi, bearing right at the top of the hill. At the roundabout, take the first drive to the right into the parking area.
It's just over 3 miles from downtown to the park, so you could ride there if you're already downtown.
The trails start behind the sign board on the left side of the parking area as you came in.
Official City of Asheville Trail Map
Here's the city's official trail map of Richmond Hill Park. It's a PDF, so you can load it up on your phone or print it out and take it along.
Our Interactive GPS Map
Richmond Hill Park