By Abdue in June, 2011
Spent the morning riding from End to End - and back. Quiet - guess fathers day kept the crowd down.
Evidence of many trees down (removed) over the past couple of months - Winds from fierce storms this spring.
A couple areas of wash-outs have been repaired.
This trail is a Game Lands Maintenance Road and receives minimal maintenance. Normally they use stone - sometimes large - and no compaction. The smooth surface expected on most Rail-Trails isn't going to be found.
Miles from anywhere - NO CELL PHONE Service.
Take a few minutes to check out the 'food plots', stream, and 'diversion wells'. The drainage from abandoned coal mines is treated in part by the diversion well. This allows acid sensitive trout to survive.
By arneson in June, 2011
This is a picturesque trail with excellent scenery... but I would not ride it with my hybrid, only my mountain bike. Much of the trail would be hybrid-friendly, but there are enough rough patches to make it a mountain bike-only path in my estimation.
I ride in early June 2011, starting at the parking area on the west of Goldmine Road and then riding four miles west (about half a mile past the Rausch Gap Bridge). Last year (2010), I rode the section to the east of Goldmine Road, also a nice ride -- and, if memory serves, more hybrid-friendly.
I look forward to riding the entire length of the trail this year!
By grandmabiker in September, 2010
The eastern trailhead is easy to find from the south, but is 3, not 4 miles in on Goldmine Rd according to my odometer. Lots of parking is available on the left side if you drive in past the State Gamelands sign. We rode east to the reservoir and back to the trailhead first, which was beautifully wooded, had a stream visible from the trail at times, and a relatively smooth surface. Riding west from the trailhead had more variation in the surface. It started out bumpy with larger gravel around areas where drainage pipes had been installed and then altenated from nice fine grit with a smooth ride to areas with larger stone which were rather bumpy. We got to see some deer, and enjoyed walking through the woods, finding some neat fungi. Will probably do the short stretch to the reservoir again, but don't know if we'll be back for longer rides westward because of the rough surfaces, plus we have many more R2T to check out!