Long Cane Horse Trail Questions

You should be able to follow the map. There are signs out there with the letters from on the map. I'd print that info on Ashby's site, the page with the critique of the trail. They pretty much spell out what is good to ride and what not so much. Pay close attention to what they say about skirting "Land of the Double Wides".

Camp at PM. On a lake, nicer.

Trail is great. If in condition to ride the entire thing, do that. It sounds like what they call "Dead Dog Loop" is recomended right now. The trail is a mix of old school legacy horse trail, stuff we designed and built 8ish years ago and a gravel road that is about 1 mile of the trail. The legacy horse trails are in sections eroded, techy, steep and guillied out, but fun nonetheless. The stuff we did is early day FATS, flowy, and fun. Most of the old stuff is high quality mountain biking. I'd get info from Ashby on the conditions to ride the whole thing. "9Minute Trail" from the routed sign down is a hoot. And a nice climb if going the other way.

I'd guess it climbs about 70-75 feet per mile. That is about half of Pisgah, typically. There are some steep climbs, but they are short. And there are some long climbs, but they aren't steep.

Overall, I'd say the LCHT is the best kept secret on the long cane district (USFS). It may be the best mtb ride on the district.

Ashby's site has all the stuff you need to know.

Let us know what you think after you ride it.