Green’s Lick Mountain Bike Trail (Asheville)

Greenslick Mountain Bike Trail: With 2.5 miles of technical single-track that drops 800 feet in a constant barrage of high berms, rolling whoop-dedos, and big jumps, Green’s Lick is a local favorite and one of the most popular mountain bike rides in Asheville. If you’re looking for a fun ride of around two hours that takes in one of Asheville’s best trails, we recommend heading up the gravel road from the Ledford Branch Parking Lot. At the intersection you can go left for the steeper and more direct route by climbing the gravel road to a right turn on Ingles Field Connector and a left turn on Ingles Field Gap, which will take you to Five Points Gap. An easier option with more gravel is to go right and speed down the gravel to Rice Pinnacle Road and take a left for more gravel climbing to the Five Points.

From Five Points head uphill on North Boundary to the Green’s Lick trailhead on the left. Bomb Green’s Lick down, but be heads up about a series of jumps through the middle portion of the trail before the trail drops steeply downhill through chunky rocks on the way down one of the rowdiest straightline descents in the region.

Once at the bottom you can opt to climb up Sidehill for a longer ride that puts you back up at Five Points for a final descent of Ingles Field Trail (recommended) or bomb the gravel road to a left on on Lower Sidehill for a more direct route back to the Lefrod Parking Area.  The options for longer mountain bike rides at Bent Creek are nearly endless, so if you’re in the mood for a full day of riding you won’t be disappointed by the abundance of fun trails at Bent Creek.

Directions from Asheville: Take I-240 W to I-26 E and get off on Exit 2, NC 191. Turn left and head south on NC 191 for 2 miles. Turn right at the stoplight onto Bent Creek Ranch Road and an almost immediate left on Wesley Branch Road. Continue about 2 miles. We like the Ledford Branch parking lot off 479 (dirt road) just past the Hardtimes trailhead on the right.