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Harris Lake - Hog Run trails full CCW loop

RECOMMENDED ROUTE
Intermediate Intermediate
 4.3 (43)
  1. Areas
  2. NC
  3. …Raleigh - Durham Metro Area
  4. …Holly Springs
  5. Harris Lake County Park
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“A complete CCW loop of the Hog Run trail system at Harris Lake. ”

Greg Epplin
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10.3

Miles

16.6

KM

90%

Singletrack

275' 84 m

High

225' 69 m

Low

261' 80 m

Up

260' 79 m

Down

1%

Avg Grade (1°)

6%

Max Grade (3°)

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Allowed

Park Closed: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day

Overview

A fast, flowy trail with great views of Harris Lake. This trail has sections designed for every skill level. There are some jumps, skinnies and whoop-de-doos to keep the fun meter pegged! Every obstacle has clear ride arounds. The beginner trail is CCW only and the direction of travel is clearly marked. All other trails at Harris Lake can be ridden in either direction. Recent work has resulted in both the addition of singletrack trail and the reworking of existing trail to create a new and rewarding ride experience.

Need to Know

Current trail status is available on trianglemtb.com or by calling the park office at 919-387-4342.. Scheduled rides and volunteer workdays are planned by Triangle Off-Road Cyclists, (TORC) and can be found on Meetup at meetup.com/torc-nc/.

Harris Lake park also contains picnic areas, an excellent disc golf course, a kayak boat launch, a floating dock for fishing and a great hiking trail called the Peninsula trail.

Additional park info can be found at wakegov.com/parks/harrislak…

Description

Two parking lots can be used to access the trails. The Hog Run Bike Trail gravel lot is directly off the main park road about a half a mile from the park entrance. This parking lot does not have any restroom facilities. The Cypress parking lot is the second parking area and it is close to the restroom building. There are clearly marked beginner, intermediate and advanced trail sections. The beginner trail starts from the main parking lot near the Cypress picnic shelter. This featured ride is a CCW loop of all main trails in the park. To follow this track, park at the Cypress shelter lot, start at the trailhead and take every right hand turn you encounter. The trails get progressively more difficult as you get farther away from the parking lot. There are clearly marked bailouts with signs directing you back to the parking lots. The park entrance road bisects the trail and the advanced trail sections are located on the north side of road.

At the northern extreme of the advanced trail, there is an expert section branching from the main trail. There are several paths through this expert section. Take the time to explore and enjoy them all.

The GPS mileage shows 9.2 miles for this ride, but the wheel odometer more accurately measures it as 10.7 miles.

History & Background

In 1985, Wake County Parks, Recreation and Open Space signed a lease with Progress Energy for a 680-acre regional park facility on Harris Lake. The first phase of park construction began in 1997. This phase was built with the 1993 Bond Referendum money. The park opened to the public in May 1999.

Contacts

Local Club: Triangle Off-Road Cyclists (TORC)

Land Manager: Wake County Parks, Recreation, and Open Space - Harris Lake County Park

Shared By:

Greg Epplin with improvements by Matt Jenkins and 2 others
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.3 from 43 votes

#1

in Harris Lake County Park

#448

Overall
  4.3 from 43 votes
5 Star
51%
4 Star
30%
3 Star
14%
2 Star
2%
1 Star
2%
Recommended Route Rankings

#1

in Harris Lake County Park

#30

in North Carolina

#448

Overall
128 Views Last Month
19,313 Since Nov 11, 2014
Intermediate Intermediate
3%
8%
76%
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Photos

Teaching the wee one that bridges ain't scary wasn't too hard!
Jan 29, 2017 near Holly S…, NC
Testing out the new skills area located near Hog Run parking lot
Oct 28, 2014 near Holly S…, NC
It's never too early to start learnin'!
Jan 29, 2017 near Holly S…, NC
Part of the skills area near Hog Run parking lot
Oct 28, 2014 near Holly S…, NC
Tackling one of the gullies of the expert section
Nov 11, 2014 near Holly S…, NC
On a rooty section on Intermediate Loop near Harris Lake
Nov 11, 2014 near Holly S…, NC

3 Comments

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Check-Ins

Jun 16, 2024
Logan Eckstein
Went counter clockwise around the intermediate and advanced loops. Very flowy and fun. Probably better clockwise 6.3mi — 0h 58m
Dec 27, 2021
Don Childrey
10.3mi
Sep 19, 2021
Mike E
Aug 25, 2021
Chad Gimbert
Aug 7, 2021
Tom Loew
Jul 31, 2021
Nick G
7.3mi — 1h 12m
Jun 6, 2021
Carl L
beautiful trails, no mid spots they day I went 15mi
Apr 19, 2021
MARK JEPSEN
What a great trail network. Something for every type and skill rider. 6.3mi

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Stewarded by Triangle Off-Road Cyclists (TORC)
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