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Bull and Jake Mountain Trail System (Bull Mountain Jake Mountain Dirty Thirty)

Mountain Biking Trail

Hard
27.64 mi
3,808 ft
Explore the southern reaches of the Appalachian Mountains on hard-packed Georgia clay in this IMBA Epic trail system.

The name "Bull Mountain" is firmly cemented in the lexicon of mountain bikers in the southeastern United States, as it was one of the original mountain bike trails in this region. Designated an IMBA epic years ago, this iconic trail system has continued to morph and change over time.

In recent years, many of the old school trails have been rerouted onto more sustainable trail alignments which, overall, have made for a much more enjoyable mountain biking experience. Most notably, the trails on the Jake Mountain side have seen much more rerouting and line modification, making the Jake side slightly flatter, faster, and less technical, whereas the Bull side is steeper and more technical.

While you can find some chunder and gnar when ripping down the iconic Bull Mountain descent (recommended counter-clockwise), overall the trails in the Bull and Jake Mountain Trail System are relatively fast and flowy. Some tight and twisty bits will sneak up on you and keep you honest, but overall the sight lines are long and the curves are gradual, making for high-speed ripping and an overall superb ride experience!

The trail tread consists largely of Georgia's classic hard-packed red clay interspersed with roots. When dry, this red clay makes for fast pedaling but when wet, avoid it at all costs! It's not worth riding these trails when wet, as you'll destroy both the singletrack and your mountain bike.

The Chattahoochee National Forest blanketing the rippled mountains is dark and deep, the trees soaring high above. Thanks to a temperate rainforest climate, the undergrowth is dense, letting little light through even at high noon. Some trails run through dense stands of rhododendron, forming "rhodo tunnels" of green leaves. In the spring, the rhododendron blooms are simply stunning! And in the fall, the vibrant colors of the changing leaves in the Appalachians are incomparable!

Bull Mountain also has the distinction of being one of the most popular horseback riding trail systems in the state, meaning mountain bikers must be prepared to see horses and their riders, and share the trail accordingly. If you come across an equestrian user, please slow down, pull off the trail, and allow the equestrian to pass by. Always ride heads-up and aware, and consider that riding at high rates of speed when the sight lines are short could be a bad idea.

With practice, sharing the trail with other user groups is easy and safe, and the iconic singletrack of Bull and Jake Mountain is oh-so worth it! Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes

Route and Elevation

Segments

NameDistanceElev. Diff.Avg. Grade
Buck Off Jake0.61 mi-154 ft-3.8%
Jake Pking Connector to FS 280.61 mi-187 ft-5.8%
Bull Parking Road Bypass1.30 mi210 ft3.0%
223F DH - FS83 to Bull Parking Lot0.29 mi-131 ft-7.5%
CCW Bull Climb (to highest point)6.05 mi886 ft2.6%
Short Rooty tooty Climb0.06 mi66 ft19.3%
Bull Cutoff to Creek DH0.53 mi-269 ft-9.5%
Bare Hare Long Climb3.23 mi840 ft4.8%
Bare Hare Climb - Creek Crossing to Rock Cairns2.95 mi879 ft5.6%
Bull CCW Gate to Trailhead 8.78 mi-833 ft-0.0%
Bare Hare Singletrack Climb1.30 mi423 ft6.0%
Top of Bear Hare0.72 mi387 ft10.1%
Bull Mountain - Down - 2235.61 mi-846 ft-2.8%
Upper Bull CCW pt.1(1.5mi)1.61 mi-233 ft-2.6%
Bear/Lance Xing DH - Bull Trailhead4.51 mi-755 ft-2.8%
Middle Bull CCW pt.2(1.7mi)1.71 mi-384 ft-2.9%
Bull Mid DH1.34 mi-344 ft-4.9%
BE STG4 pt11.69 mi-338 ft-3.5%
Lower Bull CCW DH to Trail Head (1.7mi)1.78 mi-443 ft-3.5%
Bull Descent - Whoop De Do's to Bottom1.30 mi-308 ft-4.1%
Top of whoop-d-dos > bottom of Dam 2.19 mi-518 ft-4.4%
Short Bull ST DH0.63 mi-233 ft-6.7%
Final Bull DH to Trailhead (After Steep grunt)0.76 mi-276 ft-6.8%
Jones Creek Dam to Jones Creek Road2.03 mi413 ft1.9%
Up and up from the dam0.63 mi171 ft5.1%
Sal & partial Jake loop13.57 mi509 ft0.1%
Winding Stair Gap Rd Climb0.57 mi282 ft9.2%
NEW Jones Creek DH to Winding Stair rd0.51 mi-217 ft-7.8%
2/3 5.9 mi Loop5.94 mi-420 ft-1.0%
Full Turner Creek Trail Climb0.37 mi177 ft8.8%
Full NO tell 28A to 28-11.21 mi-213 ft-0.8%
NO TELL climb single track 28A to the top0.69 mi171 ft4.3%
No Tell CW Fireroad Descent 0.51 mi-230 ft-8.4%
Not So Fresh No Tell Spinner:)0.50 mi-223 ft-8.4%
Black Branch Full CW 2 end of Singletrqck2.56 mi-256 ft-0.6%
Black Branch CW Down Hill 11.27 mi-200 ft-3.0%
Bull Enduro Stg#4-Black Branch CW Top of hill to Creek1.52 mi-217 ft-2.7%
Fast Branch0.46 mi-135 ft-5.5%
Black Branch CW DH#10.75 mi-121 ft-3.1%
Black Branch CW DH #20.33 mi-108 ft-6.2%
Fs 28 1 Rd Climb0.82 mi276 ft6.3%
Black Branch CW single Track climb from the creek0.53 mi174 ft6.1%
3/3 4.56 mi Loop5.87 mi295 ft0.6%
223Q Moss Creek Descent 0.46 mi-79 ft-3.0%
Top of Jake trail down to top of gnarly downhill b4 Deep Creek2.64 mi-177 ft-1.1%
Beaver Pond Half way Moss0.64 mi39 ft0.1%
Beaver Pond (28-1 to Moss Connector)1.17 mi148 ft1.4%
223Q Jake DH to Deep Creek1.01 mi-184 ft-3.4%
Jake - All the way down to creek1.03 mi-177 ft-3.3%
Jones Creek to Jake Pkng1.84 mi302 ft2.9%