Bicentennial is an older trail in the North end of North Fork Park area. We rode the trail from the bottom at North River Trail to the intersection with Long Loop as part of a multi trail ride. We did not continue on Bicentennial past Long Loop to the end of Bicentennial, although the distance is pretty short, but it would have been a descent that would have needed to be climbed back up to return to the Long Loop Trail. We were pretty gassed already, with several more trails we wanted to ride that day.
The trail is a pretty steep climb if riding from the bottom at North River Trail to the top – gaining over 900 feet of elevation in just under 1.5 miles. Some of the climbs are pretty steep and technical with good sized rocks and roots, making them a challenging climb. Descending these will also pose a challenge, and as such we are rating the trail intermediate, but recommend climbing for stronger riders or ebikes. Line choice when climbing is difficult to maintain as the rocks and roots are pretty big and with the steep terrain you may find yourself walking your bike up a few of these. We sure did. The elevation profile chart shows a pretty consistent climb, but honestly some of the climbs were pretty punchy and not our idea of fun.
The trail begins after a short ride from the North River trailhead to the trail junction marked with a large wooden sign. At the junction the trail will fork with Traildemic to the left and Bicentennial to the right. There is another trail split a short distance after you begin riding if going uphill with Long Loop. Stay left to continue on Bicentennial. Another short distance there is another trail fork- if you take the left trail it is shorter and steeper, while the right trail is a little longer and not quite as steep. Both trails are Bicentennial, so it doesn’t matter which one you take. We recommend staying right for an easier climb.
The trail is mostly shaded in the morning hours which will help but you will be climbing pretty steadily until you reach the trail summit sign. Once there you will get a short downhill, followed by some more uphill until the final downhill to the Long Loop Junction. We did not ride the rest of Bicentennial since we were riding additional trails and the bridge over Cutler Creek has not been repaired yet. The bridge was pretty severely damaged during the record setting winter of 2022-2023. The bridge is scheduled for repair on 7/5/2023.
Other options for riding this would be to ride up North River trail and take one of the 2 junctions up Long Loop and then ride down Bicentennial, or you can ride up Cutler Creek to the beginning of Bicentennial from the top and ride down. You could also ride up North River Trail to the Bicentennial Middle and then ride down, or you could ride up Bicentennial to Bicentennial Middle and then down North River Trail to the Long Loop junction and finish off on Long Loop or North River Trail. We would recommend Long Loop over North River Trail.
