Mountain Biking
Kennison Mountain Trail
Biking Log
9/5/03 by Christopher Burk, Outdoor Travels
What was supposed to be our annual rafting/hiking trip turned into a biking/hiking trip. OK, in the end we bagged the hiking portion as well and spent three days biking, but until Saturday morning, we had still planned on going hiking.
Kennison Mountain Trail was our first ride of the weekend. Although the ride is usually referred to as Kennison Mountain Trail, it’s actually a loop consisting of Frosty Gap Trail, Kennison Mountain Trail and a couple of forest roads. It’s also important to note that although there is a trailhead for the Kennison Mountain Trail on Route 39/55, do not start your ride there. If you do, you’ll be subjecting yourself to some serious uphill climbing both on the trail and on the road getting back to your vehicle.
The loop starts where Frosty Gap trail crosses FR 232. To get there, turn left from the Cranberry Visitor’s Center parking lot onto SR 39/55. The Cranberry Visitor’s center makes a nice place to start because you have access to facilities. About two miles down the road turn right onto FR 232. You’ll know you’ve reached the trail when you encounter the gate across the road.
We started our ride pretty much the same way we start most of our hikes….at a blistering pace. Our pace quickly slowed due to the fact that the Frosty Gap part of the loop is pretty much all uphill. It isn’t a terribly steep climb but it is fairly long.
The real fun began once we made the turn onto Kennison Mountain Trail. Frosty Gap was challenging because of the incline, but for the most part, it was fairly clear of obstacles. The same cannot be said about Kennison Mountain Trail. There were times I couldn’t tell if we were riding a trail or a streambed. And when we weren’t contending with a jumble of rocks we were dealing with a network of slick roots crisscrossing the trail.
But it was not all rocks and roots. There were several man-made boardwalks and bridges along the way as well. And as wide and easy as they were to ride across, Jeff still managed to find a way to add excitement. Every time we stopped, Jeff was faced with the challenge of getting his foot back in his toe clip. It’s not necessarily difficult but it does require him to occasionally look down at his pedal. During one bridge crossing he did just that and fell off the side of the bridge. Fortunately it wasn’t a big drop and he recovered quickly, but it was definitely worth a laugh or two. This coming from the guy whose wipeouts are too numerous to count. I also bailed on participating in a "ride by" boardwalk video. Considering that a mere fraction of an inch seperated Dana and Jeff's handlebars, tumbling into the stagnant, brackish water of the bogs was not
high on my "to do" list!
The remainder of Kennison Mountain Trail offers more of the same. There are a couple of short climbs, some small streambed crossings, more root riding and enough rocks to keep Fred Flintstone busy until the next millennium. In fact, one section of the trail resembles broken granite stairs more that an actual trail. At least we got to ride down the “stairs” rather than up.
After a nice downhill section, the trail meets up with FR 738. The trail does continue on from FR 738 down to the Cranberry River but I don’t know how rideable it is. Besides, if you were to continue on to the river you would be looking at a 1,000-foot elevation difference between you and your car. Since we had other places we wanted to ride, we took the shorter route and rode back (up the hill) to the car on FR 738. Besides, the beer in the car was calling our names. I believe that light-drinker Jeff even polished off a couple cold ones in short order.
Trail Snapshot
Trail: Frosty Gap, Kennison Mountain, FR 232 and FR 738
Difficulty: Because of the variety of terrain, the difficulty fluctuates from easy (forest roads) to advanced (very rocky with lots of roots). Overall it’s fairly rough going, requiring some above average skill.
Outdoor Travels Rating: 4 out of 5 bikes
Thumbs Up
-Nice variety of terrain.
-No really steep, long climbs. There was a ride up the forest roads but that was long more than steep.
Thumbs Down
-The long ride back up the forest roads.
Lessons Learned
-Christopher is much more willing to ride something if someone else does it first.
-Crash Bandicoot is an excellent biking nickname for Christopher.
Maps & Stuff
Kennison Video
Trail Photos
Lots of great photos to give you a good idea of what riding here is like!
Help Keep Outdoor Travels A Free Informational Source!
By clicking through the links of these great outfitters when you want to purchase new gear, you'll not only receive the best pricing, you'll also be helping Outdoor Travels pay the bills. We certainly appreciate this simple gesture!
