Trail Description
The Cross Plains trail system, also known as Driftless Downs, is fully open thanks to our amazing volunteers, the support of our community, and of course the Capital Offroad Pathfinders (CORP). The mileage tally comes in at 4 miles of single track plus another mile of boardwalk trail if you park in the lot at Mill Creek Parkway. Come enjoy this unique blend of climbs, descents, berms, rocky outcrops, wooded sections, prairies, cliffs, and scenic overlooks. There are great views of the driftless area as every trail wraps the hillside and gives you an elevated perspective. Start your ride at the trailhead located on County Road KP near Bourbon Road. Look for the sandstone rock retaining wall.
Trail Descriptions:
- Up Up & Away – (Beginner Trail) - The access trail will get your blood flowing as you start your ascent. The 0.25 mile climb will wind you up the hillside through sandstone scarps and groves of cedar trees. The uphill challenge is offset by the great scenery and your reward is that you get to ride the whole thing back down.
- West Loop Connector – (Beginner Trail) – This short loop is a great start for your ride and takes you to a scenic overlook at Paleo Point. You will make your way through an oak savanna as you work towards your final destination.
- Oak Y Dokie – (Beginner Trail) - This trails serves as the out leg of the east loop trail and winds you across the top of the hillside. Relatively flat, but with fun berms and rolls to keep you on your toes. And as the name says, you will see some huge oak trees along the way.
- Kick Axe – (Beginner trail) – On the return leg of the east loop you can expect some fun fast flow trail through the trees as you get a great overlook of the valley. We’ve also thrown in some optional fun factors along the way so keep an eye out for rock bridges, table tops, and rollers.
- A Little R&R – (Intermediate Trail) – Our newest trail addition extends the east loop by 0.5 miles and provides a challenge as you slalom through old growth forest. A couple large dips and turns will keep you on your toes.
- Cliff’s Edge – (Expert Trail) – This is the trail system’s signature trail with some of the best views of the valley as you chase below a shear vertical cliff line. There are challenging ups and downs with a bit of exposure to the downhill side. If you don’t feel comfortable biking this trail, we would recommend taking a hike to check out everything it has to offer.
- Knutty Squirrel – (Expert Trail) – One of our first trails, Knutty Squirrel is a great blend of volunteer built and machine built trail. This stretch is packed with wildlife and blends nicely to the topography of the hillside. Much of the trail keeps rock and dirt in its natural state providing an old school mountain biking feel.
- Dropout – (Expert Trail) – This short sweet option off Kick Axe adds a challenging downhill section along a 15’ tall sheer rock cliff. This trail is not for the timid so look before you leap.
We thank everyone for their support and for making this trail system a reality! Come out and enjoy! If you like what you see and would like to see more trails like this in the area, please consider joining or donating to the Capital Offroad Pathfinders at
www.madcitydirt.com, local chapter of the International Mountain Bicycle Association. Also, like our facebook page at
Cross Plains MTB.
We will be continuing to grow our trail system to 5 miles, so get involved if you like what you see. Please visit and subscribe to
MadCityDirt.com/Forum/Trail Discussion/Cross Plains or check out the
CORP Events page for upcoming volunteer work days.
We hope to see you soon!
