The Boone Fork 50 is an ideal loop route ultra for those who love single-track. Why is it great?
1. Symmetry - Each lap is listed as 5 miles - though Strava reads it a toot shorter. Ten laps, +/- 50 miles.
2. Easy Access and Aid - Huge parking area just off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Price Lake. Car aid station can be set up <100m from the trail. Bathrooms and water available at start / finish of each loop and as you run through Price Lake Campground.
3. Abundant water along the course - Lots of stream crossings, swimming holes, and waterfalls to tempt you to slow down. Great soaking options for cramping legs when it's all over.
4. Technical, but Runnable Single-Track - The trail is well-maintained, though it is rough in places (lots of rocks and roots - can get muddy after heavy rains). There are some ladders / wooden stairs. I recommend not trying for an FKT on a holiday weekend as the swimming holes are popular with tourists.
5. Odd-Number Lists are Proven to be More Impactful - so there ya go.
The route itself:
Start / Finish is at Julian Price Memorial Park. You will follow the Boone Fork Trail for the entire 5-mile loop. This trail is currently marked with orange diamonds and there are concrete mile markers every 0.5 miles. I alternated directions each lap which worked really well to keep things interesting, but I do not see this as a requirement of the course.
If you follow the route in the anti-clockwise direction (the way the mile markers indicate), you start with about a mile of very runnable and flat single track through a field and over to Boone Fork (river). At 1.25 miles, the Mountains to Sea trail (white circles) crosses the Boone Fork on a bridge and joins the Boone Fork Trail. Things get a little more technical as you continue along the river past several waterfalls and swimming holes. The trail bottoms out at the halfway mark (2.5 miles) and then climbs along Bee Tree creek for 1.25 miles. For the last 1.25 miles, you are back on very runnable single track as the Mountains to Sea trail peels off and you drop down into the Price Lake Campground (water bib & bathroom in warm weather months) before connecting back to the start. There is a stone sign and picnic table right where the loop starts and finishes. If you are going to switch directions on your next loop, you must at least reach that marker before turning around.
Additional Route Link
