High Voltage / Live Wire Loop - Mountain Bike Trail

For those who want tons of excitement in a short loop, the High Voltage/Live Wire loop is it. It takes you down one of the most exciting descents in the area and is naturally meant for advanced riders. However, just because you’re an advanced rider doesn’t guarantee your safety through this trail. You may still find yourself failing to navigate the sharp descents near the end, which can cause injury. However, if you have faith in your skills, it should be a trail that you want to try at least once.

Before you go:

Drinking water

Restrooms

Fee required

Lift service

Fat bike grooming

Family Friendly

Night riding

E-bikes allowed

Dogs Allowed

Obstacles

Shuttles

Detailed Trail Description

Given it’s a loop, you’ll start and end your ride at the bottom of the mountain in the parking lot near the river. While you can go through it either clockwise or counterclockwise, the latter is more exciting and starts with a huge climb up the High Voltage trail.

At the top of the climb, you’ll need to turn right into the Split Rock trail, which is mostly an easy section of singletrack that helps get you to the next trail, i.e., Laurel Point. That said, a few rock features make it a little more challenging.

Laurel Point is another short and sweet trail offering rolling singletrack and rock features like the Split Rock trail before it. You should also come across roots in your path, so be careful. It’s fairly technical but should be something intermediate riders can handle fairly easily.

Laurel Point connects to Electric Avenue 1, and despite the name, there’s almost nothing challenging about this section. It doesn’t require superb bike handling skills, and you’ll mostly be riding a descent. The East Overlook parking is also worth stopping at to take in the views and landscape.

From here, you take the parking area road that should dump you at the East Rim trail. In addition to the rock features, there’s a flowy section with the trail ultimately guiding you to Live Wire 1. From there, it’s a fast descent that can go on for nearly five miles and combines with the Live Wire 2 trail. It’s quite technical with rock features, bridges, switchbacks, etc., and unfortunately, some of our team didn’t go home unscathed.

Additional Trail Features

• Extra fees: While you might need to pay to explore the Raccoon Mountain Caverns, using the bike and hiking trails should be free.
• Obstacles: There are huge climbs, no matter whether you go clockwise or counterclockwise, with lots of rock features and root obstacles.
• Shuttles: While there are several parking lots for personal vehicles, shuttles don’t come through here.

Sights of Interest, Landscapes, and Views

Make sure to stop at the East Overlook parking. Also, despite being in a woody area, there are tons of views to look at all along the trail, including rock features.

Recommendations and Precautions

Only attempt this loop if you have faith in your bike handling abilities and good brakes.