Best Bike Trails in Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia — updated August 22, 2026
Purpose-built mountain bike singletrack north of town, a flat railroad grade under the Blue Ridge, and a loop that circles the city itself: where to ride around Charlottesville, ranked by how well the trails hold up.
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Riding around Charlottesville falls into two camps: dirt singletrack in the county parks north of town, and flat former railroad grades that run west toward the Blue Ridge. The city also has its own loop trail that circumnavigates Charlottesville, though it is the least documented of the bunch. Trail rules vary from site to site, so check what is posted at the trailhead before you clip in.
1. Preddy Creek Trail Park
This is the one place on the list where mountain biking is named outright as a permitted use. The 571-acre park carries roughly 16 miles of trails shared by riders, hikers, runners and horses, and the network is mapped on Trailforks with difficulty ratings, photos and user-reported conditions, which is the practical way to check whether the dirt is rideable after rain. Gates are open daily from 7:00am until dark. At 4.8 from 405 reviews, this is a settled rating rather than an early one, and the volume comes from a genuinely large trail system rather than a single short loop. The trailhead sits on Burnley Station Road, north of town.
2. Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail
A flat, easy former railroad route through the mountain at Afton, and the closest thing in the region to a ride with no climbing. Sources describe it as suitable for all ages, including children, with free parking at the trailhead and no staff on site, so arrive self-sufficient. The trail and tunnel are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Its 4.8 rating comes from 165 reviews, fewer than Preddy Creek but enough to be reliable. Note that the accounts in our research describe walking the tunnel; confirm current bike rules at the trailhead signage before riding through.
3. Saunders-Monticello Trail
Wide, well-groomed and about four miles in total, running from the Thomas Jefferson Parkway up toward Monticello. Reviewers consistently mention that the surface is smooth but the grade still makes it a workout, which is the useful detail: this is a climb dressed up as an easy path. The trail and parkway are free and open daily, though they can close periodically for management activities, so it is worth calling 434-984-9800 if you are driving in from a distance. The 4.7 rating rests on 311 reviews. As with the tunnel, check posted use rules before bringing a bike.
4. Rivanna Trail
The Rivanna Trail is a loop that circles the City of Charlottesville, with section-by-section descriptions and maps published by the Rivanna Trails Foundation at rivannatrails.org, plus an app guide. It is the most convenient option here in that it starts wherever you happen to live in town. The evidence is thin: 4.6 from just 16 reviews, and at least one reviewer reported feeling unsafe on the trail and recommended the Monticello trail instead. Ride it in daylight, use the foundation's section guide rather than guessing at connections, and treat the rating as unproven.