From the moment I stepped into the forest, I saw Mint Springs' potential. A humble park with room to grow into a premiere destination - a national park experience in Albemarle County's backyard where families explore by bike or foot, escape the digital landscape and have fun in the natural world. The vision was a lofty goal, but given the wealth of natural resources there, a goal certainly attainable with the right collaboration.
Mint Springs is an ideal backyard park. It is nestled in a bowl of ridges at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Crozet, Virginia. The park encompasses spectacular terrain filled with hardwood forests, mountain laurel, and rock features. In the forest, you’ll engage with wildlife - song birds, hawks, owls, rabbits, deer, black bear, and more. The park itself is over 500 acres, but limited to less than 5 miles of trail with no destination points like an overlook. With plenty of acreage and optimal terrain, the dream destination with a longer network of trails was within reach, it just needed the right people and a plan.
The Charlottesville Area Mountain Bike Club (CAMBC) is well known for the amazing trail advocacy and stewardship they have brought to our local public lands. They have worked with the City of Charlottesville Parks and Recreation (CCPR), Albemarle County Parks and Recreation (ACPR), University of Virginia, and National Forest on a variety of projects ranging from simple maintenance, to large scale planning and development of entire trail networks. It is safe to say, they are the trail experts for the Charlottesville region. I shared my ideas for Mint Springs with the club and the board quickly fostered a plan including sustainable trail design on Little Yellow Mountain. Soon after drawing the proposed lines on the map, we coordinated with the ACPR trails division and determined the best use of the club’s time.
Little Yellow Mountain is a ridge that comes off the main Blue Ridge at Bucks Elbow and wraps around the southern and eastern side of the park at two high points. The eastern high point on the ridge hosts a rocky outcrop that we call “The Slab”. The Slab is a beautiful overlook with fantastic views facing west towards Bucks Elbow. A joint decision was made with ACPR, that CAMBC would build two trails to expand the existing network with access to The Slab. The first, Ridge Trail, is a long traverse across Little Yellow Mountain that not only accesses some of the most beautiful sections of the park, but will also act as a connection for a dead end at the park boundary. Ridge Trail will create a loop at this dead end. The second project would elevate off the Ridge Trail, and get users to The Slab overlook. This was dubbed the Sunset Trail due to its gorgeous light at sunset.
Mint Springs also had several spots with erosion problems from trails built long ago. To support ACPR, CAMBC agreed to upgrade and alleviate one of its biggest erosion areas on the Big Survey Trail. The old route was becoming so degraded that in the fall of 2024, hurricane Debbie and Helene almost washed it completely off the map by scouring the old path into what looked like a creek bed. The terraine surrounding the old Big Survey Trail is extremely steep, so we had to be creative in our approach to the re-route. The trail needed a lot of rock armoring and a giant crib wall to hold up an intense switchback. Much of the work done on the Big Survey Trail was accomplished by using rock bars (long steel bars) and a 3,000lb winch to move boulders. In the end, the re-route is an impressive display of sustainable trail design. To date, it is one of my favorite sections built by CAMBC volunteers.
In the spring of 2025, our goal was accomplished. By building the Ridge Trail, Sunset Trail, and two re-routes on the Big Survey Trail, CAMBC finished our vision's first phase at Mint Springs. Not only were trails built, but so was camaraderie among all types of trail users: mountain bikers, runners and hikers who volunteered. The coordination between CAMBC and ACPR showed that with a shared concept and good planning, trail work can be a fun process and accomplish amazing results.
Now, when I go for a hike with my kids, run with my wife, or a ride at Mint Springs, I think about the journey. After over two years of collaboration, planning, and digging, Mint Springs is living up to its potential by providing a national park experience with beautiful, sustainable trails and vistas accessible to multiple user groups. When you look out from The Slab on Sunset Trail, you feel how special this place is.
Next time you hit the trails, check out Mint Springs and tell us what you think!