Celebrating 20 years of Big Creek Freeride

From its humble beginnings in 1996, Big Creek Freeride (known then as Mansell trails) continues its tradition of a fun, gravity-fed place to ride, socialize, and progress as riders.

Chris Warren is the pioneer that started digging trails on the land back in 1996 to have a local place where he could train for downhill racing. Gully was the first trail he built, and more trails were added in a variety of forms over the years. After Gully, 'Bonebreaker' was the most well-known trail likely due to countless injuries. It later disappeared likely for the same reason. 

The City of Roswell acquired the 165-acre Big Creek Park and the Big Creek Freeride area in 2001, which legitimized the trails. Over the years, the freeride area was considered to be replaced by an aquatic center and the XC trails displaced by the need for a fire station. We're grateful the City recognized the importance of providing mountain bike trails for its residents and has chosen to preserve the Big Creek trail system.

One thing the trails have always had, is an army of trail gnomes and volunteers willing to work hard to advance the trails to the next level. Sweat equity using shovels and machinery by countless volunteers and literally tens of thousands of donated man-hours have helped keep Big Creek an exciting place to ride. No where in the State of Georgia is there a place like it with so much variety of gravity-fed trails. From beginner and expert dirt jumps to natural gravity-fed trails, Big Creek gives riders of all skill levels a place to practice, learn, and improve their bike handling skills.

On June 11, 2016, we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Big Creek Freeride area with nearly 100 people. Those in attendance signed our yearbook, watched or rode in the whip off, and just had a great time riding trails with old and new friends. Plus tons of giveaways by our friends at Maxxis Tires. 

RAMBO would like to thank all of our volunteers, past and present board members, our supporting bike shops, IMBA, SORBA, the City of Roswell Parks and Rec, and all of our RAMBO members for helping us reach this milestone. 

See you on the trails!