Riders in the Louisiana area who’re looking for a moderately challenging trail will do well to take a trip to the Bonnet Carre Spillway Trail near LaPlace and New Orleans. As an 8.2 km (5.1 miles) out-and-back trail, you can expect different terrains that offer hikers and bikers of any experience level a fun day out. Ranked 7th in Louisiana, this trail boasts bridges, berms and bypasses, making it a fun ride for riders of all ages.
With an elevation gain of 18 m, beginners can enjoy an easy beautiful ride in the forest. Seasoned riders will be excited to learn that parts of the trail provide an aerobic and technical challenge. As a tight and twisted singletrack, this trail runs over riverbed clay and also features a few sandy sections. A few of the stats by activity are listed below.
| Activity Type | Trails | Rating | Distance | Descent |
| Mountain bike | 3 | 4.5 | 1.24 mi | 1223 ft |
| Hike | 3 | 4 | 1.24 mi | 1223 ft |
| Trail running | 3 | 3.5 | 1.24 mi | 1223 ft |
One complete loop is roughly six miles long. It’s important to highlight that the average GPS tracker may show this as something else, but you can take our word for it—it’s six miles long! For riders’ convenience, directional arrows, trail names and mileage sign boards are posted all around the trail. The goal here is to direct the riders in a clockwise direction to enable them to experience the best this trail has to offer.
Something well worth mentioning about this trail is that it hosts several events every year, the most significant being the NOMAMBO annual cross-country race called the Spillway Scramble. Sanctioned by USA Cycling and part of the Gulf South Regional Mountain Bike Series, this race should be on every biker’s calendar.
Additionally, NOMAMBO also hosts an exciting nighttime race commonly referred to as the Race of the Dead. As a Halloween tradition, the trail boasts sections of “haunted trails” where riders may encounter all sorts of scary things. Not recommended for the faint-hearted!
Aside from taking your mountain bike through its paces, there are also a few other fun outdoor activities that you can take part in. Some of these are listed below.
More good news is that the trail is family-friendly, meaning it can easily be ridden by children too. As with adults, more advanced kid riders can try their luck on the more challenging trails. Children just starting out in the sport are advised to stick to the easier sections of the trail.
The trail is also dog friendly but be sure to keep your pets on a leash for everyone’s safety. The trails are open all year-round but since the area is prone to localized flooding, they can abruptly close for a while. To avoid disappointment, we recommend that you check the status of the trail before heading out.
10 mi 
