South Campus Rail-Trail
This is my most frequent approx 5k basic Whirlpool loop. The whole trail is well suited to barefoot with extremely varied ground conditions. Lots of hills, turns, lovely forested views. The main trail is flat and well graded. These side trails lie off the main trail and have been established and maintained by mountain bikers. For a comprehensive look at the trails here, see https://www.mtbproject.com/directory/8008886/northern-mississippi My loop mapped here is part of the North Loop, which is a 7 mile loop. Although the loop shown here is about 3 and 1/2 miles, the trail has lots of alternate routes and can easily be longer or shorter by adding and subtracting bits. I run barefoot and this is, to my way of thinking, ideal barefoot trail running. The ground has some hazards....sweet gum balls, roots crossing the trails, pine cones, but not so many as to spoil the run. Tons of variability with up hill sections, downhill sections, switchbacks that offer lots of changing directions. The ground varies with sections with hard packed dirt, some in pine needles, sand, a few muddy sections if it rains. There is very, very little in the way of flat straight trail in here. Pay attention and you will see turtles, tortoises, deer, and a variety of snakes. Mostly harmless snakes, but I have come across the occasional copperhead. Don't mess with them and they won't mess with you.
Here is a local business that supports the community.
Google Map- https://goo.gl/maps/AoD1armGDFDz5xcM7
Elite Network Solutions
Oxford, Mississippi USA
