Big Boulder Trip Report

So I just got back from a trip down to North Carolina to visit a friend and I was lucky enough to hit up Big Boulder on the way down. I had heard a ton of good things about BB throughout the year so I was super stoked that I was going to be able to check it out. Knowing that papasteeze was a BB local, I got a hold of him in order to start planning my visit. He was a huge help and I thank him again for that, he referred me to Jesse, a.k.a "The Man" at BB. Jesse was great to me and helped a poor college brother out, I can't be more grateful, thanks a bunch.
So me and a couple buddies pulled into the parking lot around 10:00 last Sunday, had some decent weather, we were pumped. So pumped in fact, that one of my hungover friends managed to make it all the way from NY before puking in a fit of joy in the BB parking lot (my apologies to the powers at be, sorry for that). After laughing for about 5 minutes at my hungover friend (who was in fact the only snowboarder among us haha) we headed up to see what they had to offer. If you haven't been to BB, it's pretty unique. They have signs up all around warning riders that a terrain feature may be in place on any trail, pretty damn cool if you ask me. The main park (which I believe was called Freedom Park?) was really sick. The park crew was out early that morning raking all the lips to perfection, so nice to see. The park had a really solid 3 jump line. First jump was a super poppy approx. 25 footer, second was a smooth approx. 35 footer, and the third was a super lofty approx. 50 footer. All three jumps were a blast, though I spent most of my time on the first and third, splitting up the run so that my terrible knees didn't explode. After the 3 jumps they had a burly stair set that I believe was used for a recent event, I wanted to give it a shot but thought better of it after remembering that I had an 8 hour drive ahead of me. After the stair set there were a bunch of options ranging from a butter box, to a down rail, to the absolute most fun d-f-d rail that I have ever hit, can't say enough good things about that rail, loved it. I sessioned the park for about an hour and a half before my friends got bored and wanted to take some normal runs (they don't share the same love for park that I do).
So we took a couple runs and ended up stumbling upon another park on the other side of the hill, I want to say it was called the LOVE park? That park was also super fun, everything well taken care of and fun to ride. The featured were a little smaller with a couple jumps and some down rails and what not, definitely more of a progression park. We ended up heading out after only 2 and a half hours or so at the hill so that we could get to NC at a reasonable hour. I really wish I had been able to ride the park some more, it was easily one of the nicest setups that I have ever seen and the locals seemed really chill and were throwing down.
Props to BB and the park crew, a lot of work has gone into those parks and it definitely shows. If you are anywhere within driving distance of Big Boulder, or if you ever get a chance to stop by, I would highly recommend it. Sick park, dope locals, chill environment, overall super stoked on BB. Thanks again to Rob and Jesse, wouldn't have been lucky enough to check it out if it weren't for you two. From NY, peace out...