Northern Georgia/Tennessee Singletrack

[Jon R]

Headed to Hiawassee, GA to see wife’s grandparents in June. Hiawassee is a small resort town located in far North GA near TN and NC border. Since we are driving, I was looking to spend a few days riding some highly regarded singletrack locations in far North GA and/or TN. Might be a good question for Jeff Barber given his GA location. Thank you in advance for any responses.

[axxman]

I think Mulberry gap is closed but the trails should be open. I would go there and check with the LBS. Otherwise I would check out Chattanooga.

[mongwolf]

Hello Jon.  I’m hoping to do the same thing in Nov of this year.  It might help others in their recommendations to you if you let them know what type of trails you are looking for.  Flowy?  Technical?  A mix?  Also what type of rider are you.  Are you an intermediate rider?  Advanced rider?  Seeker of all gnar?

[Jon R]

mongwolf,  basically looking for flowing and technical singletrack. No downhill or crazy stuff. Flowing singletrack through the woods with switchbacks is ideal.

[ZipHead]

Try Fontana Village, you’ll be really close.

Good write-up here —>https://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/fontana-village.html

[Jon R]

Zip, thank you. Appreciate the link. That is very close.

[schwim ✓ supporter]

Hi there Jon,

Fontana is not close to Hiawassee(about 1 1/2 hrs) and it’s a pretty brutal and frustrating trail system at times, due to the lack of maintenance done to it. If you’re headed out that way, you’re much better off riding Tsali or if you’re not up for many miles, the Nantahala Outdoor Center is on the way and has a growing network of trails called Flint Ridge, currently totaling about 8 miles but are fun enough to do more than once.

Jackrabbit is right at Hiawassee’s doorstep and is considered the “Indy 500” of bike trails due to how fast and flowy it is. They’ve just added more to the trail system and they’re planning even more on the other side of the asphalt. I was actually out at this one today and it’s a blast.

If you don’t mind driving a little bit, I’d suggest quite a few:

Pinhoti (Ellijay, GA)
Brush Creek / Tanasi (Ocoee, TN)
Chilhowee (Cleveland, TN)
Tsali (Bryson City, NC)
Hanging Dog (Murphy, NC)
Piney Knob (Murphy, NC == Brand new, only a few miles right now)

All are pretty top notch trail systems and will keep you busy for quite a while.

[Jon R]

schwim, thank you. I am from MN where we have extremely well maintained trail systems. In fall, they even blow the leaves off the trails. We do not have much downhill here due to the topo but we have some extremely well maintained singletrack with technical, flowing, and great trails through fairly dense trees. I am definitely looking for a well maintained system which is heavily used by the MTB community. Also want medium to high miles, no problem. In MN my home system is Detroit Mountain, which does not have a ton of miles but the trails are extremely well maintained. I also ride Cuyuna (Brainerd, MN) which is top 20 in the nation and the Duluth trails. All extremely well maintained and heavily used.

Jeff and Greg, thank you. Jeff, my condolences on the Falcons.

[Jeff Barber]

Yes, Jackrabbit is your best choice in Hiawassee.  Fun trail with enough mileage to get in a good workout.

[Greg Heil ✓ supporter]

+1 to Jackrabbit as being the closest, and well-worth riding.

If you’re looking for others:

• Stonewall Falls in Tiger is about 44min away: https://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/stonewall-falls-loop.html
• Aska Trail System in Blue Ridge is about 51min away: https://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/aska.html

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