Chattanooga, Tennessee
Population: 538,000
Chattanooga squeaks in at #99 on the top 100 MSA list. If you’re looking for a city with a small-town feel plus trails to shred and a decent nightlife, Chattanooga is a great place to call home. In fact, with a cost of living that’s below the US average, being a professional dirtbag mountain biker isn’t out of the question in Chattanooga!
Ok, enough about the town–this list is about mountain bike trails, after all. SORBA Chattanooga set a goal for themselves several years ago to have 100 miles of singletrack within 10 miles of town by 2010. Well, it’s 2014, and by our count there are 101 miles of singletrack within 15 miles of the town center–mission accomplished! Raccoon Mountain is perhaps the best-known trail system in the area thanks to its mix of flowy singletrack and technical descents. At Five Points and Enterprise South you can get your berm on, while the ridge trails at White Oak Mountain can be as rocky as you like.
-Jeff Barber
Your Turn: Are there any great mountain biking cities that you think we missed? Tell us about them in the comments section below!
