Jose Madriz, left, and Niel Holberg ride down the Megawatt Trail on Raccoon Mountain. Madriz, who is from Miami, said he decided to visit Chattanooga after hearing about the area’s reputation for great mountain biking.
Ashley Giles rides on a trail on Raccoon Mountain.GLIMPSE OF THE FUTUREFor more tips that will help you find the best things to do in the Chattanooga region, pick up a copy of Glimpse, a travel guide that will be inserted into your newspaper on Aug. 30. Glimpse covers the hottest activities and best-kept secrets in nearly 100 cities across Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina and will be accessible online from TimesFreePress.com.
Whether it’s pedaling over smooth asphalt or ascending on rugged off-road terrain, the Chattanooga area offers a variety of trails for bikers to enjoy while taking in breathtaking scenery. Trails range from easy, well-traveled loops to difficult with steep and gradual climbs.
Chief Ladiga Trail
The 33-mile trail in Eastern Alabama offers a smooth ride on an asphalt surface built on an old Seaboard/CSX railroad line. After miles of traveling through Talladega National Forest, where wetlands, streams, forests, farmlands and mountains line the horizon, the trail eventually connects to Georgia’s Silver Comet Trail near Cedartown and Esom Hill in Georgia. Combined, both trails run 94.5 miles to Atlanta and are the longest paved trails in America.
• Chief Ladiga, on the other end, stops in north Anniston, Ala., but there are plans to extend it another seven miles into town so bicyclists can take an Amtrak train to Georgia.