East Tennessee mountain bike rides
East Tennessee mountain bike rides
The following are brief descriptions (plus maps and pictures) of various East Tennessee mountain bike rides. The rides range in difficulty from a "ride in the park" to wilderness adventures. Popular mountain biking rides in the Knoxville area are Panther Creek, Norris, Lone Mountain, and Haw Ridge. Here is a map of East Tenn. (135K) indicating where some of these places are, more or less. (Or, on a 3-D topo map (400K)). We have GPS waypoints (.gpx), maps, and driving directions for some of the trail heads at trail-head parking.
These pages describe ridable trails/roads over the last dozen years or so. Some trails/roads may be closed due to Mother Nature or new access restrictions. Please obey posted signs. Be aware of hunting seasons and try not to look like a deer. Here is TWRA's Fall 2007 state hunt schedule (Units A and B, see TWRA state units map) and WMA hunt schedule. Also the Oak Ridge reservation is closed for fall hunts, see the Oak Ridge Reservation hunt page.
Friends of Haw Ridge Park
Trail building/maintenance
Maps
Local bike stores may have maps and current access information. USGS quads can help with topography, but trails and jeep roads depicted on these maps often do not represent current conditions. USGS quadrangles can be obtained at hiking stores, map stores (Omni), and from the TVA map store (800-627-7882). Delorme's 3-D Topo Quads have USGS quardrangles on CDs with GPS support, as does Maptech's TerrainNavigator. mapquest and terraserver, and maptech have topos online. County maps may be of use for Wildlife Management Areas and general directions. You can get Wildlife Management Area maps at tnwildlifefoundation.org. Delorme's Tennessee Atlas & Gazetteer includes coarse topographic information and is available at book stores. David Moore's book Tennessee Mountain Bike Adventures has trail descriptions and maps for many areas of Tennessee. Also, see Parham's book Off the Beaten Track: Mountain Biking in Eastern Tennessee. Also see mountain biking books.
East Tennessee weather forecast or here, current temperature and recent East Tennessee hourly weather data and historical weather stats. East Tennessee webcams.
Also visit the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club page or SORBA version and here are some Tennessee Bike Clubs.
