My husband and I drove to sunny GA from Louisville Ky for 3 days of riding the Silver Comet and were not disappointed. We rode the first day from Smyrna to mile 25 and turned around. Beautiful, flat, friendly. Spent the next 2 nights at our base camp in Cedar Town at the Holiday Inn Express. Great little town, super friendly locals, discount at Holiday Inn Express because we told them we were riding the trail, and delicious post ride fare: BBQ at Wallaces, Lasagna and broiled fish at Zorbas, and a great lunch on our last day at Perckles on Main Street--yummy little local deli. When you leave Cedar Town train depot and head toward Rockmart, be warned: about 3 miles of some killer hills. Definitely worse when we came back--tired legs and sore butt were feeling it. But, hills in a way were a welcome relief after riding so many flats. From Cedar Town to Alabama border is flat, flat, flat. Almost boring. BUT beautiful. Hitting Chief Ladiga Trail and the AL border was beautiful. the smell of Pines was awesome.We really lucked out weather wise: high 60's to 80's over the 3 days. Places to camp along trail and anywhere from Smyrna to Cedar Town there are little towns that you can pull off into and grab a soda or bathroom break. If you stay at Holiday Inn Express for couple days, ask for a room with Kitchenette. We did not and therefore did not even have a fridge (which would have been great to store cold drinks, ice packs for sore muscles, etc). Enjoy the trail. Well worth the drive to GA!!!

I usually have started at the Mavell Road access, but found that the new easternmost terminus pokes into Cobb County a smidge closer to home. Big mistake for inline skating as the entire distance (< 1 mile) to Mavell Road is downhill and not at all gradual. If I were not an expert skater, it would have been quite dangerous. As it was, I turned around at Mavell Road and it was all I could do to get these 48-year-old legs to grind it back to the start.

Start at Mavell Road and you will find miles and miles of pristine concrete trail. Quite wide and level.

We rode the Silver Comet and Chief Ladiga Trail as a loop from Hiram, GA towards AL and then looping back to the Smyrna end. We rode our Santana Tandem Triplet and towed a Bob Trailer staying in hotels in Hiram and Cedartown, GA twice and in Anniston, AL. The crew consisted of myself, my wife, and our ten year old son, Adam. Both trails are in excellent shape and being paved, represented a nice smooth ride. The on-line resources allowed for easy planning. The only caveat for "regular" rail to trail riders in the section between Rockmart and Cedartown. The grades in that section demonstrate that this was certainly a departure from the original railway as at least one is both steep and sufficiently long to tax most riders. While we were forewarned by other reviews, make sure that you understand that most kids, older riders, and any casual rail-to-trail riders WILL be walking their bike up at least one hill. Having said tha, there's no harm in walking and the downhills are fun as long as you make sure you're in control. Don't miss the opportunity to eat at Frankie's in Rockmart, get your picture taken, and write on the way. We were new to Kudzu so we loved how it took over everything in its path. Leaving from Hiram, we made stops in Cedartown, Anniston, Cedartown, Hiram and then looped to the end of the trail in Symrna returning to Hiram the same day. We averaged between 40 and 50 miles a day except for the Syrmna day which was just over 30. I think that broke up the ride nicely and allowed for plenty of "stop and enjoy the scenery" time and the use of the hotel pool where available. We rode the trail the first week of August in 100 degree heat so we enjoyed several dips in the flowing water near the trails. Make sure you're well stocked when entering the "remote" areas because they are indeed remote so make sure you have water and flat repair equipment. This was a great trip and I'd highly recommend it for a family ride in pieces or in whole.