Explore the best rated trails in Sylva, NC, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Little Tennessee River Greenway and Nantahala Bikeway . With more than 19 trails covering 82 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Love this little trail, especially after riding it for several weeks. Main ride is paved but several off shoots aren’t. Zero complaints!
We hit the trail about 9 am for an out and back ride. Pretty quiet early on a Monday morning. Gentle slopes but no big climbs. My wife had a good time on her pedal assist e-bike. A few road crossings but only one busy at the Easley end of the trail. We rode from Pickens to Easley and back. Plenty of parking on the Pickens end. I was able to park my class C camper pretty easily.
Paved and shady, but in winter moss on the pavement can make it slippery. Many tree roots make for a bumpy ride for bicycles or skates. If you like biking on pavement try the connecting Terrora circle and Old 441 that has light traffic and follows the river. Delightful even on a sunny winter day. .
Started at the Hendersonville visitor center and headed out. Fill your water bottles and use the restrooms at this really nice visitor center! Very well marked trail with lots of safe crossings for the roads! Super wide super smooth asphalt so no issues bypassing pedestrians and other cyclists! Rode all the way to the end and found a pumpkin patch! Since we were on our bikes, I only purchased five small ones for two dollars each! We also stopped by the farm stand trail side, and got some of the best Golden delicious apples we’ve ever had! Beautiful rail trail……kudos to Hendersonville because there were 1000 people using it on this stunning Saturday! It has a brewery, playground, coffeehouse, Quik Mart, all on the side of the trail if you need anything. We really enjoyed the countryside! A winner for a Saturday early Fall bike ride!
Rode the trail today a few times back-and-forth back-and-forth to get a few miles in. Beautiful river with the roar of the water and the roar of the trucks on the highway. Leaves covering the trail in a few spots so it could be slippery. Great parking at both ends. We did take a rod on our second trip around and did a few casts the access spots, but didn’t get anything.
We walked the trail and it was rather shady and comfortable. The trail was very active to be so new. Loved the Ecusta Brewery and the Market Cafe experience. The trail takes you past Elijah Mtn Gem Mine which would be a fun stop for the littles. I only made it half way as it was dusk but look forward to my next visit. Once you get further north and a bit more rural it was nice to see LP patrolling the trail for safety and awareness.
Very nice trail, minimal parking, but meant more for walking. Very busy with walkers.
My wife and I found this to be a great trail to ride. Nice 17miles and beautiful.
The map is not very understandable if u r not local. Use Apple maps to locate the actual trail head. This gave us an address that was a super short preserve trail and AllTrails did the same. So load and inload the ebikes on a 93 degree day with no shade was not fun. Finally found the trailhead. I use a dog trailer for my pup so I do not like street riding and had no real idea where to go but went both directions from the park, each way until it was all urban, next to a busy street one way and a lovely neighborhood the other way but to hot to ride too far out of the shade. With the dog, just looking for long shady paths. Would have like to explore mire. Maybe next time in the fall.
The Townsend trail is all paved, wide enough for 2 bikes to pass each other. I take my dog in a trailer behind my ebike. The trail is on both sides of the road. The one on the right side is further away from the road and more hilly. The one on the left side has more road noise, once u get away from the river. It is the side with all the businesses on it so lots for driveway bumps. You can connect to the other side by 2 different bike tunnels so u don’t have to cross the road. We rode on a Thursday so traffic was so so but enough to make up want to ride the other side. Not a very interesting trail but nice enough.
Easy peasant ride. All paved on both sides of the road. Nice spots to stop, shop, eat and drink. Close to Cades Cove and entrance to Smoky Mountains. Worth the visit.
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