Find the top rated running trails in Athens, whether you're looking for an easy short running trail or a long running trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a running trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Best bike ride in Chattanooga for me. LOVE IT!
We started north and east of downtown at Tennessee Riverpark Curtain Pole Road. Free parking! There are several places along the trail like this, so look around. In downtown, you’ll have to pay for 2hr parking at Ross Landing. It was a really nice ride out to the end of the trail at the dam and back. Mostly park-like with some industrial sprinkled in as well. All of this area is well manicured. We saw areas where a nearby business had dedicated the improvement to their employees. We then made our way downtown. It’s beautiful, with a lot of pedestrians so take care. There are a couple of switchbacks on the trail there, but you can do it! Downtown you’ll need your gps maps to confirm the bike routes. The Walnut Street Bridge affords a great many views. As we made our way west and south, the trail went through some of the older industrial areas and ends near the Lookout Mountain Railway. A great fall ride for us.
We did this last year traveling across country again this year on our way to FL. I often wish TrailLink had some kind of mile markings on their map. But we started at the RiverPark and it is 6.5 miles down to the bridge to ride over the river. And right there at the bridge crossing. Is the best ice cream parlor ever!
We biked this lovely trail from the Springhill Suites, which is right on the trail, to the dam. The paved trail follows the Tennessee River and is pretty easy to navigate, with a few tricky areas around the Hunter Museum and Walnut Street bridge. I loved all the art displays including the mile markers which are metal silhouettes of various people. We felt safe the entire length and enjoyed it immensely.
We biked this trail from Camp Jordan to the Riverwalk, about 12 miles. The southern portion was sunny & degraded with gravelly spots, along Brainerd Levee until you cross hwy 11. From there it’s smooth riding with many long (some 1/2 mi) boardwalks that hug the creek. It was scenic and lightly used on that Saturday. I’d recommend the northern portion for sure!
Nice trail through Townsend area. Paved, some ups and downs but no hard climbs. Not a whole lot to see really. Restaurant near north end has good food. You can take the bike underpass at the north end, cross under the four lane and then cross the small river and pick up the road on the left along the river. Take that through Walland all the way to the intersection with Ellejoy road. This is a nice ride along the river with minimal traffic and only one hill at Walland. There is a parking lot just across the intersection on Ellejoy road. I ve parked there, pedaled to the end of the trail in Townsend and back.
I’ve taken my dog to this dog park which was fun with shade and water available. Which is right across from the trail head. We’ve then walked the trail a few times. The trail is flat and with a hard packed dirt surface on a wide trail, making it very walkable. It’s completely shaded by the surrounding woods, making birding good along the way, don’t forget your binoculars. It’s about a 2 mile walk and not strenuous at all. There is a restroom available at the parking lot.
Nice trail but not shown on the map... this should be updated at least every quarter
We did the parts along the river downtown very Scenic. We uploaded photos here and at a trails facebook group https://facebook.com/groups/railstotrailsbiketrips/
We started this bike path at the Sterchi trailhead. The trailhead had a nice gazebo and clean bathrooms. We headed south starting around mile marker three. The path was asphalt until it turned into a boardwalk. The boardwalk was amazing and continued for a majority of the trail until mile marker six when we turned around because we started heading into a neighborhood and closer to the airport. A lot of the trail is shaded so we will definitely come back in the summertime to have a cool ride. The boardwalks are beautiful along the creek.
We took this ride in April 2023 and enjoyed it immensely. We travel and have been on multiple bike trails. This is the most beautiful and robust bike trail I have ever been on. It is very well maintained. We have e-bikes and this trail was perfect. They have bathroom buildings, bike repair stations, picnic tables, and emergency phone stations along the route.
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