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The Chief Ladiga trail, to me, is a great extension of the Comet (or the Comet is an extension of the Ladiga?) in my opinion, the trail is a very fun trail, but you need to understand it to ensure it is fun for you. Coming from the Georgia border, the trail is very picturesque but there are some rural sections that are a little bumpy for the high pressure 700c crowd, although the 2" tire MTB crowd wouldn't notice anything. In my opinion, Piedmont to the border trailhead is fantastic, and Piedmont to Jacksonville State University is equally awesome. The ride from Jacksonville State University to Anniston is pretty pointless unless you are riding it just so you can say you did the whole thing. The Anniston terminus is very underwhelming, kind of just ending in the middle of nowhere near a small park area.
At the time of this review, Ebikes are not legal on the Chief Ladiga trail, regardless of class. In reality, they are fine IMO since there is zero enforcement and from what I understand, zero plans to enforce. Currently there is no legal distinction between a class 1 Ebike and a full dress Harley. As far as I know, Alabama is simply behind in recognizing Ebikes. We rode half the trail on Ebikes and half on acoustics and even used the Police Station parking in Piedmont to load/unload our Ebikes and had no issues. Ebikes are fun and this trail makes them more fun!
Lastly, there is a time change at the border of the Comet and the Ladiga. The comet is in Eastern time and Ladiga is in Central time. Great place to do some time travelling, and if you want to go for a record, you can start just barely on the Comet then ride to Piedmont to collect your new record time (at least by the clocks)!
I have ridden the complete trail and just wanted to let people know where the best places are in my opinion. Riding from Rockmart up to the Brushy Mountain Tunnel is perhaps the best part of the trail from a beauty and interest standpoint, and being approximately 8 miles one way, it is a great afternoon jaunt with causal riders. Along the way you hit some nice waypoints to rest.
The trail origin location near Atlanta to Rambo trailhead is really nice and there is a lot of traffic out there. From Rambo to Rockmart is also very nice, but there are some unleashed pit bulls/ferral dogs to contend with from time to time. From Rockmart to Cedartown is not necessarily awesome due to it paralleling the highway, but it is not bad by any stretch. From Cedartown to Piedmont is rough leaving Cedartown near the landfill, but once you get through the hills, the trail to the Chief Ladiga/Silver Comet junction is pleasant as well.
Like most, there are a number of parking locations along the way and we usually tried to keep our segments to 10 miles one way when doing this trail.
Near the Atlanta region, expect a lot of walkers and plenty of riders going extremely fast/racing. We have seen some harsh wrecks when a very fast rider wanders off the concrete into the dirt and tries to get back on, leading to a yard sale crash with ribs and collar bone awesomeness. Be careful.
Trail in excellent condition until you get past rockmart. Then a lot of leaves and debris on the path. Also is a busy trail near Smyrna but thins out quickly when traveling west bound
I LOVE the Silver Comet Trail! I ride on it about twice a week (usually from the beginning near Nickajack School), and it's just great. Keep it up!
I biked the Silver Comet Trail with my wife to the trail end at the GA/AL state line in 2016. The trail surface is paved and one of the best converted rail trails in the southeast. Very smooth.
I rode the trail's namesake Silver Comet train in the late 50's with my Mom and brother from Birmingham to Atlanta. Biking this trail brought back many memories of that train ride. Definitely worth a bike ride, especially during the week when it's less busy.
My wife and I rode from Piedmont to the AL/GA state line. The asphalt pavement was pretty good and the areas where tree roots had pushed up the pavement have been ground down. The trail is a steady climb starting just east of Piedmont up to the state line. The bridge transitions are fairly smooth. Starting at 8.7 miles (state line is 0.0) to 4.8 miles, we encountered many "road apples" (aka horse poop) on the pavement. Fortunately, the trail was not busy and we were able to dodge them. Apart from that, the trail is a nice ride.
My wife and I rode from the Mavell Trailhead (MM 0) to the Florence Rd trailhead on a Saturday afternoon. We enjoyed the paved trail and the fact that it was shaded most of the way. Also, every road crossing in this zone had a user-activated traffic light. Some of the busier roads had bridges over them, or underpasses. Being a Saturday afternoon, it was very busy. I used my "dingy" bell frequently to alert pedestrians that we were approaching. all in all, it was a good ride. If I were to ride it again, I'd try to do it on a weekday.
In early September 2021, I rode parts of the trail. On the first day, I rode from the Tara/Drummond Trailhead westward to the trail's intersection with Bethlehem Road and returned to the that same trailhead. Two days later, I rode from the trail's intersection with Bethlehem Road to Cedartown and returned to the Bethlehem Road intersection. The trailhead was well executed with ample parking and flush toilets. Other trailheads to the west offered less parking and portajohns. The concrete surface was not anywhere near as smooth as relatively new asphalt. I felt a constant jiggling through my bike which got to be annoying after a while going about 12 to 15 mph. Numerous areas of tree debris and leaves covered parts of the trail. Fortunately, it was a dry day, so the debris didn't contribute to any slipperiness. The route through Rockmart was not very well signed, necessitating a couple of u-turns. The surface through Rockmart had me thinking,"Why am I still on the trail when the adjacent city street looks to have a better surface?" West of Rockmart, the trail experience is less enjoyable as the surface is more uneven than east of town and openly parallels U.S.278. I returned to Rockmart heading east on U.S.278, a 4-lane 65 mph divided highway, which was a much better ride. The light to moderate traffic tolerated my presence as all of the drivers gave me the right lane with nary a honk. I always ride in bright-colored clothing, a red flashing rear light and a rear view mirror to make sure approaching traffic sees me. On the second day, traversing the trail westward to Cedartown from Bethlehem Road, the trail is even less enjoyable with the stench of adjacent landfill hanging in the air coupled with challenging hills into Cedartown. The adjacent nearly level railroad right-of-way drove home the point that this was not a rails-to-trails portion of the trail. The Cedartown depot was a nice stop with friendly staff. Again, I chose to return to my starting point to the east on U.S.278. The trail is an asset for the area, but in the areas I experienced, it is needs some TLC. If you're in the area, it would be worth checking out. I can't recommend traveling specifically to ride on the trail as I did. There are much better places to ride than between Rockmart and Cedartown on the Silver Comet Trail.
Love the trail - but it's NOT Chattanooga - it is Chattahoochee! Can't believe the HUGE screw up here.
My daughter and I really enjoyed this ride. Started at the Target shopping center on S. Park St. Very easy access to the trail. Had to cross several roads to begin with but were well marked and easy/safe. The ride was great, trail well maintained and we certainly will add this to our list of trails to hit again… you won’t be disappointed!
Bout too many challenging hills but its length makes for a great work out. It’s mostly populated everyday by cyclists, walkers, and joggers. Has a few good views and even a public outdoor workout facility.
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